Francais Cassavant in Heroes and Other Characters - 786 Words

‘Heroes’ is a novel which is full of tension and suspense. It is also a novel which has important things to say about the pressures that young people have to deal with as part and parcel of growing up. In ‘Heroes’ we see the world through the eyes of Francis Cassavant, who having earned a silver star in battle returns home in hiding, living a frugal and lonely life, waiting only for the opportunity to kill his childhood mentor and hero Larry Lasalle. As readers we are confused and intrigued and need to understand the reasons for his injuries and also to understand why he is hell bent on revenge. The structure of the novel ensures that although questions are answered, they simply lead to further questions until the climax of the novel, when†¦show more content†¦And we also learn that Larry cannot understand why this is wrong ‘Does that one sin of mine wipe away all the good things?’ Larry asks, and as readers we finally understand how re pulsive Larry really is. Cormier seems to underline this by describing the sound of the bullet with which Larry kills himself being ‘like a ping – pong ball striking the table.’ This simile transports us back to the table tennis match that Larry let Francis win. It underlines one of the key themes in the novel; the distance between appearance and reality. Overall, by using techniques such as flashbacks, gradual revelation and foreshadowing Cormier is able to create tension and suspense. Whilst this is entertaining and gripping it also leads us to towards understanding of the ways in which we learn the key lessons in