The Chocolate War: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

On the way home from school, Jerry stops in at a store and looks at a Playboy magazine. He worries that a girl will never love him, and that he will die before he gets to touch a girl’s breast. Jerry is too intimidated to buy the magazine, however, and leaves the store empty-handed.

Out at the bus stop, Jerry reflects on the three days of brutal football tryouts he has endured, and stares at some hippies who have gathered in the Common across the street. Once a strange sight to behold, they are now “part of the scenery,” and Jerry is so absorbed in looking at them that he doesn’t notice when one of them crosses the street to come talk to him. The hippie calls Jerry out for staring at their group. Jerry denies staring, but the hippie presses him further, urging Jerry not to ogle their group as if they are “sub-humans.”

Jerry attempts to extricate himself from the conversation, but the hippie keeps on nagging Jerry. He tells Jerry that it is Jerry who is the “sub-human” for following the same routine; Jerry, he says, is a “square boy,” who is already middle-aged at just fourteen. The bus arrives, and Jerry hurries to get on. The hippie calls out to Jerry: “You’re missing a lot of things in the world, better not miss that bus.”

As Jerry boards the bus, his heart hammers in his chest. The hippie’s words echo in his ears. He tells himself to ignore them, but cannot. He looks up at some advertising placards above the bus windows, and sees some graffiti scrawled there. Why, one person has written. Why not, someone else has scribbled. Jerry closes his eyes, exhausted, not wanting to think about the obvious symbolism.