"It takes an act of faith to live today".
This was the attitude that Robert Cormier had when he was writing. He believed that people were living in terrifying times that would leave individuals powerless and fending for themselves (Stines 107). Robert Cormier felt that the children of today needed to be exposed to reality and not to fiction. In all of his writings Cormier used realistic story lines that often left critics objecting to his writings. He frequently drew on experiences from his own childhood and that of his son to make his stories more realistic. Born as the son of Lucien and Irma Cormier on January 17, 1925 in Leominster, Massachusetts, Cormier often used his own life experiences to help him with his writings (Bryfonski 133). As a child Cormier attended a strict Catholic school. Cormier found the experiences there not very positive. Some of the teachers he had were not very nice. He found the nuns rather hard to deal with and he felt that his abilities were not well recognized. "You know, I think our lives are driven by guilt. With me it all goes back to the nuns - making us feel so darn guilty about everything," (Campbell). However, it was when one of his teachers read a story he wrote and told him he had a natural talent, he decided to pursue writing (Stiens, 111). In spite of his negative school experiences, he continued to be a practicing Catholic and his own children attended Catholic school.
Writing as a journalist in 1948 for the Fitchburg Sentinel, was Cormier's first job in writing. Later Cormier began working at a radio station where he delivered news broadcasts. Cormier also worked as a reporter for several local newspapers.
Cormier used his own life experiences to develop his writings. His father's death from cancer was the prompt for his first novel Now and at the Hour (Bryfonski 133). It was the story of a New England mill worker who was dying of cancer. In his fourth novel The Chocolate War Cormier uses his own son's refusal to sell chocolate as a school fund-raiser as a prompt.
The book I am the Cheese by Robert Cormier, is a very worrisome book to me. ... Cormier reverses the typical orphan structure, as Adam discovers he is an orphan only at the end of the novel, rather than at the beginning, where the central character's orphanage is usually established. ... Adam always hesitates or stops singing to himself after he get to " Heigh-ho, the merry-o, The cat takes the rat- (Cormier 21). ...
In the Chocolate War, Robert Cormier uses the third person perspective so he could get everyone's actions in together to explain the uses of power even better. ... Archie Costello finds Emile in the Trinity parking lot stealing gas out of a student's car (Cormier, 48). ... Archie holds his control and Emile caves into all Archie's wishes with out question (Cormier, 104). ... When he decides to take on the fundraising of the chocolates he thought that every student would participate out of compulsory and duress (Cormier, 116). ... Robert Cormier uses power and it's eff...
After the first death After the First Death, by Robert Cormier is a complex psychological thriller which was published in 1979. ... Cormier confronts and challenges the reader to decide who the good characters are and who the bad characters are, and this is yet another way that this novel does not conform to the stereotypical view of what a thriller novel is. ...
Robert Cormier has been noted on several accounts for his tendency to portray the darker side of human nature. ... Cormier successfully evokes a horrific response through the effective use of plot. ... Robert Cormier arouses his readers emotionally through the novels gripping plot. ... In his novel Fade, Robert Cormier profoundly establishes an intriguing plot with well-rounded characters and suspenseful circumstances that captivate the reader and leaves them yearning to read on to the next page. ... Robert Cormier distinctly evokes a horrific and complex emotional response in the reader thro...
Many different themes are expressed in the novel The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. The two themes that are most prevalent in this novel are god versus evil and courage. The main character Jerry Rennault is completely involved with these themes. One theme that is very prevalent is good versus ev...
After the First Death by Robert Cormier (1979) similarly demonstrates that aggression is natural but also fuelled by external circumstances. ... Cormier's novel is extremely post modern leaving readers somewhat lost at times. ... Tackling such major and difficult issues as Cormier does in the text means that to fully understand the meaning trying to be conveyed, we need to be aware of these gaps and silences. ...
In each power struggle involving Archie in the chocolate war by Robert Cormier, Archie posses something his opponents want. ... In each power struggle involving Archie in The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, Archie posses something his opponents want. ...
In the novel The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, there is a group called The Vigils. ... Campbell's Presenting Robert Cormier she suggests, "All of the three villains (the black box, Archie and Leon) are all vulnerable" (46), and "none of the three is an implacable, unconquerable force (46). ... Robert Cormier once said in an interview that he "find(s) the adolescent years intriguing to write about, cause you've got kids with raw emotions and you put them in perilous situations and you got all the stuff of drama"" (gconversations). ... Similar to Robert Cormier, William Golding als...
In the novel After the First Death by Robert Cormier there are number of important moral issues. In this essay I have to write what are the moral issues and how are they treated or resolved in the novel. What is our position and opinion as the reader on the issues? The first moral issue in the no...
