Do I dare disturb the Universe?

At this point in my life I have read A LOT of young adult novels and I must say, writer of young adult literature REALLY LIKE POETRY REFERENCES!! Fortunately, I also really enjoy poetry references and their ability to enhance our understanding of a scene or character. This is very much present in the novel The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier in which he references the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Elliot. An example of its use is found in the following excerpt from chapter nineteen of Cormier’s novel:

Jerry opened his locker. He had thumbtacked a poster to the back wall of the
locker on the first day of school. The poster showed a wide expanse of beach, a sweep
of sky with a lone star glittering far away. A man walked on the beach, a small
solitary figure in all that immensity. At the bottom of the poster, these words
appeared— Do I dare disturb the universe? By Eliot, who wrote the Waste Land
thing they were studying in English. Jerry wasn’t sure of the poster’s meaning. But it
had moved him mysteriously. It was traditional at Trinity for everyone to decorate the
interior of his locker with a poster. Jerry chose this one. (Ch. 19)

Now, before I move on to my analysis of this passage, it is only right that I also share the poem, or at least the stanza, in which this piece of the novel took its inspiration from. Here’s the stanza:

And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —
(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”)
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin —
(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

I found this passage to be extremely interesting because from the perspective of the reader it is so clear as to why this poster is in Jerry’s locker. It is clear how this simple item speaks so heavily to his experience. A piece of me couldn’t help but want to shout at Jerry, DO YOU NOT REALIZE JUST HOW MUCH YOU ARE DISTURBING YOUR UNIVERSE? In referencing this poem ever so subtly, Cormier is providing commentary on the character development of Jerry and his increasing urge to take risks and question the structure of the institution that he attends. What starts off as an “assignment” that he is forced into evolves into an internal conflict and leads Jerry to question go against what is expected of him..and for what? The answer to that question is not clear to Jerry himself, but just like the poem suggests, he acknowledges,even if subconsciously, that things are not okay in their current state, and in turn his deviance challenges it. I think that Cormier wanted to make this development clear to the reader because Jerry himself does not necessarily provide us with this as directly as the use of the poem does. It’s quite interesting when you think of it. It kind of makes me wonder, what kinds of posters do the other characters have in their lockers, and what does it say about them? Hmm..maybe that will be the topic of a future post.