Heroes Robert Cormier Character Analysis

Have you ever carried so much guilt that made you want to die? In “Heroes” by Robert Cormier, the character Francis conveys guilt, shame, and war injury that devours him. An unexpected event makes Francis decided to enlist in the war even though he survived his injury, he is faced with unrelenting guilt. Francis, who is only fifteen, is left with a gruesome war injury that mangled his face. Not only does he want to kill himself, he wants to kill others. He uses this as a distractions instead of facing his problems straight on. Robert Cormier made a very realistic character, guided by the emotions of guilt, shyness, and a mangled face that serve as his motivation to kill himself.
Before the war Francis already had a very low self esteem. Larry tried to help him gain confidence by letting him win in the ping pong tournament. It was the first time people actually cheered for him and he felt normal. “‘I’m rotten at everything,’ I confessed. ‘I can’t sing. I can’t dance. I’m no good a baseball.’ And I can’t even get up the …show more content…
Nicole was Francis high school sweetheart, an amazing dancer that he fell in love with. Larry, a wreck center leader that everyone looked up to as a hero, took advantage of her. “In the sill of moonlight, her eyes flashed black with anger as she looked at me. More than anger. But what? What? I brought my hand up to my face, not to brush away my own tears but to hide from her terrible gaze. But I couldn’t cover my eyes, had to look as her. And I recognized in her eyes now why I could not deny: betrayal. My betrayal of her in her eyes.” (Cormier 97) Shyness, led Francis to not do anything when Larry was hurting Nicole. Larry was much older than Francis which made him feel as if he had authority. He felt as if he should’ve done something and now feels really guilty. Nicole walks out and her eyes are glazed over and he realizes immediately her