Heroes- Themes

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  • Created by: Isabella
  • Created on: 31-03-18 17:33

Theme- Heroes

  • Francis- Francis appears as a hero as he is awarded the Silver Star medal which is given to soldiers who have saved the lives of many others. However, Francis only really falls on the Grenade for selfish purposes- to kill himself. He makes it clear that he doesn't want to be recognised as a hero as he knows that what he did, he shouldn't be acknowledged for. In addition, when Nicloe is *****, Francis is there, however, he does nothing to help her or stop it. This stops him from being a hero as although he did not **** Nicole, he allowed the illicit crime to happen which makes him equally as responsible as Larry. 
  • Larry- He is originally portrayed as a hero in the eyes of the children because of how he brought the community together ('Patron saint of the Wreck centre). He understands Francis's low self-esteem and loneliness and makes him the table tennis champion. However, Larry cannot be considered a hero as he abuses the repect the children have for him and the power he has. He does not feel guilty about ****** Nicole which ultimately proves that he cannot be a hero as it is a vile act that he should have been severly punished for. (Could argue that by losing ability to use his legs, he has been punished?)
  • Nicole- At the end of the book, Nicole forgives Francis which ends his obsession with the fact that the **** was his fault. Nicloe has taught Francis that he can live with his problems and move on, like she did, as shown by the quote 'the weight is nice and comfortable', this shows that he accepts the burden of war because of Nicole inspriring him.
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Key Quotes- Heroes

  • 'I am not a hero, of course. I turn away in disgust' -Francis (Certain that his actions weren't that of a hero and he never will be)
  • 'Soldiers were dying...noble deaths' -Francis (Suicide was a shameful way to die, therefore, he went to war as he knew it would be possible to kill himself in a dignified way there)
  • 'I knew what they were doing' -Francis (He was fully aware that Nicole was being ***** by Larry and despite this, he still did nothing to help her or stop it)
  • 'Young, sweet things' -Larry (He is a ********** and sees it as a normal 'guilty pleasure' like everyone else. He says 'we all love our sins', his use of euphemisms suggests that he knows what he does is wrong but he enjoys it so he shouldn't have to stop it. )
  • 'Does that one sin of mine wipe away all the good things?' -Larry (Although Larry is suggesting here that even woth his sins, he has done so much for others that he should still be considered a hero. However, it really questions whether anyone can really be a hero when they have all of their human failings beneath them.)
  • 'You are not to blame for what happened' -Nicole (Nicole says this to Francis, showing that she forgives him and francis doesn't need to feel guilty for it anymore.)
  • 'Be whatever will make you happy' -Nicole (She inspires Francis and gives him a sense of self-worth. He is confident that he is capable of changing his life after speaking to Nicole.)
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Theme- Love

  • Obsessive- Francis is obssessed with Nicole. He is also obsessed with his childhood but only because this reminds him of Nicole. She preoccupies his childhood and he always returns to his childhood in the hope of protecting her. He's focused on the **** Larry did to her and therefore, he is obsessed with killing Larry. Larry also has an obsessive love for children ('young, sweet things') which leads him to take advantage of Nicole.
  • Romaticised- Nicole and Francis's love is pure and innocent, worrying about the small things on their dates. Francis adores Nicole and will do anything for her. Nicole is attracted to Francis's heroic qualitites after he wins the table tennis competitions. He is her 'champion'. In the army, Francis is motivated by both his love for her which has never gone away, and his guilt about his failure to help her when she was attacked. During the war his love and desire for forgiveness turns into the only thing that makes his life worthwhile. Larry also loves Francis and understands his social insecurities, therefore, he makes him win the table tennis championships to gain friends. At the end of the book, Larry stops Francis from becomin a murderer by stopping him from shooting him so he does it himself.
  • Corrupt- Larry's love for grooming children is the corrupt love of a hero. He abuses his power for personal gain and recognises that it is a sin, however, he still believes he can still call it a type of love as 'there's all different kinds of love'. Even Francis's 'pure' love for Nicole is sometimes corrupted through her sexualisation and female objectification.
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Key Quotes- Love

