How does Brother Leon pick on Bailey in The Chocolate War?
dymatsuoka eNotes Editor Under the guise of teaching the class a lesson in “political connivance”, Brother Leon calls Bailey, “one of the weak kids, high honor student, but shy, introverted, always reading, his eyes red-rimmed behind…glasses”, to stand in front of the class. As Leon expounds on the subject of discipline, gesturing with his pointer, he suddenly strikes Bailey hard on the cheek, leaving a welt. He tells Bailey he is sorry but “his voice lack(s) apology. Continuing his erratic behavior, Leon then chillingly asks Bailey why he “find(s) it necessary to cheat”. Bailey, stunned, denies the accusation, but Leon persists, offering as evidence a convoluted series of proofs. He says that only a genius could achieve all A’s as Bailey has, and asks Bailey if he considers himself to be a genius. Bailey has no choice but to answer in the negative, to which Leon responds that he must, then, be perfect, and if so, then he must be comparable to God. Since that is obviously not the cas
