This story is the telling of a twisted school community. The Chocolate War definitely looks at the dark side of the human psyche. Jerry is a freshman who attends a school with a sadistic head master, Brother Leon, and an equally sociopathic student gang. Jerry resists the pressure of conformity, by refusing to join in the school chocolate sale, but in the end he is not able to defend himself. The grimmest aspect of this story, is that there are few characters with redeeming qualities, and all other characters, even minor characters, in the story are basically evil and uncaring.
I have a hard time with stories like this. I don't like stories where not only is the underdog not able to triumph, but he is badly defeated. This story explores deeply, an uncomfortable topic and is unexpected in the way that evil prevails over good. Even though, stories like this are not my preference, the characters are deeply developed and the problem is a unique one for teens to think about and explore. It allows them to consider their own humanity and reactions to situations.
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