  • 'There's all different kinds of love, Francis' -Larry (The book suggests there is three different types of love: obsessive, romaticised and corrupt)
  • 'We all love our sins' -Larry (Even though Larry's love is wrong, it is still love. However, it leads him to take advantage of Nicole in an unloving way)
  • 'My girl' -Francis (Francis says this about Nicole. He objectifies Nicole and 
  • 'Sweaty hands' -Francis (Shoes his and Nicole's love is pure and innocent as children)
  • 'I knelt there like a knight at her feet, her sword having touched my shoulder' -Francis (Nicole is like a queen to Francis, her acknowledgement of him is considered an achievement. Also suggests that Francis still has a chauvanistic opinion of women as it seems that he believes that because he can't move on from Nicole's **** then it is certain that she wouldn't be able to, therefore, he takes it upon himself to kill Larry because of Nicole's inability as she is a woman. This opinion could also be because he is still a child and would be immature.)
  • 'Dancing in the dark' -Francis (Foreshadows Nicole's ****. 'Dark' connotes fear.)
  • 'Simple white gown that clung to her body like whipped cream' -Francis (Connotation of purity and innocence juxtaposed with Francis's sexualisation of Nicole. 'Whipped cream' implies that like milk is manipulated to create cream, Nicole has been manipulated in some way in order to be sexualised by Francis. This could imply that her **** ended her childhood and made her appearance sexual to others afterwards.)
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Theme- War

  • Physically destructive- Francis had severe facial injuries after jumping on a grenade. The depiction of violence, and its effects, is quite brutal. The clinical and grotesque description of Francis’s facial injuries at the beginning of the novel is a good example of this. War is presented as horrifying and terrifying, with a massive effect on those who fight in it, but Cormier is not concerned with the politics of the war, nor does he make Heroes a pacifist novel
  • Emotionally destructive- The veterans never talk about the war even though it is the one thing that connects them all. This implies that the events were so traumatic that they don't want to remeber them. When Arthur collapses behind the club one night, it suggests that many veterans suffered with their mental health after the war as they were young and had been suddenly been exposed to extremely brutal situations. Larry was not only physically destroyed by the war but also mentally. He once was a very proud and confident man who was seen by a hero by many but after the war he was so badly effected he was suicidal and after being encouraged by Francis, he shot himself.
  • Glamourised- Radio and media glamourised their portrayal of war and concealed the fact that in reality, war was really brutal. it was so glamourised that Francis thought it was a dignified way to die which made him become a verteran. War was a motif for heroism as it seemed that everyone who went to war was a hero despite the sins they had committed and that most of them were still children.
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Key Quotes- War

  • 'I have no face' -Francis (Graphically describes injuries as if he is ashamed of them)
  • 'Like a gargoyle' -Francis (Harsh language highlights his hatred for his appearance)
  • 'Nobody talks about the war' -Francis (Veterans don't talk about the one thing that connects them which suggets the memories are too traumatic to be remebered or discussed. Instead they look to the future as the GI bill allows them to become successful in the future)
  • 'No more young, sweet things' -Larry (War stops Larry from doing the one thing he loves. However, it could be argued that it is punishment for the sins he has committed)
  • 'World isn't safe anymore' -Francis (After the bombing of Pearly Harbour, America realised they were no longer isolated from the war.)
  • 'I saw how young they were' -Francis (War destroyed childhood as many of the veterans were young and innocent and were killed or scarred by their traumatic experiences)
  • 'Soldiers were dying ... noble deaths' -Francis (War was glamourised and people didn't realise just how brutal it was because of its inaccurate portrayal through the media)
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Theme- Appearance Vs. Reality

  • Francis- Francis lies to people about who he is. He disguises his appearance to those he knows.  Francis was awarded a Silver star to commemorate his efforts for saving his comrades. He was portrayed as a war hero. However, his motives for jumping on the grenade were selfish. He saw it as an opportunity for suicide. The image of his face wrapped in bandages connotes images of H.G Wells's invisible man whom Cormier had inspiration from for other books he has written. 
  • The Wreck Centre- After the death of a bride in the Wreck centre, it was closed and refurbished. However, although the new signs and paint appeared to cover the internalk and external damage, the memories remained. It was still known as a 'bad luck place'. There is a sense of foreboding here as it suggested that something bad would happen and there were still flaws in its appearance which implied that the damage was irreversible. Moreover, the word 'wreck' demonstrates how the centre would destroy the childhoods of the two main characters Nicole and Francis as wreck is synonymous for destroy. 
  • Larry- Larry is presented as a hero. He inspires the children and creates a sense of community in the wreck centre. However, there is a sense of 'mystery' in his character as no one knows why a man that successful would leave his previous life to be in a place like Frenchtown. This creates an air of suspicion about him yet the children ignore it. His heroic appearance and attitudes disguise the fact that he is ********** and he uses these qualities to gain respect and trust from the children which he is able to abuse.
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Key Quotes- Appearance Vs.Reality

