Heroes

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That's when you get the burning tenseness in your stomach; when you really want him to succeed, but's scared something will go awry. Likewise when Francis throws himself onto a grenade, it appears to show a willingness to sacrifice his own life to save the lives of his comrades but later on he reveals that his real motivation was a way to committing suicide without disgracing his family. Edwards Award, Phoenix Award from the the Children’s Literature Association, and many more, which captures the attention of more and more young adults.

In this book is kind of a sad story because a 14 year old boy goes to war 2 and almost lost of his face and they kill his chill hood. Through a series of flashbacks, Francis slowly reveals his story: how hew grow up in Monument as a shy, uncertain boy, until he met LaSalle - a dedicated director of the town's recreation center. Although Francis did not enlist as he was not of age when the war began, after Nicole Renard was sexually assaulted and he, mentally traumatized, decided to 'kill himself'. His face was permanently disfigured, but he ultimately survived and was awarded the Silver Star medal in recognition of his bravery. At first Francis is too shy to even approach Nicole but when she starts dancing at the Wreck Center the two become close.Francis is plagued by the fact that he couldn’t stop his then-girlfriend, Nicole Renard from getting raped by Larry LaSalle. He dosen't know that Larry lets him win till he finds out , times passes and Francis meats

As Francis draws near the exit, Larry flicks off the lights, and Francis suddenly decides he cannot fully abandon his sweetheart, hiding himself in the shadows as the other two dance.Distraught, Francis waited outside of Nicole’s house for days until she finally came out and angrily sent him away. Nicole has clearly moved on from the experience with Larry, when Francis visits near the end of the novel the love between the two has disappeared, something which deeply upsets Francis.

That night, contemplating suicide, Francis climbed the steeple of the town church, but ultimately decided that to take his own life in such an obvious way would only disgrace his family. I really enjoyed this book by Cormier - The dark theme that runs through the book is quite haunting. As Francis helps him, Arthur begins to pour out his emotions, lamenting that nobody wants to talk about the horrible truth of what happened during the war, and exclaiming that the war wasn’t a stage for glamorous, heroic soldiers, but merely a group of terrified children caught up in a violent struggle for survival. By tearing down the mask of heroism, the book exposes the selfishness, cowardice, and malevolence that often lies underneath. Nicole his childhood sweetheart moved away from the town and he longs to find her again but it is hinted upon that something unsavoury happened between them.

Although no doubt a brave act but in doing so he also saves his own life and as such could be equally regarded as a simple act of self-preservation. Larry asks a question near to the end of the book that captures the book's central theme perfectly, "Does that one sin of mine wipe away all the good things? Join now to access our Study Guides library, which offers chapter-by-chapter summaries and comprehensive analysis on more than 5,000 literary works from novels to nonfiction to poetry. He interacts in a positive way with the other veterans but it later becomes clear that he too is traumatized by his experience at war.

He dosen't know that Larry lets him win till he finds out , times passes and Francis meats a new girl arrivies at St Jude's who falls in love with. I recommend this book to young adults because it explains what life is about, how hard it can be dealing with all the normal problems in life. While Francis was well liked by his fellow children, he was not particularly popular or even notable, and thus he struggled at first to win the attention of his sweetheart.Larry opens up a recreation hall for youth and teaches Francis how to play ping pong and a young girl names Nicole how to dance.