History Literature / Heroes

''Heroes'' is a 1998 novel written by Creator/RobertCormier. It focuses on Francis Cassavant, a WWII veteran on a mission to kill the man who betrayed him in his youth.

* MysteriousPast: Larry [=LaSalle=] shows up one day in the Frenchtown district of Monument and turns the dubious rec center into a vibrant theater, dance, and exercise studio. However, he discourages questions about his past, and while some people manage to dig up evidence that he was once a famous stage star in New York, no one knows why he'd come from there to a nowhere town like Monument. Some people darkly mention rumors that he'd gotten into trouble and had to leave. [[spoiler:Sometimes rumors are true]].

* VillainsDyingGrace: [[spoiler:Before killing himself, [=LaSalle=] pleads with the suicidal Francis to leave the pain of the war and ''that night'' behind with [=LaSalle=] and live on]].

* VillainsDyingGrace: [[spoiler:Before killing himself, [=LaSalle=] pleads with Francis to leave the pain of the war and ''that night'' behind with [=LaSalle=] and live on]].

* DeerInTheHeadlights: [[spoiler:Francis is paralyzed with shock and denial as he hears his hero [=LaSalle=] raping Nicole--something he'd never forgive himself for]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Played with. Francis demonstrates extremely quick reflexes in one battle, shooting two soldiers before they can act. Scant months beforehand, [=LaSalle=] was praising those very reflexes when it came to table tennis.

* NeverMyFault: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:At first Larry [=LaSalle=] makes a [[ImAManICantHelpIt weak justification]] for his rape of Nicole, and asks if his sin of liking young girls outweighs all the good he's done...but finally admits that he's been thinking of killing himself and that being confronted by Francis has convinced him to go through with it]].

* TheFaceless: Francis states in the opening that "I have no face." He goes on to explain that he still has eyes (no eyebrows), and some ragged flash around his ears, two holes in the middle of his face which seem to constantly fill with phlegm, and no teeth, though his jaw and (raw, red) cheeks are intact.

* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler:Is Francis going to become a writer like Nicole suggested? Is he going to make up for missing high school and go to college on the GI Bill like he claimed he would to Nicole? Is he going to visit his old war friend in whichever hospital he ended up in, or look up the doctor what promised him that he could have him looking good as new? Or is he going to kill himself after all]]?

* MisBlamed: [[spoiler:After [=LaSalle=] raped her, Nicole lashed out at Francis, saying a bunch of things she quickly regretted. When she came to apologize, though, he'd already run away and enlisted]].

* MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler:Francis blames himself for not being able to stop Larry [=LaSalle=] from raping Nicole Renard, even though [=LaSalle=] himself points out that there was nothing a kid like him could've done anyway]].

* ReallySeventeenYearsOld: Francis lied about his age and joined the Army while he was still a middle-schooler--he's still high-school-aged for the non-flashback portions of the novel.

** Larry [=LaSalle=] was sincere about his desire to teach kids to have a better life, and really cared for his students. He honestly joined the army to protect the country (and our of rage at Pearl Harbor) and performed admirably, earning a Silver Star for raiding a Nazi gun nest. [[spoiler:But he's also a pedophile who's groomed and raped at least one of the children he teaches ''that we know of'', claiming to be unable to help himself]].

* VillainsDyingGrace: [[spoiler:Before killing himself, [=LaSalle=] pleads with Francis to leave the pain of the war and ''that night'' behind with him and live on]].

** Francis [[spoiler:only joined the Army so that he'd die in action because he couldn't bear to kill himself, and threw himself on the grenade in the hopes of dying. By doing so, he saved the lives of his platoon and survived, but he doesn't feel like a hero]].

* BrokenPedastal: [[spoiler:Larry [=LaSalle=] for both Francis and Nicole]].

** Larry [=LaSalle=] was sincere about his desire to teach kids to have a better life, and really cared for his students. He honestly joined the army to protect the country and performed admirably, earning a Silver Star for raiding a Nazi gun nest. [[spoiler:But he's also a pedophile who's groomed and raped at least one of the children he teaches ''that we know of'']].

* BrokenAce: Larry [=LaSalle=], an excellent athlete, actor, dancer, and teacher, with movie-star looks, powerful charisma...[[spoiler:and a taste for very young teens]].
* CoolTeacher: [=LaSalle=] was one to all the kids in the Wreck Center, and then [[BadassTeacher he joined the Army and earned a Silver Star]]. [[spoiler:When he went on leave for the first time, he did something very not cool, but only two kids knew about it]].

