Brother Leon is, beyond any doubt, one amongst the many power-twisted members of Trinity. Early in the novel, his manipulative personality defines his teaching style. Leon’s use of the students for his personal gain, however, is most unsettling. Evilness aside, I find his arc in the story quite interesting. Leon comes out of the gate as cool as a cucumber, punishing and torturing, all with the calm demeanor of unquestioned authority. However, he loses this calm when people like Jerry and Archie challenge his power. Throughout the novel Leon transforms from a cruel and calculating chess player to a panicky, sweat-drenched, unhinged monster. Not only is he always laboriously breathing, but Cormier constantly describes him as damp in some way. His eyes water, his mouth and upper lip are usually moist, and his nervous sweating rockets to new heights with every panicked scene. To go even further, Cormier suggests by Leon’s putrid breath that the man subsists on an exclusive diet of bacon.

Since Cormier portrays Leon’s authority as equal parts horrifying and ineffective, I find Leon’s desperation to regain power most compelling for the fact that it works. Through an albeit shaky-handed manipulation, Leon succeeds in the chocolate sale and punishes Jerry. Watching Jerry’s crucifixion from the distance, Leon mirrors the clean-handed Pontius Pilate, who cleverly removes blame from himself while maintaining invisible authority by placing proxy power in the hands of a crowd he trusts to make the decision he wants. Leon, who seems destined to be the ineffectual figurehead of misplaced authority at Trinity, comes out on top by the filthy, underhanded means which Archie characterizes. This conclusion speaks to Cormier’s incredibly nuanced portrayal of power and cruelty.