' I wanted to
shout from the
rooftops: "I love
her with all my
heart"'
" The next day, the
grenade blows my face
away"
"I had never been
a hero in such
places, too short
and
uncoordinated"
"We knew little
about him,however,
and he discouraged
questions"
"They respect
my silence
and my
anonymity"
"For the first time in my
life, a tide of confidence
swept through me"
"I stood
spellbound
by his
words'"
"he caught her,
pressing her close,
their faces almost
touching, their lips
only an inch or so
from a kiss"
"the people of
Monument jammed
the Plymouth to see
the town's first big
war hero on the
silver screen"
"Why didn't
anyone warn
me"
" I start to close
doors. Not real
doors but doors
to the future"
"His slenderness
was knife-like now,
lethal"
"I couldn't
breathe, my
body rigid, my
lungs burning"
"And I know
where to find
him"
"I still want
to die"
"He [Larry] seems fragile
now, as if caught in an old
photograph that has faded
and yellowed with age"
"I knew all the time we
were talking that we
were filling up the
empty spaces between
us with words
"I lost her a
long time
ago"
"Sometimes I think
he talked so much
to cover up the
pain"
"the loneliness
of the tenement
drove me to the
Wreck Centre"
"But tomorrow was 7
December 1941"
"I am filled with
guilt and shame,
knowing that I just
prayed for the man
I am going to kill"
(when thinking about
Enrico): " even when he
laughed, you could see
the pain flashing in his
eyes"
" The visit to
Nicole's house on
sixth street
brought back only
loneliness and
regret
The horror of the final
words of the opening
sentence, "the war is
over and I have no face"
seems shocking because
of the use of the
first-person pronoun
Nicole Renard
"Go away,
Francis," she said
"just go away"
"I shouldn't have said those
things to you that day on the
piazza. You weren't to blame for
what happened"
Larry LaSalle
"We can't let the Japs
get away with this"
"One gun is enough
for what has to be
done"
Larry Lasalle
was
everywhere.
The Strangler
(the
bartender)
"To Larry
LaSalle, the
best of the
best"
Armand
"Poor
Arthur"
"He saved the
lives of an entire
platoon…
Captured an
enemy machine
gun nest"
Sister Mathilde
"We all have secrets,eh,
Francis?"
"I hear you served
your country well.
You have made us
all proud"
Arthur
"No heroes in
that scrap-book,
Francis. Only us,
the boys of
Frenchtown"
Mrs Belander
"Poor boy"
Joey
"Better watch out,
Mister LaSalle. Francis
has got your number
Dr Abrams
"Great strides
have been made in
cosmetic surgery…
Look me up when
you've a mind to".
Mr Laurier
"A kid graduates from high
school,gets six weeks of basic
training with guns and
grendades… and five months
later… he's fighting the Japs or
the Germans"
Themes
Heroism
F: "I was impatient
to reach the age
when I could join
them in that great
crusade for
freedom".
F: "I could picture
him [Larry LaSalle]
storming a hillside in
Guadalcanal, rifle in
hand, bayonet fixed,
grenades dangling
from his belt,
pumping bullets into
the enemy".
War heroes are
portrayed as
role models
worthy of
admiration.
The people of
Frenchtown are
excited by
examples of
heroism because
because they do
not have to face
the consequences
of war directly.
Heroes
represent
bravery and
patriotism.
Larry LaSalle is a stereotypical
hero (who has stepped down
from the cinema
screen,resplendent in his
lieutenant's uniform with
ribbons and medals on his
chest).
Francis and Larry are both
awarded the Silver Star the
most obvious
representations of heroism.
Cormier uses Arthur Rivier
as the representative of
ordinary heroes in Chp8 ,
perhaps Cormier wants us,
the reader,
to remember the most.
We must not forget
that the Young
Germans Francis shot
were also heroes to
someone too.
Guilt
Francis is
consumed by
guilt
throughout
the novel.
He feels guilt
when he intends
to kill Larry
Lasalle
His failure to save
Nicole is a greater
source of guilt and
burden.
