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Heroes flashcards - key quotations and information.
‘the war is over and I have no face’
Francis speaks matter of factly about his injuries
It highlights that he fought in the war and has injuries from fighting
‘my nostrils are like two small caves’
He is missing parts of his face after jumping on a grenade
gross imagery - childish?
‘don’t expect anybody to select you for a dance when it’s Girls’ Choice at the canteen’
His friends are making jokes about his appearance
‘I wear a scarf that covers the lower part of my face’
He hides his identity
‘I wear my old army fatigue jacket’
He is shaped by his past
‘I am like the Hunchback of Notre Dame’
His appearance is horrifying to other people
‘they click when I talk and slip around my mouth’
Not nice imagery
Doesn’t realise that how he is talking isn’t normal
He is a young man but dentures are usually for old men - this is a juxtaposition
Family
Uncle Louis looked after Francis after his parent’s death
described as a ‘silent giant of a man’
cared for Francis but ‘seldom’ spoke to him apart from asking him about his day at school
Francis is isolated ‘the loneliness of the tenement drove me to the Wreck Centre’
this is why Francis idolises Larry and doesn’t want to lose people
‘I don’t know what a hero is any more, Nicole’
Francis has an image of what a hero should be in his head. He is focused on this throughout the novel as he wants to be a hero
After the war, his idea of what a hero should be has changed.
His first hero in the novel is a baseball player. Then it is Larry and then he doesn’t want to be a hero anymore.
‘It’s hard for me to pray for him and I always hesitate before I can bring myself to say that prayer’
Larry always prays for Larry LaSalle despite planning to kill him
This shows his faith as he is a Catholic. This is why he couldn’t kill himself and decided to fight in the war.
Francis blames himself and feels guilty for planning to kill Larry for what he did to Nicole.
‘I saw how young they were, the boys with apple cheeks’
The appearance of young boys vs the reality of a harsh and violent war.
‘I recognised in her eyes now what I could not deny: My betrayal of her’
Francis believes Nicole is placing the blame on him and so he feels guilty.
‘A kind of boogey man who does terrible things like letting his girl get hurt and attacked’
Francis wants to be a hero and save Nicole but is unable to
He blames and can’t forgive himself for Nicole being attacked
‘I could not sleep at night… glad for the heat that was so relentless, as if it was part of the hell I had earned’
Francis believes he has sinned and deserves to go to hell or be punished for his actions. He compares the heat to hell and believes he deserves it.
Francis blames himself and thinks he needs punishment
‘I was impatient to reach the age where I could join them in that great crusade for freedom’
Francis want to go to war and fight for his country. He is originally focused on fighting in the war for the right reasons before he shifts and want to fight so he can die.
Francis wants to be a hero
‘As he turns to announce my identity, I touch his shoulder. ‘Don’t make a fuss Arthur. Let me stay like this’’
Francis is hiding his identity
He is giving the appearance of a regular veteran when he is in his hometown where he would be recognised
He doesn’t want to be viewed as a hero as he had the same award as Larry LaSalle who he doesn’t consider a hero
‘I could only stand there mute, as if all my sins had been revealed and there was no forgiveness for them.’
Francis believes he has committed sins and needs to pay for them. He blames himself
There is a focus on religion as he is focused on his sins. Catholicism is emphasised throughout the novel.
‘her footsteps echoing down the hallway, until there’s only silence left’
Francis visits Nicole expecting to repair their relationship,
which doesn’t happen
Nicole is leaving both literally by walking down the hallway and metaphorically from his life completley.
‘The visit to Nicole’s house on Sixth Street brought back only loneliness and regret’
Francis visits Nicole’s house in the hopes of closure
He blames himself and the visit only reminds him that he isn’t forgiven for his actions and that he is lonely.
‘Not like the war movies at the Plymouth, nobody displaying heroics or bravado’
The movies were designed to raise morale, displaying soldiers as glamorous heroes which wasn’t the reality
Francis expected the war to be like the movies, the reality was different than he thought it would be
‘Soldiers were dying with honour on battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. How could I die by leaping from a steeple?’
Francis views the soldiers as heroes and doesn’t want to commit suicide when people are giving their lives to fight for their country
Francis is highlighting that people are fighting in the war
Catholicism doesn’t allow suicide. Francis thinks he will bring shame to him family if he was to commit suicide.
Francis blames himself for his suicidal thoughts and doesn’t want to jump from a steeple
‘I went to war because I wanted to die’
Francis only went to fight in the war because it wouldn’t have been acceptable if he was to commit suicide.
‘What if I told him I was little Francis Cassavant… That I am not the hero he thinks I am’
Francis believes that he is viewed as a hero but is undeserving of it.
‘I should do all those things’
Francis knows what he should do, but won’t
‘Scared kids, not born to fight and kill. Who were not only there but who stayed, did not run away, fought the good war. And never talk about it. And didn’t receive a Silver Star. But heroes, anyway. The real heroes.’
Children were forced to fight in the war despite it not being humane
The appearance of soldiers but reality of scared young children
Heroism is praised by the Silver Star award but not everyone who Francis thinks deserved one had one.
‘Don’t be afraid to show your face, Francis. That face, what’s left of it, is a symbol of how brave you were’
Nicole is reminding Francis that his injuries come from fighting in the war
She is highlighting that he is considered a hero for his actions as people believe that he jumped on a grenade to save his squad
The appearance that Francis’ face is viewed as ugly but the reality that he is injured from fighting in the war
‘Heading for the exit and the next train to leave the station’
The appearance is being given that Francis is leaving the train station while the reality is that he has killed Larry LaSalle and has met Nicole which where the only things he wanted to do before he killed himself.
‘Miserable in my aloneness, wanting to be dancing with her’
Francis wants to be dancing with Nicole as he views her as his true love and is jealous. She is used as a symbol rather than a person.
Francis wants to be Nicole’s hero and the person she wants to dance with
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