The Chocolate War (p.156-201)

Summary

Goober wants to quite the football team because he feels guilty about what happened to Brother Eugene and room Nine-teen. Jerry feels like Goob is being unrealistic is is thinking too much into what he did. He tries to calm him down but nothing seems be working, so he decides to give the Goob HIS therapy, running. While running Goob seemed to open up and he told Jerry that there was something rotten in the school that got the name Vigils written all over it. Jerry still tries to persuade Goober but he fails as Goober stands his ground and makes the decision that he wont give anything more to Trinity. Now Brother Leon thinks that it's all Archie's fault that the sale is going lousy and not the way he planned. Archie had promised Brother Leon that he would make sure that the chocolate sale goes smoothly and now it's up to him to get the sales up. Before the meeting with Brother Leon, Archie had an encounter with Brian. Archie gained a piece of information that will help him blackmail Brother Leon. He found out that Brother Leon had bought the chocolates with the money he wasn't suppose to and now he was in debt and needed the money to pay back the school. Now, Brother Leon threatened Archie saying that if the chocolate sale goes down the drain so will the Vigils. Out on the field Jerry gets his share of not selling the chocolates. Someone was out to get him by making him fall and drop his passes. He figured that the Vigils were out to get him. Now Jerry is being followed and getting mysterious phone calls in the middle of the night. People are stealing his projects, messing up his locker and his sneakers, and pushing him down the stairs. He had become invisible, people giving him the silent treatment, and for a moment he actually liked it. The chocolate sale is going good all they need is 5 thousand more, minus Jerry's quota.

Quote

"It's more than fun and games, Jerry. Anything that can make you cry and send a teacher away-tip him over the borderline- that's more than just fun and games" (Cormier 160).

Reaction

After the Goob and Jerry stopped running they started talking about the real reason why Goober was going to quite the football team and stop doing things for Trinity. The Goober said that the Vigils are making the school evil and pushing things too far. Jerry makes the comment that they are just having fun and that the whole thing is a game but that makes the Goob mad and he tells Jerry that anything that can make a teacher go crazy, referring to Brother Eugene, is going to far and it's more than just fun and games. I think that we can all relate to why the Goober got mad because surely having fun and playing games doesn't involve ticking off a teacher and making someone feel guilty. Goob is seeing the serious part about this whole thing and I think that Jerry does know the seriousness about it but he chooses not to think of it that way or else he would become just like the Goob, depressed.