The Chocolate War was the first book I read about the cruelty in school life. I was shocked. It was 1994 when I got this book. In Taiwan, we seldom read books talking about the evil or violent sides of students. People always say that kids or students are like white papers. They are all innocent. But actually, in the process of growing up, kids find out many differert sides of human nature, but they don't talk with their parents about the frustration or bullies they have to face at school.
Now it is 2011, 17 years after I read the novel. Cruelty still exists because it's part of human nature, isn't it? How do kids cope with the real evil aspests existing in their life? Do they have to stand still and fight like Jerry in the novel? Or they have to hide themslves or fade into the background? There is no definite answer, isn't it?