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Writers choose different forms to convey what they want to say. They may decide to write a play, poetry or a novel. Heroes is written in the form of a novel, which is a fictional prose narrative:

• fictional – something imagined or untrue
• prose – writing that is not in verse
• narrative – a written account of something

Therefore, Heroes is an imagined written account that is not in verse. This title was first used in the middle of the 16th century.

Generally, a novel will be built around characters and action, and will be recognisable in its realism – that is, showing things as they really are.

Novels can be separated into many different categories, such as romance, war, revenge, crime, thriller, fantasy and so on. Heroes is a redemptive novel, although it does cover the issues of war, romance and revenge.

The redemptive novel

Redemption means the lifting of a burden of sin and a return to grace. Redemption does not have to be concerned with religious themes, although it often is in literature, and many novels portray a character’s descent into evil or sin, and his return to goodness after atonement. In simple terms, one could summarise the idea of redemption as the triumph of good over evil.

Heroes is a redemptive novel because the main character, Francis Cassavant, is almost destroyed by an evil act which he could not prevent but for which he takes responsibility. He carries the burden of the sin with him for several years, and his return to grace is brought about through his suffering and the realisation that he could not have acted any differently. The novel tracks the journey that Francis makes to deal with his past, and the ending, while not necessarily happy, is encouraging.

What is the effect of this?

Robert Cormier wrote Heroes based on his memories of the terrible fallout from World War Two. He saw many young men of his own age return from the war, having fought in either Europe or the Pacific. Many of them had dreadful physical injuries, but all of them were mentally affected as a result of their experiences. Of course, there were also numerous young men who were killed in action and never returned to the United States. Cormier felt that he should present war realistically, which is why he did not pretend that the characters’ injuries were minor ones - Francis himself has horrific injuries to his face; Enrico Rucelli, Francis’ friend, has lost both legs and his left arm; Arthur Rivier is a mental wreck.

However, Cormier also wanted to convey the message that even in the darkest situations there is always hope for people who are sorry for what they have done wrong. On the other hand, people who are not sorry for their sins are not forgiven. Larry LaSalle is one of these people and he kills himself at the end. Suicide, also known as despair, is the opposite of hope. Reading between the lines of Francis’ narration, the reader can see that there is only one sinner - Larry LaSalle - in this story, and that sinner does not feel guilty so cannot earn redemption.

How to analyse form

To analyse the form of Heroes you should:

• remember that it is a redemptive novel and therefore presents an account of different characters who have failed in one way or another but who are sorry for what they have done
• understand that Francis feels that he is responsible for a sin (even though he isn’t) and makes a journey, through his suffering, towards acceptance, and finally, grace
• recognise that good does triumph over evil in this novel