Character Profiles
Howie Anderson
Howie Anderson
Howie Anderson is president of the junior class at Trinity. He decides to follow Jerry Renault’s example and refuse to sell any more chocolates.
Danny Arcangelo
Danny Arcangelo is a student who agrees with Kevin Chartier that Jerry Renault has guts for defying Brother Leon and refusing to sell the chocolates.
Gregory Bailey
Gregory Bailey is an honor student at Trinity. Brother Leon tries to humiliate Bailey in front of the class in order to make him say he is a cheater, even when he is not. When Brother Leon cannot make Bailey break down and confess such a thing, he changes his tactic and berates the class for not standing by Bailey as he stuck to the truth about himself.
Ellen Barrett
Ellen Barrett is a girl whom Jerry Renault has exchanged meaningful glances with at the bus stop. She seems sweet and nice, but when Jerry gets up enough courage to call her on the phone, she accuses him of being a pervert.
David Caroni
David Caroni is an honor student who suddenly, inexplicably, makes an “F” on one of Brother Leon’s tests. When he discusses the test with Brother Leon, he comes to understand that the grade might be reconsidered if Caroni can tell Brother Leon why Jerry Renault refuses to sell chocolates. Caroni craters to this pressure and confesses that Jerry is merely carrying out an assignment for The Vigils.
John Carter
Carter is the president of The Vigils. Carter is a senior and a varsity football player, content to preside as a figurehead of The Vigils while Archie does all the dirty work. As president, however, Carter does have some power to control Archie. At every meeting in which an assignment is given to someone, Carter must produce the “black box” and make Archie draw a marble from it. If Archie draws a white marble, then the assignment stands. But if Archie draws a black marble, he must undertake the assignment himself. In this way, Carter holds the power to possibly keep Archie from getting out of control.
Tubs Casper
Tubs Casper is a student who, as he sells some chocolates, pockets the money for himself. He has to buy his girlfriend a birthday present.
Kevin Chartier
Kevin Chartier is a student who hates selling the chocolates and believes that Jerry Renault is doing the right thing by refusing to sell them.
Brian Cochran
Brian Cochran is the student that Brother Leon chooses to be treasurer of the chocolate sale. He must keep track of the number of chocolates sold and the money turned in each day. He hates having to deal with Brother Leon, who intimidates him.
Paul Consalvo
Paul Consalvo is a student who uses the chocolate sale as a means for getting away from his dismal home situation.
Archie Costello
Archie Costello is the leader of Trinity’s secret society, The Vigils. Although he is not the president, he is the assigner, a position of more power than that of the president. Archie’s job is to devise the hazing activities by which “chosen” boys will become members of The Vigils. As assigner, Archie has developed a reputation as a brilliant, ruthless leader—a consummate bully—whom no one dares to cross. He craves power, and he believes he has even more power than the school’s acting headmaster, Brother Leon. As the school year progresses, Archie and Brother Leon engage in a subtle but brutal power struggle, with Jerry Renault at the center of their conflict.
Roland Goubert
Roland Goubert is a boy whom Archie chooses to undertake a particularly devious assignment, that of destroying Room Nineteen by loosening every single screw in every piece of furniture in the room. Roland is tall, athletic, and kind. He plays receiver on the freshman football team along with Jerry. He is horrified by the destruction that he causes when he dutifully completes Archie’s assignment. The struggle to fit in yet do what he thinks is right almost ruins Goober during the course of the story.
Emile Janza
Emile is “an animal” and doesn’t “play by the rules.” He is a classic bully, victimizing other kids because he knows they will not fight back, purposely embarrassing other kids to see their discomfort in public. As a result, no one messes with Emile Janza. Emile is not especially bright, and Archie purposely manipulates him to do his “dirty work,” especially against Jerry Renault.
Howie Anderson
Howie Anderson is president of the junior class at Trinity. He decides to follow Jerry Renault’s example and refuse to sell any more chocolates.
Danny Arcangelo
Danny Arcangelo is a student who agrees with Kevin Chartier that Jerry Renault has guts for defying Brother Leon and refusing to sell the chocolates.
Gregory Bailey
Gregory Bailey is an honor student at Trinity. Brother Leon tries to humiliate Bailey in front of the class in order to make him say he is a cheater, even when he is not. When Brother Leon cannot make Bailey break down and confess such a thing, he changes his tactic and berates the class for not standing by Bailey as he stuck to the truth about himself.
Ellen Barrett
Ellen Barrett is a girl whom Jerry Renault has exchanged meaningful glances with at the bus stop. She seems sweet and nice, but when Jerry gets up enough courage to call her on the phone, she accuses him of being a pervert.
