... To gain these students' approval, apparently, Jerry either should not lose the unfair boxing match or should not give up emotionally, despite having been physically battered into unconsciousness. The reasons my students cite for their disapproval reflect the general controversies that have surrounded the novel since its publication, most notably the charge in articles by Norma Bagnall and by Elizabeth G. Knudson that it shows only the dark side of life (Bagnall 214, Knudson in Campbell 61). The novel has had its fervid defenders as well, such as Betty Carter and Karen Harris, who justify the brutal conclusion of the story as "realism," by which they mean Cormier's refusal to provide a happy ending to the story. Of all the criticisms that my students bring up about The Chocolate War, their focus on the importance of "role models" in adolescent fiction, and their assessment of Jerry's "failure" to be a ...

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