Summative Assessment Manipulation has beauty behind it. This beauty comes when all goes according to plan. The novel “The chocolate war” written by Robert Cormier, features various types of manipulation. when manipulation is the topic, the character that best shows this is Archie Costello. He is a senior at Trinity High School, and he is part of The Vigils who are in charge of manipulating and intimidating other students. People manipulate others to get what they want. The character of Archie is very intelligent since he prefers to use psychological intimidating and not physical. In chapter 15 Archie tells how he is blackmailing a guy named Emile Janza with an embarrassing photo of him. The funny thing is that there is no such photo. “He knew that Emile Janza could be a dangerous enemy. On the other hand, the photograph also could be used as a weapon” (Cormier, 1974 pg. 98). He was using the photo to make Emile obey him and do whatever he said. This is one one example of how the author represents manipulation in the novel. Another time when Archie manipulates others to get what he wants is in chapter 35. When he organizes the raffle so Jerry could get revenge on Emile Janza at the school. “Want to get even Renault?” Archie goaded. “Strike back? Get revenge? Show them what you think of the goddam chocolates?” (Cormier, 1974 pg. 222). Of course that was a lie, because it was a raffle to beat Jerry up. What Archie did was motivate Jerry and tell him he was going to be able to get revenge. Once again, Archie gets what he wants by manipulating Jerry. Through this novel the author shows how people get manipulated by other, so the other person can get what they want. Archie manipulates students like Jerry to use them for his own benefit. This is important because manipulation doesn’t just happen inside the novel, in real life people try to manipulate others just like Archie with the same reasons. Manipulation is everywhere, anyone can get manipulated and we need to be careful.
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.