Alex Van Bibber

Mrs. Barnes
Honors ELA Red 3
23 September 2016
Power versus Change: A Rivalry
With every type of power there has been and will be, there is one thing in common; they
do not want anything to change. In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, Liesel was doing what she
thought was right, which influenced those around her to make the same choices. In The
Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, Jerry Renault exercised his free will to not sell the
chocolates, and when people start taking his side The Vigils, a shady organization put together by
the students at Trinity High School, did not like it. In both novels, the main characters used their
freedom and willpower to to do what they thought was right and fair. Something else in common
with both books is that when the main characters stood up, those that were above them felt their
power threatened and became nervous. The theme that those in power hate change is present
through setting, character development, and the climax.
In both stories, the setting suggested that all the people in power want and strive for
control. In The Book Thief death stated, He clenched his eyes. Then opened them. He slapped
Liesel Meminger squarely in the face. Dont ever say that! His voice was quiet, but sharp
(Zusak 116). This action and dialogue was directly after Liesel said she hated the Fhrer to Hans
Hubermann. In Nazi Germany the party wanted so much control and power over its citizens that

those that spoke out against the government or Hitler were taken away and never heard from
again. In The Chocolate War the narrator stated, Someone snickered. Archie stiffened, shot a
look at Carter, a withering look that said, tell them to cut the crap. Carter snapped his fingers,
which sounded in the quiet storage room like the banging of a gavel. The Vigils were grouped in
as usual in a circle around Archie and the kid receiving the assignment (Cormier 32). Archie
had tremendous power and respect from people that when someone acted out of line, even so that
the rest of the Vigils immediately turned on him when they saw Archies distaste. Archie was
worshipped like a god at his school, and nobody had enough backbone to disrespect or argue
with him. When Archie was displeased with someone, they were an outcast. The setting in both
books show how the people in power made sure they had a strong grip on the people under them.
In both books, the characters that were in power both showed that they desperately did
not want anything to change about society. From the book The Chocolate War Archie was
pleased with himself when he thought, He had successfully conned Renault and Leon and The
Vigils and the whole damn school. I can con anyone. I am Archie (Cormier 223). Archie had
successfully tricked Jerry Renault into boxing one of the meanest and most vicious kids in the
entire school. This event was staged as a football rally so that none of the teachers were there.
This shows the students that the event was planned by The Vigils, and everybody knew that the
only person who could pull of this stunt was Archie Costello. Because the event was enjoyable,
the students considered it as a tribute to Archie's power, which gave him a tighter hold on the
student body. He was willing to trick a kid into getting beat up and humiliated in front of the
entire school just to add to his own power and keep people in the same trance of awe and
mystery when they thought of him. He would do almost anything as long as it meant he could

stay in charge. In The Book Thief, the Nazi Party would try to do what was needed to keep their
power over the citizens of Germany. Death states,
Today is a beautiful day, he continued. Not only is it our great leaders birthday- but
we also stop our enemies once again. We stop them reaching into our minds...We put an
end to the disease that has been spread through Germany for the last twenty years, if not
more! He was performing now what is called a Schreierei- a consummate exhibition of
passionate shouting- warning the crowd to be watchful, to be vigilant, to seek out and
destroy the evil machinations plotting to infect the motherland with its deplorable ways.
The immoral! The Kommunisten!. That word again. That old word. Dark rooms. Suitwearing men. Die Juden- the Jews! (Zusak 110).
The Nazi leader was giving a speech to the people at the book burning. The Nazis would say
whatever was necessary to keep the people of Germany on their side. If they had to lie, they
would lie, and if they had to make someone disappear, they would. Whatever was necessary to
have the Nazis survive happened and promoted their cause. Both Archie and the Nazi Party were
characters that would do anything to keep control.
In the climax of both novels, those in charge were at their most desperate point. The
Chocolate War states, Obie smiled maliciously when he caught Archie standing there in
surprise, his mouth wide open in astonishment. No one ever surprised the great Archie that way,
and Obies moment of triumph was a thing of beauty (Cormier 233). Later the narrator states,
The marble was hidden in Archies closed fist. He held his fist out, toward the audience. Archie
held his back stiff. The marle had to be white. He hadnt come this far to be denied at the last
moment. He let a smile play over his lips as he faced the audience, gambling everything in his

show of confidence. He opened his palm and held up the marble for all to see. White (Cormier
235). This ritual of a black box with five white marbles and one black marble was important to
The Vigils, for if Archie drew a white marble the assignment would be carried out as usual. If a
black marble was drawn Archie would have to carry out the assignment himself. In this case, it
would mean him participating in the boxing match. It was later found out Archie knew different
tricks involving sleight of hand, which allowed him to draw a white marble every time. He
cheated the lottery and the system so he would not be humiliated in the ring. In The Book Thief, a
soldier yelled,
Hey! he called in. He pointed with his whip. Hey, girl, what are you doing? Get out of
there. When she ignored him completely, the soldier used his arm to separate the
stickiness of people. He shoved them aside and made his way through. He loomed above
her as Liesel struggled on and noticed the strangled expression on Max Vandenburgs
face. She had seen him afraid, but never like this. The soldier took her. His hands
manhandled her clothes. She could feel the bones in his fingers and the ball of each
knuckle. They tore at her skin. I said get out! he ordered her, and now he dragged the
girl to the side and flung her into the wall of onlooking Germans (Zusak 511).
She was repeatedly disobeying the Nazi soldier, and he became angry and protective about it. He
even grabbed her and threw her away from the Jews. If it was needed, the soldier was willing to
hurt her just so the Nazis ended up in charge and above anyone else. The climax proves that
when it comes down to people in power, they sometimes are willing to act shamefully just to
keep it.

Some people say that the people in power do not mind change, as long as it does not
involve them. They are false because when people change the way to live, they expect other
things to change too. Sometimes this includes their leader. In The Chocolate War, Carter, the
president of The Vigils, stated, Right Archie? The question was loaded with malice. Archie
didnt say anything. He was suddenly in a roomful of strangers and he decided to do nothing at
all (Cormier 173). The official president of The Vigils was confronting the Key Assigner,
Archie. Archie had let the situation with Jerry Renault directly defying The Vigils get out of
hand, which caused nobody to side with him. When that happened, Archie had no allies in the
room to support him. When something changed he was immediately at risk of losing all of his
power. In The Book Thief, the Nazi Party kept control over its citizens by giving them a focus
and direction. If that was gone, people would question the morals of the ones giving the focus.
As a teenager, he was aware that his father had been called Der Juden Maler- the Jew
painter- for painting Jewish houses. Then came an incident Ill fully present to you soon
enough- the day Hans blew it, on the verge of joining the party. Everyone knew you
werent supposed to paint over slurs written on a Jewish shop front. Such behavior was
bad for Germany, and it was bad for the transgressor (Zusak 104).
Hans Hubermann blew his shot at joining the Nazi Party when he became known for painting
over slurs written on a Jewish house. He was considered a man sabotaging the countrys final
goal for Germany. If the Nazis did not have the drive and punishment for those who didnt
comply, they would not stay in power for very long. This is why change can be devastating for
those in charge.

The setting, characters, and climax all suggest that those in power despise change. Any
leader in the world who endears their position and claims it like a title does not appreciate
change because change is a liability to their status. This is proven in both The Book Thief and
The Chocolate War when the people in power oppose the people trying to change. If a leader
accepted all change with an open mind without caring how this would affect their current
position, it would not take long for them to be evicted from their position. Most leaders order
people to stand down and fade into the routine of their society, and most people do, which is how
leaders keep their power. The real inquiry is knowing who would and would not accept change.