Feb 01, 2006
Room 19 desks
This picture of old wooden desks is very similiar to what I imagine the Room 19 desks to look like. Since the novel centers around a Catholic high school with "brothers" as the teachers, I somehow think that this photo is very fitting to The Chocolate War.
The significance of Room 19 and its desks represents the power the Vigils had over students. The Vigils assigned secret missions to their peers. Missions that caused some sort of catastrophe but no deliberate harm. No deliberate harm, that is, until the chocolate war.
The Vigils gave Goober an assignment that involved sneaking into Room 19 and loosening every single screw in each of the desks. Why? Because the Vigils had the power to make someone commit a crime and just because they could.
It became very clear to Brother Leon the actual power that the Vigils had over the student body when Room 19 fell apart. Brother Leon took advantage of the immoral power the Vigils had and became the evil leader of the chocolate sale which turned into war.
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Kristi,
I like your focus on room #19 and the power that the Vigils held within the school. I would like to highlight on the area of the Vigils' assignments not being meant to "cause deliberate harm to others", but I have frequently questioned myself as to whether or not the Vigils, mainly Carter and Archie, did intend to cause harm to others through the assignments. I get the feeling that Archie is actually hoping for pain to araise because of the assignment, not necessarily physical pain, but more along the lines of mental suffering. Goober was unforunately a victum of mental suffering after the room #19 incident, and I think that Archie feeds off this pain for his sucess. What do you think?
Posted by: Alicia Van Berlo | Feb 01, 2006
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