READING JOURNALS (PGS. 1-47)
DIRECTIONS: Choose ONE from each section. Write a well written multi-paragraph response for each. Complete all work in your journals. Explain with details and specific examples from the text to support your thoughts. You may refer to the text for help. Responses should be written in your Reader’s Notebook or one the blog. These will be counted as READING grades and will be based upon the open-ended rubric (4-point).
Reading Assignment 1 – pp 1 – 19
Identify one or more literary allusions in Chapters 1 and 2. Briefly research these allusions and explain how they relate to the passages in which they appear in Heroes.
In Chapter 1, Francis says, “People glance at me in surprise and look away quickly or cross the street when they see me coming. I don’t blame them.” Compare and contrast peoples’ treatment of Francis in this passage to the way Jewish people were treated during WWII in Europe.
Make a text-to-self connection to one of the events in Chapter 2 involving Francis’ crush on Nicole. Explain a time that you had a crush on someone and what you did to try to get (or avoid) their attention.
Reading Assignment 2 – pp. 20 – 31
In the beginning of Chapter 3, Francis reveals that he purposely avoids eye contact with people he knows while walking through the streets of Frenchtown. Why do you think he behaves this way? What does this tell you about his character?
As Francis roams around his old neighborhood, he visits the place where Nicole Renard once lived. He is obviously upset that she is no longer living there when he thinks to himself: I don’t know where they went, the Renards. They left without warning, in the middle of the night.
Make a prediction about where the Renards have gone. Then, make a text-to-text, text-to-world, or text-to-self connection regarding the Renards’ prompt exit from Frenchtown.
On pages 27 through 30, Francis describes how he endures haunting dreams and memories of the war each night as he attempts to sleep. Why do you think this happens to Francis? What do these recurring dreams tell you about his subconscious mind?
Reading Assignment 3 – pp. 32 – 47
On page 33, Francis recalls wanting to be like the older boys in town, going off to war to join the “great crusade for freedom.” While hanging out with other veterans, however, he is hesitant to reveal his identity even to them, thinking to himself, “What if I told them I was little Francis Cassavant…that I am not the hero he thinks I am, not like the other veterans here in the St. Jude Club.” Why do you think Francis feels this way about himself?
Explain the irony behind the spelling of the “Wreck Center” (instead of “Rec Center”) and why it’s called a “bad luck place.” Make a prediction about what this may foreshadow for the rest of the story.
Select a modern day actor to play the role of Larry LaSalle in a movie version of Heroes. Explain why you selected this person to play this role. Additionally, which modern day actor would you cast in the role of “young” Francis? Explain this choice, as well. Your selections should show careful thought about the characters’ traits and behaviors.
Michelle Rodriguez Strazicic
ReplyDeleteMs. Drosdick
Language Arts Period 2
January 11, 2011
Reading Assignment 1-pg1-19 (bullet 1- first response)
“The war is over and I have no face,” is an example of a literary allusion in chapter one. This statement means that Francis Joseph Cassavant has lost his identity. An identity is what makes you different from everyone else in the world. Of course he has a face, but now it is destroyed. His face was damaged in the war by an exploding grenade. For a sentimental feature such as the face your normal life you had could be gone forever.
Has anyone ever told you that you have a big mouth? That is another example of a literary allusion in chapter two. This basically means that a person who has a big mouth rather talks too much or that person goes overboard on what he is saying and ends up saying something else. For an example Francis tells Joey LeBlanc this statement because he said to Nicole, “Hey, Nicole, you’ve got a run in your stocking.” Joey began to laugh and Francis was Disgust by what Joey thought was a witty remark. Nicole turned and walked faster. Francis really likes Nicole Renard and now is he is unsure if she likes him back.
Reading Assignment 1 - Bullet 2
ReplyDeleteIn the book, Heroes, Francis says, "People glance at me in surprise and look away quickly or cross the street when they see me coming. I don’t blame them." The is similar to what happened in World War II.
During WWII, Jews were widely despised. They were treated with less worth and dignity than some other people. Most people didn't want anything to do with them and were abhorrent towards them. Just like Francis. The way Francis looks puts people off. From his bandage to his hair, nothing is appealing to people. This is the way the Jews were looked at during the war. They were regarded as lowlifes who were not decorous.
There is a small difference, though, between the treatment of Jews and the treatment of Francis. When Francis walks past people, they turn away or cross the street. If this was a Jew walking past during the war, one of the Green Police might have caught them and sent them to a concentration camp. Also, somebody on the street might have caught the Jew. This did not happen to Francis - however, he was still shunned.
What happened to Francis is similar to what happened to Jews during World War II.
I can make a text-to-self connection with the novel “Heroes”. I can relate to Francis when he talks about his crush on Nicole Renard. The way he tries to avoid her glance is realistic, or at least I would have done the same. It would be awkward for someone you like to turn around and find you staring at them from across the room or wherever you are with them. That’s what Francis did. Whenever he was in the same classroom or same place like at recess or in the piazza, he tried not to look in her direction even though he loved their first glance at each other when they made eye contact. I would like to be looking at my crush, like Francis would like to be looking at Nicole, but I can’t be staring at them and find them looking back and make it a speechless and awkward moment that seems to stretch on forever. Francis also mentioned that he was made extremely happy when Nicole spoke his name. “My name was on her lips.” He thought once she spoke it. That would be exciting if the person you liked spoke your name for the first time to you so you know that they haven’t forgotten it and actually notice you. I’m sure many, many people can easily relate to Francis’s crush on Nicole, in the novel “Heroes”, to their lives.
ReplyDeleteFrancis has many horrible, haunting dreams about his past when he fought in the war. I think these haunting memories keep coming back to him because he’s afraid of his past of the war and what it did to him. A grenade blew apart his face. Instead of ears, he has dangling pieces of flesh. Instead of a nose, he has two holes in the middle of his face, like two little caves he has to breathe out of. The skin of his cheeks was torn off so Francis needed to get a skin graph for his cheeks from his thighs. All his teeth were lost so he needs to use dentures that barely fit his mouth until he can have better fitting ones once his gums stop shrinking. Francis’s throat was also damaged so his voice, from now on, always comes out raspy, like he has an eternal cold. This is an unforgettable past. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to have to live with myself, with my past. It would definitely haunt me in my dreams, where I’m vulnerable and unable to control my thoughts. These recurring dreams tell me that Francis subconsciously has a hard time dealing with his past and his physical self. When he’s conscious, he tries to ignore the stares that people give him and just push them out of his mind. The stares must come back subconsciously where he cannot just simply push them a side. Realistically, Francis is self conscious about his appearance and is self conscious about all the stares. These thoughts and images seem to come back to Francis in unconscious self while he’s sleeping where his mind is clear and is free to think of what is really scaring him, which is his past in the war.
ReplyDeleteReading Assignment 1- pp 1-19 #3
ReplyDeleteAs I proceeded through the second chapter, it was clear that Francis liked Nicole. All he could think about was her and when he saw her, he would choke up. Page seventeen was the first time Nicole spoke to Francis, which was a very exciting moment. At first I hoped that Francis would say something back, but then I remembered he would most probably be speechless since he was expecting to say something first, not Nicole. My prediction was true and although it was upsetting to see that nothing went further between them (conversation-wise), the silence brought great suspense and pushed me to read further.
I can completely connect with how Francis was feeling at the time of all this. At first he was excited, but then he become confused with the silence. Did she talk to him because she liked him? Was she just simply saying something, not intending anything? What did she mean? I know I would be confused to the point where I would go crazy. Situations like this have happened to me before, so I feel it’s easy to make a connection. I once liked this boy so every time he talked to me I though it was because he liked me too. I couldn’t tell if he just wanted to be friends or if he really liked me though. I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself for thinking someone liked me when they just viewed me as a friend. Unfortunately I couldn’t just go up to him and ask him if he did, so I had to wait and sometimes even ask other people what they thought. Eventually we became better friends but nothing further than that. I couldn’t complain though, I’m happy I played it safe. Situations like these can be tough and sometimes we need the help of others to guide us in the correct direction. Although it was awkward and confusing for Francis in the beginning, I was happy to read that Francis and Nicole later became a couple.
In the book Heroes by Robert Cormier, the main character, 18 year old Francis Joseph Cassavant, came back from France during World War II without a face. He had small caves for nostrils and the skin on his cheeks was patched and raw. He wore too-big dentures and always wore a scarf around his mouth wrapped around his head. He wore a bandage over his nose. Francis had fallen on a grenade as a supposed act of heroism, but really just a suicide attempt. He received a Silver Star for bravery and saving his fellow comrades, but this was not how he planned the next years of his life. In the first chapter of Heroes, Francis says, “People glance at me in surprise and look away quickly or cross the street when they see me coming. I don’t blame them.”
ReplyDeleteA connection that could be made to his feelings and others’ actions is the treatment of Jews during World War II. Jews had to wear yellow stars on their outer clothing, so there was no mistaking their social and religious standings. Also, Jewish people must hand in their bicycles, which was the most used way of transportation during that time. They were banned from trams and forbidden to drive. Jewish people could not visit cinemas or other places of entertainment. Swimming baths and sports grounds were not allowed to be used by Jews, and visiting Christians was prohibited. However, though the laws were strict and severe, the treatment of Jews was just that too. When Jews walked down streets with their distinctive stars, people usually looked either disapprovingly or with great pity. Hitler supporters probably said things to them or looked disgusted when they passed. Others probably felt bad for the Jews because of all they had to go through.
It was not that people regarded Francis disapprovingly, but he was probably pitied by many. I know that whenever I am in New York City and I see homeless or sick people around me, my heart foes out to them and I try to drop a few cents into their boxes. People did know Francis was a veteran from his outfit, so that probably made people feel even worse for him, that he went out to protect his country and came back without a face. Jews were pitied, as was Francis Joseph Cassavant in Heroes.
The treatment of Francis and Jewish people during World War 2 in Europe are very similar. They both are looked at in disgust when they are walking in the street. Francis explains his face injuries by wearing his veteran jacket. By doing this, he is showing everyone that he was a veteran, which was a very honorable position back then, however, many are frightened by what happened to his face. During World War 2, Jews had to wear stars of David to show they were Jewish. This star showed everyone that the wearer was Jewish, and most of the population in Germany disliked Jews, so their was no honor in wearing the star. Even though Francis saved his comrades and should be regarded as a hero, many are scared of him because of what the grenade did to his face. Jewish people were also looked at in disgust because they were blamed for everything bad that happened to Germany. Francis and the Jewish people during World War 2 did nothing wrong, yet they are looked at strangely because they are falsely accused of wrongdoing. However, sometimes people in the streets look at Francis in respect since he wears his veteran jacket, but when Jews walked in the street, there was almost zero respect for them. Francis choose to hide his face in order for people not to know his identity and so children and adults would not be scared by his face. The Jews hid in order to survive, not because they were able to choose to. In the end, Francis earned the respect he deserved for jumping on the grenade, even if it was just meant to end his life instead of saving his comrades, by obtaining the silver medal, but the Jews were sent to the Final Solution, which was when they were sent to their deaths. Francis's treatment was sad, but it was not as bad as the Jews in World War 2 that were innocently killed, just because they were Jewish.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter one of Heroes, Francis says “People glance at me in surprise and look away quickly or cross the street when they see me coming. I don’t blame them.” The way people are treating Francis is a lot like the way people were treating Jewish people during WWII in Europe. People are not hurting him physically, like the Jewish people had to endure. They were hurting him mentally.
ReplyDeleteWhen people are looking at Francis and then walking away from him when they know that he spotted him was like what was happening to the Jewish people. Almost everyone was staring at Francis and the Jewish, because they were different. People avoided them both when they were walking on the streets or around town, like they weren’t supposed to be there. The people weren’t hurting Francis on the outside, but on the inside. Francis already knows he is different from everybody else, but people are making it more obvious. When people look at Francis, it makes him want to change things about himself. Saying he is “ugly” just brings down his self esteem. People in Europe brought down the Jewish people’s self esteem. They wanted to change who they are because of the way people thought of them.
“People glance at me in surprise and look away quickly or cross the street when they see me coming. I don’t blame them.” That hurt Francis a lot, and also hurt the Jewish when that happened to them. The Jewish people and Francis definitely had a lot in common, when it came to how they were treated.
During WWII in Europe, everyone would discriminate against the Jewish people and give them dirty looks as they passed by on the streets. I'm sure Francis feels the same way because of the way he looks. Everybody avoids him whenever they see him. In Chapter 1, Francis says, "People glance at me in surprise and look away quickly or cross the street when they see me coming. I don't blame them." Even though he's not Jewish, people automatically don't like him, just because of the way he looks. If only people knew how he got that way. If they did, surely they would like him and be nice to him. They would think of him as a brave young man. Some may even think of him as a hero.
ReplyDeleteReading Assignment 1:
ReplyDeleteBeing discriminated isn't an easy thing to experience. People look at you differently and you feel very awkward. The Jews felt this way during the times of the Holocaust because they were treated upon very differently. Their acts were not much different from the average Catholic. Besides religious purposes, the Jews and Catholics are and were very much alike. People all around the world have something embarrassing to hide, so Francis shouldn't feel out of place in this world, but because of the way people are treating him, he feels wrong. This type of judgment is terrible because you can't help the fact that you got hurt during saving your country. The citizens should be thanking Francis and praying that he turns out okay, at least he didn't die. People feel scared around him because he doesn't look the same as the average human. But, if every human looks different, what should the average human look like? How can we tell who looks right and who looks wrong? We can't which just proves that Francis and the Jews were misjudged for reasons unknown. When reasons can't be identified, you know that the statement can't be right. Discrimination can't be right.
In 3rd grade I moved to a new school system and knew nobody. I was a “loser” in the eyes of the other children, like the black sheep of a litter. I hung around the kids that I knew would be accepting of me in the future, but for now, I was disliked. I caught eye of a girl in my class who was pretty and sweet. She probably didn’t even know I was alive, but I gave it a shot. She was “popular” and acted alike. I tried to talk to her, help her down from the stool, or make her laugh. Every time though it was “Myles go away, “or “That wasn’t funny Myles.” She thought I was disgusting, and told me she hated me, but behind all this meanness I still liked her. To this day I’m not sure how but one day I just didn’t like her anymore. I had tried everything, impressing her, making her laugh, helping her, and being nice, but nothing worked. She didn’t want anything to do with me, alike to the situation with Francis’ crush on Nicole.
ReplyDeleteWhen Francis is walking through the streets in Frenchtown, he purposley avoids eye contact with the people he knows. I think he behaves this way because he doesn't want them to recognize him. If they do, they're going to bombard him with questions and ask him how his face got like that, and call him a hero because he earned a Silver Star. Francis doesn't consider himself to be a hero because having a grenade explode in his face isn't a herous act.
ReplyDeleteIt tells me that he doesn't like a lot of attention and likes to keep to himself.
Reading Journal 2
ReplyDeleteHeroes by Robert Cormier
When Francis was in the 7th grade, he loved this girl named Nicole. They had a relationship going until one day she randomly moved away from Frenchtown where they lived. Francis was so sad that he felt he didn’t deserve to live in this world. So, he decided to enter the army to try to kill himself or try to die from getting shot. But, when he was serving duty, he tripped and landed on a grenade. Francis’ face was literally blown away. Unfortunately for Francis, he survived the harsh explosion and was awarded the Silver Star for saving his platoon from the grenade.
Now Francis avoids eye contact with people he knows while walking through the streets of Frenchtown. He behaves this way because he is very self conscious about his face. He feels that if he looks at the ground while walking on the streets, know one will notice him. He is hidden behind a scarf and bandages and feels like a spy in disguise. He thinks people are either filled with pity for him or curiosity and he wants to avoid it.
