Heroes

• Heroes was published in 1998
• Robert Cormier said that he was inspired to write the book by the 50th anniversary celebrations of the D-Day landings of World War II, and the desire to recognise the heroic acts of ordinary people
• Robert Cormier


  • American novelist, best known for his many young adult novels, the most famous one being The Chocolate War
  • Born and brought up in Leominster in Massachusetts, in the French-Canadian section of the town called French Hill
• The United States were brought into the Second World War as a result of the bombing of Pearl Harbour by the Japanese on December 7th, 1941
• The attack made public opinion in the USA switch overnight to pro-war patriotism
• Unlike in Europe there was no conscription, but many Americans volunteered to go and fight overseas
• Heroes


  Set just after the end of the Second World War, and is told in the first person by Francis Cassavant. The narrative moves between three time periods: what happened in Frenchtown as Francis was growing up, the events of the war, and the present
• Francis Cassavant returns to his hometown of Frenchtown. His face has been horribly disfigured by the war: his nose, eyebrows and teeth are gone, and his cheeks are not healing
• Francis is a decorated war hero and he is still in love with his childhood sweetheart, Nicole Renard
• Francis remembers meeting Nicole for the first time, in seventh grade, at school
• Francis walks around Frenchtown, and visits Nicole's old house. He knows she and her family are gone, because a fellow soldier told him during the war
• Francis bumps into another Frenchtown veteran, a man a few years older than him, Arthur Rivier
• Francis visits the 'Wreck Centre'. This had been a town hall until a bride and groom were machine gunned at their wedding reception – then it became a 'bad luck place'
• A charismatic and handsome youth leader, Larry LaSalle, held dance, music and craft classes at the centre. Francis spent most of his free time there
• Nicole joined the dance classes
• Francis remembers LaSalle teaching him table tennis. He did this to boost Francis's confidence and Francis became very good at table tennis
• LaSalle organised a weekend of events, with a table-tennis tournament on the Saturday and a musical on the Sunday in which Nicole stars
• Francis wins the tournament and then plays LaSalle, to satisfy the other kids. He beats LaSalle, as LaSalle lets him win, but only Francis knows this
• The next day Pearl Harbour is attacked, the bombing by the Japanese that led the USA into the war
• LaSalle was one of the first men to enlist, the Monday after that weekend
• Francis and Nicole start going to the movies together
• LaSalle makes the news when he captures an enemy machine gun nest and saves his entire platoon; he gets a Silver Star and is Frenchtown's first big hero
• LaSalle's homecoming in 1943. The whole town, especially the kids, cheered him home
• After the record ends he hears noises, but does not move. He realises LaSalle is sexually assaulting Nicole but does nothing
• Four days after the rape Francis manages to see Nicole. She is angry and blames him
• Francis goes with his gun to LaSalle's apartment. LaSalle tells him he couldn't have stopped him anyway
• LaSalle tells Francis that whether he knew it or not he fell on the grenade to save his comrades
• LaSalle has killed himself
• Francis goes to visit Nicole. She is still in the final year of school. She is recovering, but slowly. She tells him to write about his experiences in the war
• Francis reflects on the 'heroes' and all the scared kids who went to war. He thinks of writing about them, and finding the number of the doctor who wants to reconstruct his face
• Hero


  Someone who acts with courage, selflessness, and integrity, often in the face of adversity
• Francis does not believe he is a hero because his motives were not heroic
• Francis has a sense of shame and guilt
• When Francis returns to Frenchtown he remains anonymous, even asking Arthur to conceal his identity
• Francis lies to Mrs Belander and to others about who he is
• Reason for Francis's lies


  To make it easier to kill LaSalle, and to avoid the recognition and respect he feels he does not deserve
• Francis knows that LaSalle lets him win the table tennis match
• LaSalle's assessment is that the others need for Francis to win, and to believe in the possibility of David beating Goliath
• Francis spends the whole book waiting for LaSalle's return to Frenchtown so that he can seek revenge
• When the moment comes, Francis's hand is shaking and he is overwhelmed