The character of Francis exhibits all the classic signs of guilt, he wants to repent for his sins and feels that through exacting revenge on Larry LaSalle he will achieve a certain level of forgiveness. The deep seated guilt he feels is a reflection of his upbringing, the stereotypical guilty Catholic; his childhood experiences shaping the way he rationalises and approaches his life. He is constantly attempting to absolve himself of the guilt he feels for not rescuing Nicole from Larry, his initial response is to take his own life, a decision that is thwarted by his own inner admonishment.
The reader is first introduced to the word hero when Francis is recalling a conversation he had with his friend and comrade Enrico, ‘You’re a big hero, a Silver Star hero.’ Enrico tells him, Francis denies this revelation, but at this stage makes no indication as to why he feels this way. The denial he has of his heroism is common among people that have performed heroic actions; hence the reader could naturally conclude that Francis is merely being a reluctant hero, modest in his bravery. The notion of this however, slowly unravels as the novel progresses; he continues to elude conversing about the events that transpired but the reader eventually comes to learn of his past.
While Francis was away at war he found himself in a situation where he threw himself on a grenade, an action that ultimately saved the lives of his platoon, but resulted in his severe disfiguring injuries. For his courage he was awarded the highest honour, the Silver Star medal, this fact appears to be a source of antagonism for Francis, when he is confronted with the mention of his heroism he is forced to remember what he believes are his own selfish reasons for falling on the grenade. His motivation for going to war was triggered by his inability to kill himself; Francis’ previous attempts at ending his life had only served to incite yet more guilt in him, he did not want to tarnish the memory of his parents ‘how could I die by leaping from a steeple ...’ and having altered his birth certificate, ‘the next morning I boarded a bus for Fort Delta’. With the belief that he was ‘too much of a coward to kill myself’, he decided that the easier option was to put himself in a place where his death seemed inevitable.
The character of Larry LaSalle is never completely understood, as the reader is never exposed to situations from his perspective. The story of Larry is told through the medium of Francis, this limits the scope of Larry’s personality; the reader never experiences his psyche or the impact his actions have on his emotional state. Any conclusions the reader may develop as a result of the information they are given is purely conjecture, it is only at the end of the novel when Francis confronts Larry that we are exposed to what could be considered a veritable display of Larry’s internalisations.
The instant Robert Cormier introduces the character of Larry LaSalle the reader is acutely aware of the immediate outpouring of idolisation bestowed on him by the children. For instance, when he tells the children his name they question whether it is real or not, exuding charisma he answers ‘That’s right, it’s real’ and as Francis recalls ‘and for some reason the crowd applauded’, the children of the wreck centre are instantaneously smitten with this glamorous figure that wants to be a part of their lives. Robert Cormier presages the debut of the character Larry with allusions to his past, a past that is shrouded in mystery and though Larry’s history remains concealed throughout the novel, the reader is able to deduce the subtle and implicit messages given by Cormier and form their own opinions.
As the character of Larry bonds with the children of the wreck centre, Cormier hints at the distance between him and Nicole. While the majority of the children at the wreck centre seem entirely enamoured with Larry LaSalle, Cormier uses Nicole as a device to hint at the uneasy feeling that pervades their relationship. Francis’ observations that Nicole rarely spends time at the wreck centre other than when she is dancing, suggests that there may be an underlying reason for this. It is only when they are dancing that Larry is able to be close to Nicole as she appears to rebuke his attention by removing herself from other social situations involving him.
One of the main differences between the characters Larry, Francis and Nicole is the presence of guilt. While Francis did nothing to help Nicole when Larry was attacking her, she too remained passive in the situation, disabled by the actions of a man seen by many as a saving grace. If Francis had not been present when Larry was attacking Nicole the outcome would have been the same, Nicole acknowledges this later in the novel when she apologises to Francis. The irony of the situation is that the one person that should be harbouring guilt, due to their actions, does not appear to be expressing anything akin to that emotion, yet the victims are experiencing a debilitating amount. Francis is unable to relieve himself of the guilt of not helping Nicole and Nicole is left with the feeling of guilt for blaming Francis.
The novel draws some parallels between the characters of Larry and Francis. Francis is determined to conceal his identity from those around him; he does not want them to know the person he has become. This is a blatant decision on his part, as he also does not want them to disrupt his plan of killing Larry. The character of Larry could also be seen as hiding his true identity. The mystery of where he came from and why he left a life of show business behind, is a pertinent question posed to the reader, ‘No one dared ask him although there were dark rumours that he had gotten into trouble in New York City’ this helps to affirm the dissonance between the Larry that Francis once knew and the one he knows now.