David Caroni
David Caroni is an honor student who suddenly, inexplicably, makes an “F” on one of Brother Leon’s tests. When he discusses the test with Brother Leon, he comes to understand that the grade might be reconsidered if Caroni can tell Brother Leon why Jerry Renault refuses to sell chocolates. Caroni craters to this pressure and confesses that Jerry is merely carrying out an assignment for The Vigils.
John Carter
Carter is the president of The Vigils. Carter is a senior and a varsity football player, content to preside as a figurehead of The Vigils while Archie does all the dirty work. As president, however, Carter does have some power to control Archie. At every meeting in which an assignment is given to someone, Carter must produce the “black box” and make Archie draw a marble from it. If Archie draws a white marble, then the assignment stands. But if Archie draws a black marble, he must undertake the assignment himself. In this way, Carter holds the power to possibly keep Archie from getting out of control.
Tubs Casper
Tubs Casper is a student who, as he sells some chocolates, pockets the money for himself. He has to buy his girlfriend a birthday present.
Kevin Chartier
Kevin Chartier is a student who hates selling the chocolates and believes that Jerry Renault is doing the right thing by refusing to sell them.
Brian Cochran
Brian Cochran is the student that Brother Leon chooses to be treasurer of the chocolate sale. He must keep track of the number of chocolates sold and the money turned in each day. He hates having to deal with Brother Leon, who intimidates him.
Paul Consalvo
Paul Consalvo is a student who uses the chocolate sale as a means for getting away from his dismal home situation.
Archie Costello
Archie Costello is the leader of Trinity’s secret society, The Vigils. Although he is not the president, he is the assigner, a position of more power than that of the president. Archie’s job is to devise the hazing activities by which “chosen” boys will become members of The Vigils. As assigner, Archie has developed a reputation as a brilliant, ruthless leader—a consummate bully—whom no one dares to cross. He craves power, and he believes he has even more power than the school’s acting headmaster, Brother Leon. As the school year progresses, Archie and Brother Leon engage in a subtle but brutal power struggle, with Jerry Renault at the center of their conflict.
Roland Goubert
Roland Goubert is a boy whom Archie chooses to undertake a particularly devious assignment, that of destroying Room Nineteen by loosening every single screw in every piece of furniture in the room. Roland is tall, athletic, and kind. He plays receiver on the freshman football team along with Jerry. He is horrified by the destruction that he causes when he dutifully completes Archie’s assignment. The struggle to fit in yet do what he thinks is right almost ruins Goober during the course of the story.
Emile Janza
Emile is “an animal” and doesn’t “play by the rules.” He is a classic bully, victimizing other kids because he knows they will not fight back, purposely embarrassing other kids to see their discomfort in public. As a result, no one messes with Emile Janza. Emile is not especially bright, and Archie purposely manipulates him to do his “dirty work,” especially against Jerry Renault.
Brother Jacques
Brother Jacques is one of the younger, newer teachers at Trinity. Archie assigns students to jump up and dance every time he utters the word “environment” in class. Brother Jacques, however, catches on and purposely repeats the word, causing students to exhaust themselves. Obie suspects that Archie has forewarned Brother Jacques and that the assignment is really a joke on Vigils members. Brother Jacques is also one of the teachers who suspects that Brother Leon has bought the chocolate supply with unauthorized money.
Brother Leon
Brother Leon is the acting headmaster at Trinity in the absence of the true headmaster, who is seriously ill in the hospital. A pale, sniveling sort of man, Brother Leon nevertheless is a bully. He takes great pleasure in making students fear him; he demands absolute obedience. In his ambition to take over as headmaster, he hopes to make himself look good by overseeing the most successful chocolate sale in Trinity’s history. To this end, he uses school funds to purchase more chocolates than ever for students to sell. If the students fail to sell them all, then he will look bad. Brother Leon is determined not to fail, and his determination leads to a power struggle with Archie Costello, who can make or break the sale.
Obie
Obie is the secretary of The Vigils. As secretary, his main job is to keep Archie happy, including supplying him with the Hershey’s bars that he constantly craves. Obie hates being subservient to an egotistical, cruel “bastard” like Archie, but at the same time he admires Archie’s cool brilliance and commanding power. And even though he would rather be playing football or doing his own thing, Obie does not have the courage to quit The Vigils and suffer the consequences of being an outsider.
Jerry Renault
Jerry Renault is the main character of The Chocolate War. He is a fourteen-year-old boy beginning his freshman year at Trinity High School, an all-male Catholic school in New England. Jerry’s mother died of cancer in the spring, and since then his father has become a shell of himself. Jerry does not want to simply drift through life, as his father seems to do now; Jerry wants to live a full life and be somebody. He works hard to make the freshman football team and gain respect as the quarterback. Jerry discovers, however, that being true to himself is difficult in the social atmosphere of Trinity, where fitting in is everything. When he defies the headmaster and the school’s secret society, The Vigils, by refusing to take part in the annual chocolate sale, he discovers that those who do not fit in are terribly punished.
