Theme Essay Plans

Question 1

Loneliness in Heroes

Answer 1

P1 - Francis is lonely due to his experiences
- “Like a sentry on lonely guard duty”
- “I am like the hunchback of Notredam”
- “I start to close doors. Not real doors but doors to the future” “Goodbye Enrico”
P2 - Nicole is lonely due to her trauma
- “I saw my betrayal in her eyes”
- “Who was I going to tell?my mother and Father?
- “Marie LaCroix started writing to me … I tore up that first letter”
P3 - Men after the war are isolated
- “Come on in the doors not locked”
- “There always comes a moment when a sudden silence falls in the club”
- “Nobody talks about the war”

Question 2

Guilt in heroes

Answer 2

P1 - Francis is guilty for not protecting Nicole, murder and suicide
- “I saw my betrayal in her eyes”
- “I am filled with guilt and shame … I have just prayed for the man I am going to kill”
- “I am not a hero, of course”
P2 - Larry feels no guilt
- “I love the sweet young things”
- “Does that one sin of mine wipe away all the good things”
- “Leave me here. Leave everything here… Leave it all behind, with me”
P3 - Nicole blamed Francis
- “I shouldn’t have said those things to you that day on the piazza”
- ‘My good Francis, my table tennis champion, my silver star hero”
- “maybe if I’m to write, as Nicole hopes I will, I’ll write about them”

Question 3

Appearance vs Reality in heroes

Answer 3

P1 - Francis appears monstrous but is just an ordinary boy
- “My nostrils are two small caves”
- “I wear a scarf that covers the lower part of my face”
- “I am not a hero, of course”
P2 - Larry appears perfect but is despicable
- “movie star smile” “touch of Fred Astaire in his walk”
- “We have to keep the world safe for these young people - they are our future”
- “I love the sweet young things”
P3 - Nicole appears fine but is traumatised
- “The pale purity of her face reminded me of the statue of St Therese”
- “Who was I going to tell?My mother and Father?”
- “A bright smile on her lips but not in her eyes”

Question 4

Love/Hate in heroes

Answer 4

P1 - Francis and Nicole shared an innocent love
- “I knelt there like a knight at her feet - silently pledged her my love and loyalty forever”
- “She allowed me an innocent kiss”
- “I saw my betrayal in her eyes”
P2 - Francis has a love/hate relationship with Larry
- “my mission”
- “I’m not supposed to have favourites but you, Francis, and Nicole are special to me”
- “Why did it have to turn out like this?” - Francis thinks
P3 - Larry is beloved by Frenchtown
- “He was our champion and we were happy to be in his presence”
- “He saved the lives of an entire platoon - captured an enemy gun nest”
- “I love the sweet young things”

Question 5

Heroism

Answer 5

P1 - Francis is a hero but doesn’t believe it
- “Little Francis Cassavant falls on a grenade and saves - how many lives did you save Francis”
- “I am not a hero, of course”
- “My champion”
P2 - Larry appears to be a hero but is an anti-hero
- “the towns first big war hero on the silver screen”
- “our champion”
- “I love the sweet young things”
P3 - Nicole is the most heroic character
- “I shouldn’t have said those things to you that day on the piazza”
- “she wants to be a teacher, English maybe”
- “my good Francis, my table tennis champion, my silver star hero”

Question 6

Forgiveness in heroes

Answer 6

P1 - Francis refuses to forgive himself
- “I am not a hero, of course”
- “I start to close doors. Not real doors but doors to the future”
- “My mission”
P2 - Larry is not guilty for his actions so cannot be forgiven
- “I love the sweet young things”
- “Does that one sin of mine wipe away all the good things”
- “You were just a child”
P3 - Nicole embodies theme of forgiveness
- “You weren’t to blame for what happened”
- “He made me feel special. Made us all feel special”
- “My good Francis, my table tennis champion, my silver star hero…”

Question 7

War in heroes

Answer 7

P1 - falseness of naive perceptions of war
- “A thrill went through me - a wartime secret in Frenchtown!”
- “My nostrils are two small caves … my teeth are gone … I have no eyebrows”
P2 - Larry LaSalle is the romanticised ideal of war
- “The towns first big war hero on the silver screen”
- “anger that we had never seen before flashing in his eyes”
“I wonder how it would feel to have it all come to an end”
P3 - Arthur Rivier and veterans show lasting trauma from war
- “there’s a sudden flash of what - terror? Bad dreams? - in his eyes”
- “running across an open field, so scared I shit my pants”
- “No heroes in that scrapbook, Francis. Only us, the boys of Frenchtown”