Jerry's Character Development in The Chocolate War Essay

There are many lessons in life that may change a person, or may not. There were many lessons in The Chocolate War that caused a very large transformation with the protagonist, Jerry. In the beginning of the book, you may have noticed a strong inspirational Jerry. He walks home from practice thinking that he'll make the team: "I'm going to make the team. Dreamer, Dreamer. Not a dream: Its the truth." Then towards the end of the book he becomes a follower just like everyone else, as he tells The Goober that it is best to just do what people ask and not to disturb the universe. Jerry becomes a motivating hero to an outcast that rejects his beliefs to disturb the universe. Even though Jerry may not have had a positive transformation, he matured in a way that the students of Trinity High could never accomplish.

In the beginning of the book, Jerry becomes very sick after practice, throwing up in the school bathroom. Even if Jerry was tackled every practice severely, he was still determined of making the team. This shows that Jerry was never negative to begin with. On the bus ride home, Jerry looks out the bus window and sees an empty advertising board on which someone has written: "Why?" and someone else has responded: "Why not?" This sign is related with the poster that is inside of Jerrys locker which states, Do I dare disturb the universe? Jerry has no idea what the poster means, just like he doesnt know what the advertising board means. Jerry is very nave in the beginning of the book as he accepts the command of refusing to sell the chocolates from the Vigils because it is as if he is their servant and he has no option. The beginning of Jerrys transformation is when his father's apathy and general lack of passion and enjoyment scares him, and he vows not to be like his father. Jerry was tired of wasting his life, so he decided to accomplish something for himself. He finally wanted to be his own leader instead of being bossed around by the Vigils. At first he refused only because of The Vigils, but now he is refusing to sell the chocolates for himself. When he refused to sell the chocolates, all of the students in the school consider doing what he is doing. My personal definition of a hero is someone who takes a stand against evil and isnt afraid to either.

After Jerry continues to not sell the chocolates he isnt recognized as a leader, but rather someone who considered himself better than them. This makes Jerry feel as if his existence is somewhat unimportant. Jerry almost welcomes it, because it is better than being beaten. Jerry is all on his own, without a single friend to stand by him. Jerry wanted all of his misery to end, so he agreed to a fight with Emile Janza because Archie said it would end everything. Jerry knows that he cannot actually beat Janza in the fight. He just wanted everything to be over no matter what the cost was. When he was beaten brutally, Jerry realized what his poster meant and he knows it was meant for him. When Jerry refused the chocolates and suffered the consequences he realizes what it meant to disturb the universe. Jerry thinks the poster is wrong because he thinks that no one should go through physical damage. This is the turning point of Jerry being a determined human being. He thought that he didnt disturb his universe, but his thoughts caused him to be just like everyone in the school. Jerry was different and transforming like no other student, but he let that fail because of the damage he was put through.

When a person has a turning point of maturity it is mostly positive and helps them understand things that they never knew. When Jerry found out the meaning of the poster, he had to go through a lot of harsh challenges like the fight and being hated by his peers. Jerry went from a hero to a follower because he stood up for what he wanted to do, but then he let rude remarks by other students bring him down. When students said that Jerry thought he was better then them, they started to hate him and no one spoke to him. This caused the psychological damage for Jerry which made him give up for what he believed in. Jerry knew the meaning of the poster, but he didnt let it have a big impact on his life. He thought that disturbing the universe was a bad thing, but it is actually changes Trinity High to a school that students can be just like Jerry; standing up for what they believe in.