‘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 there is a dramatic revelation which
makes us examine everything that we have learnt previously.
Cormier uses a number of techniques in order to achieve this
drama and tension for example; flashbacks, foreshadowing and
gradual revelation.
‘Heroes’ has a first person narrator – Francis Cassavant. The
story is told through a mixture of memories and flashbacks. This
means that the reader is continually moving between present and
past and piecing together information in order to understand why
the three principle characters think and behave as they do. A good
example is the way in which we come to understand why Francis
wants revenge on Larry- which we learn in chapter 1. Our
introduction to Larry in chapter 4 is positive – he is described as
being glamorous ‘ a smile that revealed dazzling movie star teeth’;
accomplished ‘ he hit home runs’, ‘he was also a dancer’. This
inevitably creates intrigue because we cannot find an explanation
for why Larry would now be Francis’ enemy. This continues in a
series of flashbacks. Each flashback reveals something else which
is attractive and appealing about Larry. We learn that he
empowered Francis by developing his skills at table tennis; we
learn that he unselfishly let Francis’ win a key match in order that
the other children would respect him. We learn that he was the first
to enlist in the army and we learn that he was awarded a silver star
for bravery. All these revelations serve to wrong-foot the reader
and make the drama of the rape very powerful. They also serve to
make the reader feel as angry as Francis does, because the reader
has also been duped by Larry.
Another structural technique used by Cormier is foreshadowing.
For example, when we are introduced to the Wreck Centre and to
its history we are made aware of a tragic events on Marie –
Blanche’s wedding day where three lives are destroyed. This is an
echo of the way in which Frances, Nicole and Larry have their
lives damaged by their connection to a place that is ominously
described by Joey Leblanc as having ‘ doom’ hanging over it.
Another example of foreshadowing is when Francis tells us that
Larry had to leave New York because he had ‘gotten into trouble’.
This is echoed in the way that he disappears from Frenchtown
immediately after the rape leaving the residents guessing about this
sudden departure.
The gradual revelation to control the reader’s feelings is at its most
effective in the final meeting between Francis and Larry. Larry
now exhausted by the war welcomes Francis into his flat. He talks
to Francis as if he is still the young man who needed his love,
support and encouragement at the Wreck centre; not realising that
Francis now knows the real Larry. As readers we think that once
Larry learns that Francis knows about the rape he will show some
remorse. However, this is not the case as he explains that he is
drawn to ‘the sweet young things’. We realise, as Francis, does that
Larry has probably raped young women before. 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 repulsive 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 life.