The Chocolate War

The first sentence of the novel is “They murdered him.” How does this foreshadow the motif of physical violence throughout the novel, and what kinds of hopes or ideas are metaphorically murdered in the novel?

Using a critical lens, examine the representation of women and girls in the novel. Consider how the social constructs of patriarchy, matriarchy, or gender and sexuality influence your analysis.

A third-person omniscient narrator tells the story and shifts between various characters’ internal thoughts. How does this narrative technique help develop the theme of The Turmoil of Adolescence? How might the novel and its representation of adolescence be different if it were narrated from one character’s first-person point of view?