No Such Thing as a Hero in the Novel, Heroes by Robert Cormier

In the novel Heroes, Cormier presents Francis Cassavant as the protagonist and narrator of the novel. Francis is very important to the novel as the story tells us the events that in his life from his own point of view, giving us a direct insight into his thoughts and feelings as things happen.

In the book “Hero” by Perry Moore, Thom Creed the main character, is a high school basketball star who struggles in finding his desire, love and the truth about his future. Though, there are many secrets that he is hiding, he then discovers that by facing his own insecurity, he would be able to find his happiness. Hal Creed, Thom’s father has always been supportive of Thom. He would attend most of Thom’s basketball games and cheer him on. However, Thom wasn’t the only keeping secrets, one of his biggest secrets would be him being gay. On the other hand, Hal is in pain after what happened to him in the past, his wife’s disappearance. This made him not really ready to talk about his past and not allowing Thom to speak or even play with superhero figures. Which then comes

The novel, The invisible hero by Elizabeth Fensham explores the theme of heroism and villainy. Heroism can be defined as doing a selfless act in hope of inspiring others. Villainy can be defined as an act of doing something ‘evil’ in spite of another person or group. although it is commonly known that heroes and villains are polar opposite it is much more complex because it all depends on perspective. This idea of heroism and villainy will be expressed through an analysis of the style, characters, setting and plot.

In the novel ‘Heroes’ by Robert Cormier, a young war veteran returns to his hometown, Frenchtown, and seeks out revenge on the man who mentally scarred both him and the girl he loved when they were young. In the novel, Francis Cassavant is the main protagonist who returns from war with horrific wounds and scars. Also, Francis can be described as a character with deeply rooted issues as when he was young he heard the girl he loved get raped by the man who he believed to be a hero. The theme of heroism is something widely discussed in the novel, Francis’ image of heroes have been distorted from seeing all the terrible and cowardly things he, and other people who were referred to as heroes, did. He struggles to see himself as a hero, despite having saved many lives, as he viewed the actions he took to be a so-called hero as cowardly and unworthy of gaining this title.

As time goes on and new generations come about, many of the ideals of former generations seem to become irrelevant. Scott LaBarge, a professor of philosophy, elaborates on this idea and others in his essay. “Why Heroes Are Important” is LaBarge’s pursuit to persuade others of his idea of heroes in today’s society. He claims that many of our youth do not know what a proper hero is and that former generations should be educating them. LaBarge begins his persuasion by describing his personal experience and credibility; then, he briefly describes the history of heroes to tie in his opinion on the definition; finally, he uses Aristotle’s idea of Kairos to explain how his opinion proves true according to current events.

Robert Cormier wrote this in 1941 when he was roughly the same age as Francis (a character from the novel) and published it in 1998. Robert Cormier wanted to join the army but unfortunately he had bad eye sight, so instead he stayed behind and wrote a novel called ‘Heroes’. Cormier uses descriptive language when he describes the first look of Francis, “… the absence of my nose… my teeth are gone but my jaw is intact… they click when I talk…” As readers, we show sympathy towards Francis at the being of the novel. This is catastrophic because Francis mentions him having “no face”.

Cormier’s novella Heroes conveys his deep meanings of heroism through scenes from both the present and the past, first person narration, dialogue, characters confiding to others and confronting scenes. The build-up of characters and all their eventual downfalls, all combine to form a story of ostensible male war heroes which are overshadowed by the virtuous, selfless young girl, Nicole, who was raped and

Have you ever witnessed an innocent person become corrupt? There were many themes throughout the book, Heroes, but the corruption of innocence was the main theme. The corruption of innocence is when a person who was pure and innocent has had a traumatic event happen to them, then they are corrupt. Robert Cormier portrays the corruption of innocence perfectly in his book.

How can someone be willing fall on a bomb then live, but not want to be recognized as a hero? In the book “Heroes” by Robert Cormier, the main character, Francis Cassavant, does just that. Francis Joseph Cassavant is a shy boy with a very low esteem and a hatred for himself causing him to become a suicidal character.

A hero is a person who believes that their enemy is not inherently malevolent, but also has wit and bravery. Benjamin Church is that hero, he was an Englishman who went from leading a small group of men to leading an army. Church was brave, when he gets hurt he risks his life for the sake of the mission. After a little while he returned to battle for the sake of the army even though he was not fully recovered, and when he left war to be with his family he went back. Church also had compassion, when an Englishmen enslaved or killed an innocent Indian he would get mad because he believes that not all Indians are malevolent. Thirdly Church had wit, his ideas of building an army is what won the war for Plymouth and saved key alliances for building

Francis Cassavant isn’t the hero people think he is Francis demonstrates he is not a hero through his words and actions in the book Heroes by Robert Cormier. Francis is not a hero because he doesn’t defend Nicole. Larry,Nicole,and Francis were the only ones left in the Wreck Center.

In comparison to classical heroes otherwise known as ordinary people, a hero is seen as a person who is admired or idealized for outstanding achievements, courage and noble qualities. Robert tries to take on the responsibility of a “guardian”, to protect his sister Rowena, who is in an abnormal state and looked down upon by society. Yet, when Rowena desperately needed Robert, “he was locked in his bedroom. Making love to his pillows” (Findley, 16). After Rowena’s death Robert reacts by enlisting himself in war. “So Robert Ross was admitted to the army, 2nd of April, 1915” (Findley, 24). In search of innocence, Robert Ross loses his own due to the calamities of war. Rowena’s death served as a catalyst for Robert to join the army. Initially,

Francis demonstratesdemostrates he is a hero through out his words, thoughts and actions.i In the book, Hheroes by Robert Cormieeir . Francis was a silver star saved his comrades. Francis jump on a grenade and saved everyone that was around the grenades. Francis stayed loyal to his fellow soldierssoliders and protected them. Francis joined the army at age 18, and served for frenchtown and was the youngest man in the service. He sacrificedsacraficed half his face for the life of his comrades and came back not the

“It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.” (Lee, 1989, p. 111) This quote from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, displays that bravery and courage are not always the stereotypical dream of someone who is heroic. Clichéd heroism comes in many different forms, ranging from noble self-sacrifice to superheroes. This is a satisfactory example of courage however it is not the true definition of a hero.

Growing up in living at home I would always hear Bob Marley music coming out of my brother Xavier’s room and wondering what was so special about him. He would hang posters of him on his walls and have cd’s of his music and I had never understood why my brother idolized him to where he was a “hero” of his. All I typically knew about Bob Marley was that he was a Jamaican and smoked weed, but looking more into his background life and growing up in Jamaica. I never knew how much of an activist and well-spirited person he was. He didn’t care about all about the money and fame he cared about getting his music out there to let the world here and let their worries just wash away with the sound of his voice. He was a voice not only for his people but for the world, and that’s why I think Bob Marley is a hero worth analyzing.