Robert Cormier

"And you don't even know who to trust anymore. Do you know who the bad guys are?" [...] "Of course you don't. Because you can't tell the good guys from the bad guys anymore. Nobody knows these days. Nobody. (Cormier 18)" Trust is an important aspect of everyday life especially when growing up in a society full of liars and cheats. When you trust someone you want them to keep their word but sometimes they might turn on you. In this paper I will bring forth how Robert Cormier uses different narrative and literary techniques to show the underlying theme of ‘be careful who you trust’ and ‘you will stand alone against society.’ Initially in the novel I Am the Cheese, Adam trusts his parents. However, when he starts to question his life he is hit

Robert Cormier also is believed to have emphasized a subgenre of new realism and has been criticized for expressing the evil side of human nature. Robert Cormier uses a unique way of narration in I Am the Cheese and his other novels, “Cormier utilizes diverse narrative techniques to elaborate the significance of his works and thus achieves a unique correspondence between form and content” (Shen). Robert Cormier uses the narrator to show the uncorrupt side of the novel, “A narrator who is not a liar or deliberately deceitful even in the slightest” (Marcus). Robert Cormier also uses a three-part structure to help the story progress and challenge the reader to follow, “The most challenging element of I Am the Cheese is its three-part structure” (Galens). The three-part structure helps Adam’s story of his life be expressed in a different way for each, “Adam is given three separate voices” (Galens).These points of view the story help build the suspense until the last word is read, “The point of view and plot are both structured so the tension of the novel isn’t released until the ending, “The point of view and plot are both structured so the tension of the novel is increased until the very last page” (Peck) Along with the tension the three-part structure does resolve for the reader, “Gradually, the pieces come together” (Galens). Overall, Cormier’s structure, narrative styles, and writing style makes I Am the Cheese a suspenseful story, “Cormier pulls out the rug from under readers with his final two, brief chapters”