The author communicates the major theme Manipulation by the way the characters have the dialogue between them at all times. The way people change themselves to disturb the way people think. Manipulation encompasses and utilizes the power of fear. “If the sale goes down the drain, you and the vigils go down the drain, believe me..” (Pg 121 end of chapter 24).
Brother Leon is a very evil man, who messes with people’s minds by manipulation. Brother Leon is unconcerned with the consequences of his actions. He taunts and controls teachers and administrators, as well as students, he does this for the amusement. This character is very strongly related to the theme, the novel shows he is a natural when it comes to manipulating. On the other hand there is Jerry Renault who is also strongly related to manipulation, but in a different way actually the complete opposite. Jerry experiences victimization by the manipulative side of every one. Jerry is not a loud and outrageous person just quietly trying to fit it. His actions speak louder than his words. For a protagonist he is very shy.
Robert Cormier has structured this novel very different although it keeps us turning the pages. It is different because the use of climaxes in the story, nearly all chapters build up a small climax at the end. This is effective because shows many experiences of the characters which helps Robert Cormier convey the meaning of manipulation through the characters. After having climaxes in all chapters it leads on to new scenes/settings, which adds to the feel of being in many places at once. Uses many short sharp sentences.
The chocolate war is composed in third person, which skips from one character to another, revealing a number of characters thoughts actions. The book is complete dialogue between characters even when in classrooms there are only always two people talking. The use of flash backs is very symbolic to the book, it gives us an insight of the characters history’s and deep thought and feelings towards different structures.
The novel is mostly dialogue, so the text is written using many descriptive words and language features, because it is people’s thoughts continually being tossed around. There is a major use of similes “Brother Leon’s breathing filled the line, as if he was some kind of obscene caller.”
By the composer using similes gives us an idea of the theme by the experiences of the characters. The language helps us understand the way characters appear and act in the story what points and views they want to convey.
In conclusion, the composer has mainly used structure and language to convey meaning to myself and other responders. The features have helped me to understand the characters and the way they act and reflected the theme to an extent at which is obvious enough to take away a message.
