Archie enjoys enacting psychological rather than physical violence upon his classmates, and loves to make others squirm. As Jerry emerges as a threat to the Vigils’ control over the school, Archie becomes obsessed with quashing him-and nervous about his ability to remain reliable in the eyes of Brother Leon, the assistant headmaster, with whose combined permission and ignorance Archie can effectively rule the school alone. To rebuke an assignment-a task, prank, or dare-from the Vigils is unheard of on Trinity’s campus that is, until Jerry Renault, instructed to refuse to accept his quota for the chocolate sale for ten days and then relent, keeps up with his protest even after the ten days are up. Archie relishes his unique role on campus-as a member of the Vigils, he is already popular and powerful, but as the assigner, he wields complete control over anyone he wishes. Archie is a cruel, sneaky, and power-hungry boy whose ravenous desire for power and control symbolically manifests as an insatiable craving for chocolate. Archie Costello is the “assigner” of the Vigils, the secret society on-campus at Trinity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |