1. On page 87, while describing Larry LaSalle’s return to Frenchtown during the war, Francis says that the parents of Frenchtown “knew that Larry LaSalle had been a bright Pied Piper for their children in the bleakness of the Depression.”
o What does this literary allusion mean?
o How is it shown, again, later in the same chapter?
2. Pages 93 through 96 detail a very dramatic and traumatic experience for both Nicole and Francis.
o What happens?
o Why do you think Nicole was so insistent that Francis NOT leave the Rec Center when Larry told him he wanted to dance alone with her?
o Also, explain how this incident further defines the setting as the “Wreck Center.”
3. On pages 102 through 104, Francis experiences a serious internal conflict.
o Explain this internal conflict, why it occurs, and how he eventually overcomes it.
o What is his alternative and why does he choose this alternative? What is your opinion of his decision?
When the parents of the children in Frenchtown say "Larry LaSalle had been a bright Pied Piper for their children in the bleakness of the Depression.” This means that Larry stayed strong and fought through the depression by putting hope in their eyes and making them feel special. But, now the parents know the true Larry Lasalle. This contrast is made later in the chapter when Francis is talking to someone, and Francis uses the xpression to the person he was talking to.
ReplyDeleteLarry Lasalle has finally returned from the war. He had earned a silver star just like the one Francis will soon earn for their courage and bravery. Larry arrived to find many of the Frenchtown people and the children from the wreck center. He made a speech about his arrival and there was a party later that night for his return. Larry brought Nicole and Francis, his two most cherished children, back into the wreck center. He played a few matches of table tennis with Francis then later asked him to leave while he had one last dance with Nicole. Nicole insisted on Francis to stay because she knew something was about to happen. Francis struggled to make a decision until finally he hid in a corner and listened to what happened. After a few minutes, he saw Nicole walking out holding onto her top so it would stay on. Larry had tried to rape nicole.
ReplyDeleteNicole had insisted that Francis should not leave for a reason. I think that she knew Larry's past reputations and clearly knew what was about to happen. This contributes to the "Wreck Center's" name because it adds onto the bad luck and unfortunate events that has happened in the building. It brought an even lower reputation to the wreck center because what might have happened to nicole was just not right.
At the wreck center Larry does an inappropriate, horrible, and wrong act and rapes Nicole.
ReplyDeleteNicole was so insistent that Francis’ does not leave the wreck center because she knew that something was not right. There was an awkward moment in the air when Larry asked Francis’ to leave and told Nicole he was tired when he was still in the room. I think that Nicole sensed something was wrong when Larry wanted to be alone with her, a young girl and an older man.
This incident even though nobody else knows further defines the wreck center the way it is because what Larry did to Nicole had been another horrid act just like the shooting at the wedding. Giving it another cursed accident upon it. Making the wreck center bad luck, just like the story of the wedding shooting. Based on the turn out right now it is true.
Journal #6
ReplyDeleteOn pages 93 through 96, a very life-changing event took place. On the night Larry Lasalle came home from the war, he threw a party at the Wreck Center specifically for the children that he taught there. As the night drew to a close, people had left the Wreck Center and returned home, while Nicole and Francis stayed back. I did think it was quite odd that Larry wanted to have “One Last Dance” with Nicole, especially since he asked for it to be private. Larry asked for Francis to go home since it was getting late and because he wanted to spend time with Nicole. Francis knew that Nicole wanted him to stay and Francis himself wanted to stay, but he also did not want to disappoint Larry. Francis was about to leave when he heard awkward noises coming from the main room. We soon learned that Larry raped Nicole and Francis had witnessed the whole entire thing. Nicole then became mad at Francis for not speaking up or stopping it.
You could tell that Nicole really did not want to be alone with Larry and that she was much more comfortable when Francis was there. I’m guessing that she also felt an unsafe vibe as Larry told Francis to go home and then he insisted on turning the music on. Of course Nicole liked Larry and looked up to him, but it was just the timing and the way Larry said what he said that made everyone in the room sense something more.
Besides the wedding that started it all, I believe that the rape of Nicole was the biggest event to happen in the Wreck Center that really came back to its name. What happened to Nicole Renard in the Wreck Center didn’t just affect Nicole. It quickly affected Francis and then eventually Larry Lasalle. This event really “wrecked” other people’s lives as well, and if it wasn’t for the rape of Nicole, Francis probably wouldn’t have even enlisted in the war which then means he wouldn’t have had his injury. If Nicole was never raped, Francis could’ve possibly still been with her for years. We will never know for sure what would’ve been, though.
I THINK I MIGHT HAVE ENTERED ONE OF MY JOURNAL RESPONSES AS "G8RS8" BY ACCIDENT. SORRY.
ReplyDeleteJOUNAL RESPONSE:
Nicole gets hurt and attacked, or raped, by everyone's hero, Larry LaSalle. Francis was there the whole time, and did absolutely nothing. He didn't even call for help, or tell him to stop, or anything. He let it happen. Nicole was insisting that Francis shouldn't leave because she probably knew that Larry was going to do something to her. I don't think that Nicole trusted Larry enough to be alone with him, Dancing in the Dark. This incident further defines the Wreck Center because bad events keep on occurring there, which makes it a "Wreck". First, the wedding disaster and now this.
The tramatic experience Francis and Nicole face is going through the time of Nicole being raped by Larry LaSalle. Though the worst of this experience really only happend to Nicole, Francis stood, in the dark, stunned, listening to what was happening.
ReplyDeleteI think that Nicole especially told Francis to stay because she kind of new what was going to happen and wanted to be protected by Francis. Larry was trying to trick Francis into leaving by telling him that he wanted one last dance alone with Nicole and because Larry seemed to have a wonderful, honest backround, and since Larry is Francis's idol, Francis believed him and almost left them alone but trusted Nicole alittle more because he loved her.
This incident further explains why the Wreck center is called the "Wreck Center". Because the rape was a big wreck that happend there, that would be another, secret reason (because only Nicole, Francis, and Larry know what happend that night) for it to be called the Wreck Center.
On pages 102 through 104 of Heroes by Robert Cormier, Francis, the main character, experiences a serious internal conflict. He considers committing suicide. Francis would come about this by jumping from the steps of St. Jude’s. Then, he realizes what a horrible idea that is. So many soldiers, buried just beyond him, gave their lives so Francis and the rest of the world could be free. They were dying with honor all over the world. Francis imagined what people would say about him the next day. He knew he couldn’t do it, but he did have an alternative. Francis’s alternative was to enlist in the war. In fact, the last sentence in the chapter says: “That afternoon, I boarded the bus to Fort Delta, in my pocket the birth certificate that I had altered to change my age, and became a soldier in the United States Army.” This is Francis’s alternative; joining a war, hoping to die – because he isn’t brave enough to do it himself. I feel that this is logical for Francis. In the war, he would think he would be shot without being prepared, because that is what usually happens. It will all be over quick, and that is what Francis wants. I am in favor of his decision. Little does he know that in a few years, he will return to the town that haunts his memory without a face and branded with an undeserving title.
ReplyDeleteOn pages 93 through 96, Larry LaSalle proposes a last dance for Nicole and him. Nicole, sensing danger, insists Francis not to leave the Rec Center and watch her dance. However, Larry told Francis to leave, and nobody disobeyed Larry since everyone looked up to him as a hero. Instead of leaving, Francis waits outside the door, only to hear Nicole being sexually assaulted. Instead of doing anything, he sits there terrified. Nicole was so insistent on Francis not leaving the Rec Center because she knew the whole time what Larry was planning the day he met her. She knew he was making her feel special for a reason, and she finds out in the end. Young and powerless, she couldn't do anything to prevent the last dance with Larry, so she decides to get Francis to stay, so that Larry wouldn't do anything bad to her. However, Larry tells Francis to get going, and when Francis exits, Larry makes his move.
ReplyDeleteThis incident further defines the setting as the “Wreck Center” because this was the 2nd time something really bad had happened in that area. Before the Rec Center was built, the area used to be a place where weddings were celebrated. One day while a couple were getting married, the ex-boyfriend of the bride came in and shot the bride, killing her. He also left the groom paralyzed from the neck down. Afterwords, the ex-boyfriend committed suicide. After that incident, everyone claimed that the area was bad luck. They were all true since Nicole was sexually assaulted there a few years later.
Michelle Rodriguez Strazicic
ReplyDeleteMs. Drosdick
Language Arts Period 2
January 24, 2011
Reading Assignment 6 – pp. 86 – 104 (Due Monday, January 24)(bullet 2)
Nicole Renard left Frenchtown for a reason. The reason was that she was raped as a child at the Rec Center by Larry LaSalle. That was the dramatic and traumatic during pages 93 to 96. It was a day of celebration and everyone was dancing and having the time of their lives. At the end of the party, Larry LaSalle asked everyone to leave. He also wanted Nicole to stay to have one last dance, but Larry wanted Francis to leave and Nicole wanted him to stay. Francis always obeys Larry so he left. Nicole and Larry were left alone in the dark while Francis wanted to just watch from the door. Francis saw out of the dark and into the light. Nicole with and open blouse and her hand holding it together. She was crying and on the floor. He came closer but Nicole told him to stop wither hands. She was being raped by Larry LaSalle. This was why Francis wanted to kill his hero.
Nicole was so insistent that Francis not leave the Rec Center when Larry told him he wanted to dance alone with her. She was because she might have caught/had those feeling that it was not good to be alone with him. She may be caught it the last time when they were dancing. Larry was all over her rubbing her body and getting closer by the second. Francis left because he obeys every word Larry tells him to do. I bet if Larry told him to go jump off a bridge he would do that. I too will not want to be alone with a man in the dark that I hardly knew. If Francis would have stayed Larry might just be rubbing her when they dance. At least that is better than being raped. What I don’t understand is why she did not report to the police and Larry LaSalle would have gone to jail. Nicole has a witness which is Francis and she would have her revenge.
This is called the Wreck Center for these types of reasons. The romantic tragedy that happened to Marie was one and the not so romantic disgusting crime that happened to Nicole was another. First murder and now rape. That is why the Rec Center is called “THE WRECK CENTER.”
Journal Entry 3 - Response 2
ReplyDeleteIn pages 93 to 96, a very dramatic and traumatic experience occurs for both Francis and Nicole.
Larry tells Francis that he wants to dance with Nicole alone. Nicole asks Francis not to leave. Francis leaves the room but is watching from a corner. He discovers that after the dance, Larry rapes Nicole. Francis stands outside the room, not doing anything to stop this. When Nicole comes out, she is crying and angry and heartbroken that Francis didn't save her. She leaves without a word.
I think that Nicole asked Francis not to leave because she had a feeling this would happen. She might've known that Larry was not all that great. On the other hand, she might not have known about it at all, but she just didn't want to be alone with Larry. This incident further defines the setting as the "Wreck Center". It defines it because Nicole's life was a bit wrecked there. She suffered a terrible experience. Francis' life is wrecked there because his heart broke because of Nicole and he knows he will never be with her again.
At the Wreck Center, after Larry returns from the war, Nicole and Francis are traumatized.
On page 93-96, something very traumatic happens to both Nicole and Francis. Larry LaSalle becomes a monster. He just came home from the war on leave and the whole town is celebrating his home coming. He reopens the rec center and throws a big party with the kids. All the kids look up to him even more now he is a war hero with a silver star. When the party is over, he tells Francis to go home because he wants to have one last dance with Nicole. She then asks Francis not to leave twice. She first says, "Stay and watch," and then says, "Don't go." Francis notices something strange by her face expression but couldn't bring himself to disobey Larry LaSalle. As he left the room something made him wait in the foyer. He then hears moans and the rustle of clothing. He knew what they were doing. Nicole Had just been raped by Larry LaSalle. Nicole did not want Francis to leave because she was afraid something like this might happen. I wondered why she would stay if she did not want to be alone with Larry LaSalle, but then I realized she also could not disobey Larry. This is an another example of why the "rec" center is the "wreck" center. Larry wrecked the lives of Nicole and Francis and destroys their trust. This is why Larry LaSalle is a monster.
ReplyDeleteThe Wrack Center has earned another reason why it has this ironic name. Larry LaSale has shown to both Francis and Nicole that he is not the bright happy go - lucky man the children of the Wreck Center once knew. Instead he is a monster of all young women around the Wreck Center, incuding Nicole. Larry forces Nicole to stay alone with him to "dance" to one final song, ehile Nicole pleads with Francis to not leave her alone with Larry. Francis sees no threat that Nicole sees so he ignores her and "leaves" the Wreck Center. [He actually stays in the shadows.] Nicole knew secretly what Larry had in store which is why she was so insistant for Francis to stay. If he hadn't had left...Nicole wouldn't have been raped by Larry LaSale. This is just another tragidy the Wreck Center can add to it's ongoing list.
ReplyDeleteOn page ninety three of heroes Nicole is assaulted by Larry LaSalle when he asks her to stay behind for one last dance. She tells Francis not to leave her and he doesn't. He stays hidden in the shadows, but he does nothing when he realizes what Larry LaSalle is doing to her. He doesn't know what to do so he just stays hidden. When Nicole finds out he stayed she gets really mad because he didn't do anything to stop Larry LaSalle. She starts ignoring him and staying inside all the time. Then she moves away in the middle of the night.
ReplyDeleteNicole knew what Larry LaSalle was going to do so she begged Francis to stay. He trusted Larry LaSalle but at the last minute decided to hide in the hallway. Nicole knew from the way he used to dance with her and how she was his star pupil that he was trouble.
A long time ago the rec center used to be a hall where there were dances and people got married. At one wedding the bride, Marie, was shot and killed along with the groom by her ex. Later that night he hanged himself. The hall closed down after that night. A couple years after Larry LaSalle came and converted the now abandoned hall into the rec center, or the "wreck center" as the kids called it.Now another tragedy has occurred, Nicole was attacked, left Francis and left town because of Larry and his "wreck center".