Francis's guilt is
compounded by
the guilt he feels
at being acclaimed
as a hero
Unlike Francis, Larry
does not appear to be
troubled by a guilty
conscience i.e. he
explains that in his view
that one sin should not
be allowed to wipe away
all the good things a
person has done.
(Larry) He regards his
desire for young girls
as merely a law in his
nature. He regrets
that Francis and
Nicole don't see him
as a hero.
Confronting Evil
L: "We love the
thing that
makes us
evil"
A thing that
motivates the
characters to
go to war is to
confront evil.
There is the external
evil that the
inhabitants of
Frenchtown can all see
in their wartime
enemy, but there is
also evil within their
town which they
cannot see until it is
too late.
Francis
struggles
against evil
throughout
the novel.
L: "sweet
young
things"
Francis challenges
Larry for the evil he
has done. ( This
could be seen as an
act of heroism)
The couple at the
begging of the
story, who got
killed at the "wreck
centre"
Bad events
occur their,
hence the word
"wreck"
Forgiveness
The theme of
forgiveness is
introduced in Chp1.
The religious element
of forgiveness is
emphasised here and
again in Chp12
Larry does not seem
effected by guilt and
finds it easy to
forgive himself, in
contrast to Francis
who is the complete
opposite.
Nicole is the
character in
the novel who
personifies
goodness.
Her first words to
Francis are one of
forgiveness. But it
isn't clear whether
her word relieve
Francis from his
burden of guilt.
Although Nicole forgives
Francis it is clear that
Nicole cannot forget and
that they can't be friends.
Most likely because he is
linked to everything bad
that has happened to her
in Frenchtown.
Loneliness
Many characters in
the novel appear to
live alone, separated
from their past.
Nicole is alone at the end
of the novel (note that
when they meet all they
hear is a ping-pong ball)
away from her friends she
had made in Frenchtown.
she tries to cut herself off
from her past.
Larry is seen as
sad and lonely at
the end
Francis chooses
loneliness,
refusing to reveal
himself to people
he knows.
Arthur Rivier
wanders the
streets at
night, drunk
and alone.
The loneliness of
characters is often
linked to the secrets
they carry within
them. It is their
secret or hidden
identity which sets
them apart from
others.
Even when Francis is in
a crowded place he is
still alone, not taking
part in the action but
merely observing. This
also can reflect on his
childhood experiences as
a lonely child raised by
his uncle.
Masks
Francis wears a
scarf around his
face to cover his
identity.
Francis and
Larry at the
beginning are
incognito
characters.
The children at the
Wreck Centre find an
article on Larry.
Francis remains
hidden behind his
scarf, a visible sign of
his separation from his
past. He embraces
loneliness because he
is ashamed of his
identity.
Appearance and
reality
When Sister Mathilde
says to Francis "We all
have secrets" she is
talking about
everyone in the novel.
Arthur Rivier
hides his
depression
after the war.
Enrico Rucelli
hides his despair
behind a mask
of humorous
remarks.
Francis goes to
great lengths to
hide his identity
on his return to
Frenchtown.
The theme of hidden
identity is exemplified
in the character of
Larry LaSalle, about
whom there have
been rumours since
his first appearance in
Frenchtown.
Nicole hides the
attack from her
family in order to
spare them pain.
Cormier presents war to
the people of
Frenchtown in a artificial
light in the cinema, but
the survivors bring back
with them the reality of
their wartime
experiences.
Cormier once said " I
really believe that
most people hide who
they really are and I
think we all have
hidden lives"
"Nothing glamorous
like the write-ups in
the papers or the
newsreels.We weren't
heroes. We were only
there"
Historical & Social Context
Historical
Attack on Pearl
Harbour.
War was declared in
America 1941.
The atomic bombs
were dropped in
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
Social
Cormier wanted to
celebrate the heroism of
"the ordinary people who do
their duty quietly, without a
fanfare, whether it's fighting
a war or going to work every
day".