Heroes, Heroism Exam Question - 1347 Words

The title â€Å"Heroes† immediately highlights heroism as a key theme to the novel, because it is planted into the reader’s sub-conscious mind, so they identify heroism in everything they read, even if that is not the concept Cormier’s intended to present. Acting as an umbrella term, â€Å"heroes† represents the many values associated with heroism, repeated throughout the novel. Some may see it as an overbearing, forced title that Cormier uses to make heroism into the main focus, because he failed to do so in the novel. However, I believe that the plethora of themes investigated, particularly contrasts of love-hate, guilt-forgiveness, appearances-reality and fear-bravery, are brought together in â€Å"Heroes† during the search for the definition of†¦show more content†¦LaSalle’s dedication to the renaissance of the Wreck Centre was second to none; likewise his efforts to make the children there happy were immeasurable. Talent seemed to be limitlessly supplied to Larry, shown through his ability to dance, perform, play sport – like table tennis, entertain and coax into inclusion. Everything Larry did in the Wreck Centre was undertaken with the utmost enthusiasm, so much so that despite his older, adult, teacher role, the children viewed him as one of them, just a perfect one! Only Nicole and Francis know that Larry LaSalle is really a fraud and that his love for the Wreck Centre kids is actually twisted and revolting. Although Francis is clearly of the opinion that Larry’s â€Å"one sin† of raping Nicole does â€Å"wipe away all the good†, Cormier manages to hold back on persuading the reader to adopt this belief, allowing them to make up their own mind. This suggests that Cormier is accepting that heroism does not have one single definition; instead it is more a case of individual perception. LaSalle was also a national hero. He was awarded the Silver Star for capturing an â€Å"enemy machine gun nest†, a brave, sacrificial, heroic act. Most notably, LaSalle’s gallantry was deliberate, unlike Francis’. Here lies a moral dilemma, in that the reader feels like they owe it to Nicole, the victim of LaSalle’s rape, to hate Larry and yet, they cannot deny that his behaviour in war was more heroic than Francis’, sinceShow MoreRelatedLiterary Terms3784 Words   |  16 PagesLiterary Terms Packet The terms in this packet will be used throughout the semester in literature discussions and on exams. Please memorize and be able to use and identify all terms in papers and on exams. Some information in this packet came from Modern English by Arnold Lazarus, et.al. and A Dictionary of Literary, Dramatic, and Cinematic Terms by Sylvan Barnet, et.al. Allusion A reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics or some otherRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pages4 Myth or Science? â€Å"Most Acts of Workplace Bullying Are Men Attacking Women† 12 An Ethical Choice Can You Learn from Failure? 24 glOBalization! Does National Culture Affect Organizational Practices? 30 Point/Counterpoint Lost in Translation? 31 Questions for Review 32 Experiential Exercise Workforce Diversity 32 Ethical Dilemma Jekyll and Hyde 33 Case Incident 1 â€Å"Lessons for ‘Undercover’ Bosses† 34 Case Incident 2 Era of the Disposable Worker? 35 vii viii CONTENTS 2 2 The Individual