On pages 93 through 96 detail a very dramatic and traumatic experience for both Nicole and Francis occurred. Nicole was assaulted by Larry LaSalle I believe that Nicole was so insistent that Francis NOT leave the Rec Center when Larry told him he wanted to dance alone with her because she doesn’t like Larry LaSalle. She obviously expected for something to happen to herself if he left her by herself. This incident further defines the setting as the “Wreck Center” because; once again something really bad occurred in the Rec Center.
ReplyDeleteReading Journal 6
ReplyDeleteHeroes by Robert Cormier
When Larry LaSalle came back from the army, something bad happened. When he got back, he arranged a dance to celebrate his return. All the kids who attend the Wreck Center were happy that he came back. They had a great day dancing and having fun. They asked Larry how the war was and what happened. At the end of the night, everyone left except Nicole, Larry, and Francis.
Larry asked Francis if he would leave so that he and Nicole could have just one more dance together. At first, Francis wanted to stay but he didn’t want to disobey Larry because no one would do that. Nicole pleaded and begged Francis to stay with them while they had the last dance. Larry told Nicole that Francis is tired and that he had to leave, so Francis did. But, Francis decided to stand in the hall and listen to what was happening. He could hear moans and rustling of clothes. Nicole had been raped by Larry and that is why he told Francis to leave. When Nicole came out, she looked horrified and held her clothes up. The next day, Larry left and went back to the army. This tragedy further defines the setting as Wreck Center because what had happened that night was a “Wreck”.
The tragedy for Francis is that he didn’t stay to help his girlfriend and listen to what she had to say. Also, adding to the tragedy was that he listened to Larry and he raped Nicole. He should have trusted his instinct to stay instead of just waiting in the hall. The tragedy for Nicole is that Francis wouldn’t stay with her and that she was raped by Larry. I believe that the reason why Nicole pleaded and begged for Francis to stay is that she thought something was happening. She could tell that Larry was up to something and when it really happened, everything went out of control.
In the pages 93 to 96 a huge violation happens to Nicole. What happens is that Larry LaSalle insisted that he and Nicole dance alone together but then instead she gets raped by Larry and was abused. Nicole was probably so insistant on Francis staying with them because she was either scared or wanted Francis to watch. She asked because she might have seen some intent in Larry's eyes. This further increases the Rec's center as Wreck Center because Nicole get's wrecked and the center now has a reputation of people getting raped.
ReplyDeleteOn pages 102 through 104, Francis experiences a serious internal conflict; battling the temptations to jump off the church steeple and take his life. After Witnessing Nicole Renard, his girlfriend, get raped by his childhood hero Larry LaSalle and Nicole move away, her last words to Francis being along the lines that it was his fault and that he did nothing to stop it. With everything running in Francis’s head, he goes to the church, and remembers a secret door to the staple. As he sits at the top, he thinks about jumping off and killing himself. He didn’t demand to stay to see Larry and Nicole dance, and he knew what was happening, but didn’t do anything. And, on top of it all, she moves out and Larry leaves. He eventually overcomes the temptations by realizing the bad name it would give his parents, the parents of a son who killed himself at a church. The alternate to this pickle is to join the army, where it didn’t matter if he lived or died, and if he did die he would die a hero, one who died for his country and for a cause. While in the war, he dives onto a grenade in attempts to kill himself, but only blows off his face and has to return to his home town, but now with a burning passion to kill Larry LaSalle.
ReplyDelete#2:
ReplyDeleteThe descriptive scene that happens during this chapter is Nicole getting raped by Larry LaSalle. Nicole wanted Francis to stay because he said he'd never leave her side. If I were her, I'd be scared so she probably felt that if Francis were there, she'd be safe. This scene makes the Wreck Center even more of a wreck. Just another bad incident that happened in the place. It's almost like it's bad luck.
#2
ReplyDeleteBoth Nicole and and Francis have a dramatic and traumatic experience. Nicole was raped by Larry. This traumatic experience left her frightened. Francis could have prevented this because Nicole asked him to stay. Instead, Francis left because Larry told him to do so. This became traumatic for Francis because he realized he could have done something to help Nicole.
Nicole was insistent that Francis not leave because she thought something bad might happen to her. I think Nicole was scared for her safety because Larry was determined to have Francis leave them alone. She also knew she was at the “Wreck Center” and she knew its reputation for bad luck. History proved that nothing good ever happens there. This incident further defines the setting as the “Wreck Center” because it is another bad thing that happened. Again proving the bad nature of the setting.