Both characters possess both heroic and cowardly traits, in the aftermath of Larry’s attack on Nicole, they both chose to leave rather than face the consequences that would surely follow. The difference however, is that while Francis’ decision is indicative of the guilt he feels for not coming to Nicole’s aid and is spurred on by his attempted suicide, Larry’s motivation though could have been entirely selfish. Rather than being consumed with guilt for taking advantage of Nicole, he is more concerned with the backlash that may follow, if as his past suggests, he has had this type of encounter before so surely knows what to expect.
The novel progresses to its dramatic standoff between the protagonist, Frances Cassavant and Larry LaSalle. When Francis finally gets the chance to confront Larry for what occurred in their past he is struck by his fragility, ‘He is pale, eyes sunk into the sockets like in the news reel at the Plymouth, and he seems fragile now’, this causes a momentary stirring of empathy in Francis, knowing that they shared the unique experience of surviving a war and seeing firsthand the devastation that can change a life forever. Larry seems resigned, even apathetic that his urges were unchangeable and that these should not be seen as conflicting with his genuine affection for the children of the wreck centre. Larry unrepentantly asks Francis, ‘Does that one sin of mine wipe away all the good things?’ this suggests that he believes his other actions should be prevailing over one sin, which could be construed as him placing more value on one person’s life over another. The fact that he saved numerous lives in the war, yet defiled Nicole’s innocence demonstrates that he believes that the valour of one action outweighs the cowardice of the other.
Larry’s final action is to absolve Francis of the task of killing him, it is not clear whether the motivation for this is a selfless one; Larry tells Francis that he has contemplated taking his own life before. The situation could have provided Larry with enough justification to end his life as he knows that he is not the man he once was. The aftermath of Larry’s suicide gives Francis the catharsis he deserves; removing the subsequent guilt Francis would be subjected to if he had killed Larry, it could be determined that this was Larry’s last heroic action, by killing himself he is saving Francis’ life.
The opening chapter of the book provides the reader with all of the knowledge needed in order for the story to develop; they are introduced to the main character, given his location and a brief insight into his current predicament. The first chapter also mentions the characters Nicole and Larry, by doing this Cormier is setting the stage as to who will be an important player in the novel.
Robert Cormier chose not to structure the book in chronological order; he alternates the chapters between the past and the present. The use of this narrative device to tell a large chunk of the story in retrograde, enables the writer to move the story forward by revealing information about the characters in context. Disclosing a little bit more information each chapter holds the reader’s attention and facilitates the flow of the story.
The instances where Francis is recalling the past could be viewed as his memories, as the novel is written in the first person we are seeing the story from his perspective only, therefore the flashbacks that develop are limited to his experience of that particular point in time. The flashback chapters are a build up to the events that transpired in the future, without these insights it would be difficult to understand the motivation of the characters’ actions. The alternating chapters give the reader the opportunity to construct an understanding of Francis’ motivation in the chapters set in the present. Cormier often ends the chapter with a line or sentence that builds the tension, sometimes this is preceding a flashback chapter meaning that the reader must read on in order to discover what will happen in the present and how the flashback chapter relates to it.
In the novel Robert Cormier uses the backdrop of war to highlight the discrepancies between the public face of an individual and the aspects of their personality that remain hidden from view. Very few of the characters in the book escaped the war unscathed; the adversity faced in the war created unsuspecting heroes and demonstrated the harsh realities that do not end just because the war has ended.
Cormier uses the war to present a situation where a person’s “heroism” has left them irrefutably scarred by the event both physically and psychologically, and contrasts the external veneration felt by the public for war heroes against the internal struggle of the hero. The character of Larry LaSalle perfectly encapsulates and represents a credible, multi faceted person; with one aspect of his life being completely discordant with another. Cormier uses Francis and Larry to explore the idea that a war hero is not a single entity; while the people around them may see only the heroism, they are in fact the sum of all of their actions both good and bad. This creates a distinct problem when cultivating the ideal war hero and suggests that Cormier has used the title ‘Heroes’ in an ironic way, prefacing the themes and attitudes explored within the novel.
Francis’ prior conversations with Arthur Rivier had always touched on the heroes that the war created, the medals that people won, the actions they took, but later in the novel when Arthur gets drunk he reveals his true feelings about the war and the people that were part of it “We weren’t heroes. We were only there”. This exposes the inability, which accompanies some of the people involved, when it comes to expressing their actual emotions regarding the war. The reality that not all of the soldiers joined the war effort because of their overwhelming patriotism, but rather out of unavoidable conscription, reflects the negative emotions that are bottled up inside by people such as the character of Arthur Rivier.
Cormier does not provide simple resolutions at the end of the novel; there is no certainty in what any of the characters will achieve in the future, or whether they will completely overcome the obstacles created by their past experiences. This type of ending is laced with realism, we are left with the knowledge that the characters must go on with the rest of their lives, but we know that the tragedies that have befallen them are not easily forgotten, as is often the case in real life.