** Earlier on, [[spoiler: Francis himself]] considered throwing himself off the church rooftop, but decided against doing so.

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Because of his reasons for joining the Army and for jumping on the grenade, Francis doesn't see his actions as worthy of being honored.

* MisBlamed: [[spoiler:After [=LaSalle=] raped her, Nicole lashed out at Francis, saying a bunch of things she quickly came to regret. When she came to apologize, though, he'd already enlisted]].

* NeverMyFault: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:At first Larry [=LaSalle=] makes a [[ImAManICantHelpIt weak justification]] for his rape of Nicole, and asks if his sin of liking young girls outweighs all the good he's done...but finally admits that he's been thinking of killing himself and that Francis has convinced himself to go through with it]].
* ReallySeventeenYearsOld: Francis lied about his age and joined the Army while he was still a middle-schooler.

* VillainsDyingGrace: [[spoiler:Before killing himself, [=LaSalle=] pleads with Francis to leave the war and ''that night'' behind with him and live on]].

* TheseHandsHaveKilled: Frances flashes back to a time when he shot two German soldiers no older than he was, and later recounts the event to someone else with regret.

** Francis [[spoiler:only joined the Army so that he'd die in action because he couldn't bear to kill himself, and threw himself on the grenade in the hopes of dying. By chance, he saved the lives of his platoon and survived, but he doesn't feel like a hero]].
* BrokenAce: Larry [=LaSalle=], an excellent athlete, actor, dancer, and teacher, with looks and charm...[[spoiler:and a taste for very young teens]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Played with. Francis demonstrates extremely quick reflexes in one battle, shooting two soldiers before they can act. Scant months beforehand, [=LaSalle=] was praising those very reflexes when it came to tablet tennis.

* MisBlamed: [[spoiler:After [=LaSalle=] raped her, it seems Nicole lashed out at Francis, saying a bunch of things she quickly came to regret. When she came to apologize, though, he'd already enlisted]].

''Heroes'' is a 1998 novel written by Creator/RobertCormier. It focuses on Francis Cassavant, a veteran on a mission to kill the man who betrayed him in his youth.

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:[=LaSalle=] remembers his days at the Wreck Center and the kids he taught fondly. He gently tells Francis not to feel guilty about Nicole's rape because there was nothing he could do about it--[=LaSalle=] being the one who perpetrated the rape, this doesn't exactly make Francis feel better.]].

** [[spoiler:It turns out that when he fell on the grenade, Francis was actually trying to kill himself out of the guilt that haunted him since [=LaSalle=]'s rape of Nicole Renard]].
* TheFaceless: Francis states in the opening that "I have no face." He goes on to explain that he still has eyes (no eyebrows), and some ragged flash around his ears, two holes in the middle of his face which seem to constantly fill with phlegm, and no teeth, though his jaw and cheeks are intact.

* SecretKeeper: Arthur Rivier, one of Francis's friends, recognizes him but keeps quiet about it at his request.

* AccidentalAthlete: Larry [=LaSalle=] noticed Francis moping about the Wreck Center about how he wasn't good at anything, and having watched him during calisthenics suggests that his reflexes might suit him for table tennis, which he turns out to be great at.

* ReallySeventeenYearsOld: Francis lied about his age and joined the Army while he was still around fourteen.

* MysteriousPast: Larry [=LaSalle=] shows up one day in the Frenchtown district of Monument and turns the dubious rec center into a vibrant theater dance and exercise studio. However, he discourages questions about his past, and while some people manage to dig up evidence that he was once a famous stage star in New York, no one knows why he'd come from there to a nowhere town like Monument. Some people darkly mention rumors that he'd gotten into trouble and had to leave. [[spoiler:Sometimes rumors are true]].

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:[=LaSalle=] remembers his days at the Wreck Center and the kids he taught fondly. He gently tells Francis not to feel guilty about Nicole's rape because there was nothing he could do about it--[[LaSalle]] being the one who perpetrated the rape, this doesn't exactly make Francis feel better.]].

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Larry shoots himself after Francis confronts him]].

* TheFaceless: Francis states in the opening that "I have no face."

''Heroes'' is a 1998 novel written by Robert Cormier. It focuses on Francis Cassavant, a veteran on a mission to kill the man who betrayed him in his youth.