The Chocolate War Quotes

“He hated to think of his own life stretching ahead of him that way, a long succession of days and nights that were fine - not good, not bad, not great, not lousy, not exciting, not anything.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Do I dare disturb the universe?

Yes, I do, I do. I think.

Jerry suddenly understood the poster--the solitary man on the beach standing upright and alone and unafraid, poised at the moment of making himself heard and known in the world, the universe.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“They don't actually want you to do your own thing, not unless it's their thing too.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Cities fell. Earth opened. Planets tilted. Stars plummeted. And the awful silence.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Don't miss the bus, boy. You're missing a lot of things in the world, better not miss that bus.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“A new sickness invaded Jerry, the sickness of knowing what he had become, another animal, another beast, another violent person in a violent world, inflicting damage, not disturbing the universe but damaging it.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“And he did see--that life was rotten, that there were no heroes, really, and that you couldn't trust anybody, not even yourself.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“They tell you to do your own thing but they don't mean it. They don't want you to do your thing, not unless it happens to be their thing, too.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“He was swept with a sadness, a sadness deep and penetrating, leaving him desolate like someone washed up on a beach, a lone survivor in a world full of strangers.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“It doesn't matter how big the body, it's what you do with it.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Often he rose early in the morning, before anyone else, and poured himself liquid through the sunrise streets, and everything seemed beautiful, everything in its proper orbit, nothing impossible, the entire world attainable.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“There was nothing more beautiful in the world than the sight of a teacher getting upset.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“They murdered him.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Why did the wise guys always accuse other people of being wise guys?”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“You see Carter, people are two things: greedy and cruel. So we have a perfect set-up here. The greed part - a kid pays a buck for a chance to win a hundred. Plus fifty boxes of chocolates. The cruel part - watching two guys hitting each other, maybe hurting each other, while they're safe in the bleachers. That's why it works, Carter, because we're all bastards.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Archie became absolutely still, afraid that the rapid beating of his heart might betray his sudden knowledge, the proof of what he'd always suspected, not only of Brother Leon but most grownups, most adults: they were vulnerable, running scared, open to invasion.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“What could he say? After the phone calls and the beating. After the desecration of his locker. The silent treatment. Pushed downstairs. What they did to Goober, to Brother Eugene. What guys like Archie and Janza did to the school. What they would do to the world when they left Trinity.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“A terrific sadness swept over Jerry. As if somebody had died. The way he felt standing in the cemetry that day they buried his mother. And nothing you could do about it.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“That's what Archie did - built a house nobody could anticipate a need for, except himself, a house that was invisible to everyone else.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Do I dare disturb the universe? Yes I do, I do. I think.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“When he ran, he even loved the pain, the hurt of the running, the burning in his lungs and the spasms that sometimes gripped his calves. He loved it because he knew he could endure the pain, and even go beyond it. He had never pushed himself to the limit but he felt all this reserve strength inside of him: more than strength actually—determination. And it sang in him as he ran, his heart pumping blood joyfully through his body.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“The Goober was beautiful when he ran. His long arms and legs moved flowingly and flawlessly, his body floating as if his feet weren’t touching the ground. When he ran, he forgot about his acne and his awkwardness and the shyness that paralyzed him when a girl looked his way. Even his thoughts became sharper, and things were simple and uncomplicated—he could solve math problems when he ran or memorize football play patterns. Often he rose early in the morning, before anyone else, and poured himself liquid through the sunrise streets, and everything seemed beautiful, everything in its proper orbit, nothing impossible, the entire world attainable.
When he ran, he even loved the pain, the hurt of the running, the burning in his lungs and the spasms that sometimes gripped his calves. He loved it because he knew he could endure the pain, and even go beyond it. He had never pushed himself to the limit but he felt all this reserve strength inside of him: more than strength actually—determination. And it sang in him as he ran, his heart pumping blood joyfully through his body.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“He closed the locker quickly so no one would see the damage. For some reason, he felt ashamed.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Archie believed in always doing the smart thing. Not the thing you ached to do, not the impulsive act, but the thing that would pay off later.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Go get your bus, square boy.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“They tell you to do your thing but they don't mean it. They don't want you to do your own thing, not unless it happens to be their thing, too. It's a laugh, Goober, a fake. Don't disturb the universe, Goober, no matter what the posters say.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Was this all there was to life, after all? You finished school, found an occupation, got married, became a father, watched your wife die, and then lived through days and nights that seemed to have no sunrises, no dawns and no dusks, nothing but a gray drabness.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“Nobody wanted trouble, nobody wanted to make trouble, nobody wanted a showdown.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“He found that people had a fear of being embarrassed or humiliated, of being singled out for special attention.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War

“The one devastating sorrow he carried within him was the fear that he would die before holding a girl’s breast in his hand.”
― Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War