"Do I dare disturb the universe?"
--Andrew Marvell
Censorship resources:
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Censored Books: Critical Viewpoints, edited by Nicholas J. Karolides, Lee Burress, & John M. Kean (Scarecrow Press, 1993): "'They Tell You to Do Your Own Thing, But They Don't Mean It.': Censorship and The Chocolate War" by Zibby Oneal (pp. 179-184)
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Hit List: Frequently Challenged Books for Young Adults (American Library Association, 1996): discusses The Chocolate War (pp. 19-23)
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Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds by Dawn B. Sova (Facts on File, 1998): discusses The Chocolate War (pp. 72-75)
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Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds by Nicholas J. Karolides (Facts on File, 1998): discusses I Am the Cheese (pp. 218-227)
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Banned in the U.S.A.: A Reference Guide to Book Censorship in Schools and Public Libraries by Herbert N. Foerstel (Greenwood Press, 1994): discusses The Chocolate War (pp. 154-157
| Now considered a YA classic, The
Chocolate War and other books by Cormier have been contested in
censorship battles over school reading lists. See Random House's introduction
and overview of the book, along with a list of other books by
Cormier in Laurel Leaf editions.
The novel opens with the striking sentence, "They murdered him." That's on the football field. But as the novel unfolds, we see the groups in this private Catholic boys' school align themselves against Jerry until peer pressure will very nearly murder him in actuality. |
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There are a number of interviews and brief biographies of Cormier on the Web. Some links include:
- The Internet Public Library (Kidspace) interview
- Kids@Random and Teachers@Random materials
- Author Profile: Robert Cormier, Teenreads.com
- "Robert Cormier, London July 2000" at ACHUKA, Children's Books, UK
- Author Profile: Robert Cormier at Bookreporter.com (April 2000)
- Conversing with Robert Cormier at Amazon.com (1998)
- "Beyond the Shadows of Robert Cormier" by Laura B. Hoffman (1996) at Writes of Passage
- Obituary by Lyn Gardner, The Guardian (UK), Nov. 6, 2000
Sites for teachers:
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Robert Cormier, Young Adult Literature @ Web English Teacher
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"Forever Pedaling the Road to Realism": Robert Cormier's World in the High School Literature Classroom by Thorven Lucht (1996-97)
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Novel Guide to The Chocolate War for Teachers of Language Arts at McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin
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An Interdisciplinary Lesson based on The Chocolate War by Doug Cronk, White Plains H.S.
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Building a Bridge to Shakespeare's Macbeth with Cormier's The Chocolate War by Margo Figgins, at Classroom Notes Plus published by National Council of Teachers of English
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"Teaching Tomorrow's Classics" by Mary Ann Tighe and Charles Avinger, The ALAN Review 21.3 (Spring 1994)
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"Film and the Young Adult Novel" by Harold M. Foster, The ALAN Review 21.3 (Spring 1994).
Critical Sources:
- Campbell, Patricia J. Presenting Robert Cormier. Updated edition. Twayne United States Author Series/Young Adult Authors. 1985.
- Headley, Kathy Neal. "Duel at High Noon: A Replay of Cormier's Works." The ALAN Review 20.2 (Winter 1994).
- Keeling, Kara. "The Misfortune of a Man Like Ourselves": Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War as an Aristotelian Tragedy." The ALAN Review 26.2 (Winter 1999).
- Shaw, Dara Gay. "The Treatment of Religion and the Independent Investigation of Spiritual Truth in Fiction for Adolescents." The ALAN Review 22.2 (Winter 1995).
- Stringer, Sharon A. "The Psychological Changes of Adolescence: A Test of Character." The ALAN Review 22.1 (Fall 1994).
Books by Robert Cormier:
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1960 |
Now and at the Hour A Little Raw on Monday Mornings Take Me Where the Good Times Are The Chocolate War I Am the Cheese After the First Death Eight Plus One The Bumblebee Flies Anyway Beyond the Chocolate War Fade Other Bells for Us to Ring We All Fall Down Tunes for Bears to Dance To I Have Words to Spend In the Middle of the Night Tenderness Frenchtown Summer Heroes The Rag and Bone Shop |