Mr. Renault
Mr. Renault is Jerry’s father. He works as a pharmacist, although Jerry suspects that he once wanted to be a doctor. Mr. Renault has lived on automatic pilot since his wife’s death, merely going to work each day, coming home, sleeping, barely speaking to Jerry. He is oblivious to the torture Jerry is undergoing at school.
Frankie Rollo
Frankie Rollo is a junior with a reputation for being a troublemaker at Trinity. When he is called before The Vigils, he dares to talk back to Archie and tells The Vigils that he is not afraid of them. Carter tells Archie that Rollo is an example of a new wave of students who think The Vigils have lost power because Jerry Renault stood up to them.
Richy Rondell
Richy Rondell, impressed that someone as powerful and popular as Howie Anderson would refuse to sell chocolates, also decides to quit selling the chocolates.
John Sulkey
John Sulkey is a student whose great ambition is to sell all of the chocolates and get his name on the special honor roll.
Brother Jacques is one of the younger, newer teachers at Trinity. Archie assigns students to jump up and dance every time he utters the word “environment” in class. Brother Jacques, however, catches on and purposely repeats the word, causing students to exhaust themselves. Obie suspects that Archie has forewarned Brother Jacques and that the assignment is really a joke on Vigils members. Brother Jacques is also one of the teachers who suspects that Brother Leon has bought the chocolate supply with unauthorized money.
Brother Jacques is one of the younger, newer teachers at Trinity. Archie assigns students to jump up and dance every time he utters the word “environment” in class. Brother Jacques, however, catches on and purposely repeats the word, causing students to exhaust themselves. Obie suspects that Archie has forewarned Brother Jacques and that the assignment is really a joke on Vigils members. Brother Jacques is also one of the teachers who suspects that Brother Leon has bought the chocolate supply with unauthorized money.
Brother Leon
Brother Leon is the acting headmaster at Trinity in the absence of the true headmaster, who is seriously ill in the hospital. A pale, sniveling sort of man, Brother Leon nevertheless is a bully. He takes great pleasure in making students fear him; he demands absolute obedience. In his ambition to take over as headmaster, he hopes to make himself look good by overseeing the most successful chocolate sale in Trinity’s history. To this end, he uses school funds to purchase more chocolates than ever for students to sell. If the students fail to sell them all, then he will look bad. Brother Leon is determined not to fail, and his determination leads to a power struggle with Archie Costello, who can make or break the sale."
Obie
Obie is the secretary of The Vigils. As secretary, his main job is to keep Archie happy, including supplying him with the Hershey’s bars that he constantly craves. Obie hates being subservient to an egotistical, cruel “bastard” like Archie, but at the same time he admires Archie’s cool brilliance and commanding power. And even though he would rather be playing football or doing his own thing, Obie does not have the courage to quit The Vigils and suffer the consequences of being an outsider.
Jerry Renault
Jerry Renault is the main character of The Chocolate War. He is a fourteen-year-old boy beginning his freshman year at Trinity High School, an all-male Catholic school in New England. Jerry’s mother died of cancer in the spring, and since then his father has become a shell of himself. Jerry does not want to simply drift through life, as his father seems to do now; Jerry wants to live a full life and be somebody. He works hard to make the freshman football team and gain respect as the quarterback. Jerry discovers, however, that being true to himself is difficult in the social atmosphere of Trinity, where fitting in is everything. When he defies the headmaster and the school’s secret society, The Vigils, by refusing to take part in the annual chocolate sale, he discovers that those who do not fit in are terribly punished.
Mr. Renault
Mr. Renault is Jerry’s father. He works as a pharmacist, although Jerry suspects that he once wanted to be a doctor. Mr. Renault has lived on automatic pilot since his wife’s death, merely going to work each day, coming home, sleeping, barely speaking to Jerry. He is oblivious to the torture Jerry is undergoing at school.
Frankie Rollo
Frankie Rollo is a junior with a reputation for being a troublemaker at Trinity. When he is called before The Vigils, he dares to talk back to Archie and tells The Vigils that he is not afraid of them. Carter tells Archie that Rollo is an example of a new wave of students who think The Vigils have lost power because Jerry Renault stood up to them.
Richy Rondell
Richy Rondell, impressed that someone as powerful and popular as Howie Anderson would refuse to sell chocolates, also decides to quit selling the chocolates.
John Sulkey
John Sulkey is a student whose great ambition is to sell all of the chocolates and get his name on the special honor roll.
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