  • 'Hidden behind a scarf' -Francis (Francis tries to conceal his ideantity from everyone. It implies that he is ashamed of his appearance but also as we know he intends on killing Larry, it could be so that people do not realise who he is when he does this)
  • 'Wreck centre' -Everyone (Instead of being a rec (recreational) centre where the children could take part in events and make friends, it destroyed childhoods, as suggested by the word play.)
  • 'Still a bad luck place' -? Laurier (The wreck centre had a history of tragic events. This foreshadows Nicole's ****)
  • 'Red paint...white paint' -Francis (The white paint symbolises the innocence and purity of the children who went to the wreck centre and trusted Larry. The red paint demonstrates the danger he was to them. It also is a reminder of the previous violence. It could also suggest the love that Larry has for 'sweet, young things' and Francis's love for Nicole as red is also the colour of love)
  • 'Why did he turn his back on show business?' -Joey LeBlanc (Nobody understands why a man with such talents would leave a successful life. However, they are unaware of the fact that he is a ********** which could be why he had to leave his previous job)
  • 'Young, sweet things' -Larry (Larry is not a hero, despite what everyone thinks, as he exploits his position of authority and respect in a corrupted way. He builds relationships with the children for his own personal gains as he is peadophile and takes pleasure in ****.)
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Theme- Religion

  • Nicole- Nicole is the empitome of religion. She is worshiped and adored by Francis and Larry and compared to a saint. She is often described with the colour 'white' suggesting her purity and innocence and her angelic similarities. She is always able to forgive even when Francis doesn't help he when she is *****. This shows her spiritual strength as she is always able to see the good in people and accept that people sin but they can also change their ways. She gives comfort to Francis and inspires him. She stops Francis from killing himself and helps him to find his vocation to which he is presented with multiple avenues that he could follow.
  • Religion does not help people through suffering- When Francis is feeling suicidal, he goes to the church. He feels no comfort from the church as it first appears that he may go to confession but he decides against it and internally discusses suicide. 
  • Sin- Larry sins yet he doesn't see it as a bad thing as it is something that he enjoys doing. The sin that he has prevents him from becoming a hero in the book as the whole book questions whether anyone can truly be a hero as everyone has sinned at some point in their life. The characters know that sin is bad yet they still do nothing to stop themselves from doing it. Despite killing people in the war, Francis only feels guilty about wishing Larry dead as he sees killing in the other situation as an achievement as mahy people are rewarded for it. Larry also knows that it is a sin to kill which is why he stops Francis from shooting him to protect him and stop him from committing another sin.
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Key Quotes- Religion

  • 'Like St Therese' -Francis (Francis says this about Nicole as she is seen as innocent and pure like a saint.)
  • 'You weren't to blame for what happened' -Nicole (Nicole says this to Francis to relieve him from the guilt he feels for it. However, Francis's guilt is still very selfish as he only wants Larry dead to gain Nicole's love and attention.)
  • 'Does that one sin wipe away all of the good things?' -Larry (Although Larry's actions were harsh and cynical, he still believes that the influence he had on all the other children was so great that he shouldn't not be considered a hero.)
  • 'Everybody sins, Francis' -Larry (He doesn't see sinning as such a bad thing as so many people do it, it has become a norm)
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Theme- Childhood

  • Francis- Francis first realises the dangers of the real world when Nicole is *****. He realises that people are deceptive and often conceal things they want to hide under the guise of other heroic qualities. He loses his innocence when he goes to war. He forges a birth certificate as he is too young to join the army using his own age. During the war, he experiences horrific events which effect him throughout the book. He hears a German soldier cry 'Mama' just before he dies in front of him.The connection of age between Francis and the German would make aware of the significance of what had juat happened as he would be able to feel a sense of empathy.
  • Nicole- Nicole loses her innocence when she is ***** by Larry. This forces her to disassociated herself with all of her friends and move away from Frenchtown in hope of finding a better future and escaping the memories of the ****. She, unlike Francis, is able to move on and mature to a point where she accepts that the **** happened, but doesn't let it effect her. She says that she won't see Francis anymore at the end of the book which could be because he reminds her of the **** or to help him escape as he is trapped in the memories of his childhood. At the end, Francis sees a tennis match which could symbolise that because of Nicole he has matured as he was her 'champion' at table tennis.
  • America- America has adopted the policy of containment during the beginnings of the war. America lost their innocence and had to break this policy after the attack on Pearl Harbour as they realised the were no longer safe,
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Key Quotes- Childhood

  • 'plunging the hall into darkness' -Francis (Was aware that something terrible was to come as the dark can hide what Larry didn't want everyone to see. Darkness connotes loss of hope and fear.)
  • 'World isn't safe anymore' -Francis (America realised that they couldn't isolate themselves totally from other countries any longer as they would also find a way to cause harm to the country directly or indirectly. The American people realised that they were living in a dangerous time and they were fuelled with anger at the seemingly unprovoked attack which encouraged many young boys and mean to join the army and support war efforts.)
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