This behavior, tells us a lot about Francis’ character. It tells us he is self conscious; he is embarrassed, and doesn’t want people to notice him. He might not want people to feel sorry for him because his goal in the first place was to kill himself. To him, the wounds may be the mistakes that he has made. Also, if people are curious about why he looks like that, he does not want to have to tell them the real story or bring up bad memories. It must have been very hard for Francis to live his life now in disguise.
In the book Heroes by Robert Cormier, the main character, Francis Cassavant, comes back from the war with a Sliver Star, but without a face. He is named a hero, even though nothing heroic was in his plans.
ReplyDeleteWhen Francis returns to Frenchtown, his childhood hometown, he goes by a fake name to his landlady Mrs. Belander. He chooses the name Raymond, after his dead brother, Beaumont, his mother's maiden name. To everyone else in Frenchtown, he is a stranger, an unnamed stranger. Francis avoids eye contact with anyone in Frenchtown. I suspect this is because he is afraid he will be recognized, made a fuss about, and branded with the ever-present title "hero". Though it is hard to acknowledge a man with "caves", a large white scarf, and no ears, this is all part of his insecurity. Francis's paranoia drives him to keeping his head down and pleading with Arthur in the bar not to announce when he sees him. If a person I know now came up to me in ten years with remotely no face, I would probably evade eye contact because of pity and sadness for the person. I wouldn't look long enough or deeply enough until I recognize the person to stay away from embarrassment and uncomfortableness.
Francis's social standing is just as a stranger at the bottom of a hierarchy. He is an unnamed, faceless stranger, a bare addition to Frenchtown. Any relationships Francis had before going to war are now void. He recognizes his old friends, even the old school bully, but no one recognizes him. Francis returned to a place supposed to bring warm memories back for any other but just brandishing the title he doesn't deserve.
Michelle Rodriguez Strazicic
ReplyDeleteMs. Drosdick
Language Arts Period 2
January 14, 2011
Reading Assignment 2 – pp. 20 – 31(Bullet 1)
Francis avoids eye contact with people he knows in the streets of Frenchtown because he does not want any more attention that he is already gaining by wearing the scarf and bandage around his face. The residences of Frenchtown are having their suspicions or they have pity on Francis. He feels like a spy luring the district. After his appearance to Frenchtown, he is not comfortable about his face. Francis is much closed and doesn’t want to reveal himself. He doesn’t even want people to know who is. Francis Joseph Cassavant has changed a lot since he came back from the war.
I can understand why Francis would not want to be seen or noticed in his old town. People from his past remember him as a normal, down to earth boy, but now with his war injury, he believes people will view him differently. He doesn’t want the attention either because he is not proud of what he experienced in the war or the fact that people regard him as a “hero”. It must be tough to come back to your hometown and find everyone from your past happy and healthy. In the reading, just by the way Francis narrated it, I could tell he was embarrassed by the way he looked and he felt that he didn’t even deserve to be called his actual name since he was barely the person he was before.
ReplyDeleteI’m getting the feeling that Francis feels as if he has nothing to look forward to. His injury controls every minute of his life and he feels defeated. The reading tells me so much about his character. After learning that he didn’t like to make eye contact with people or even walk near them, I knew he was ashamed but I’m still not sure why. He’s a hero and that’s a fact, so why does he feel the way he does? His injury shows his bravery and courage and Francis shouldn’t hide that.
As Francis roams around his old neighborhood, he visits the place where Nicole Renard once lived. He is obviously upset that she is no longer living there when he thinks to himself: I don’t know where they went, the Renards. They left without warning, in the middle of the night. I believe that the Renards went into hiding.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Renards are now in hiding. The book says that Francis just came back from a war, and it was against the Germans. Then, when Francis went to where Nicole Renard used to live, he talked to the new owner of the condo. She said that they were “All gone”. She wouldn’t tell Francis if they went into hiding, and she was also suspicious, and very vague. My prediction reminded me of the book The Diary of Anne Frank. Anne Frank went into hiding, because of a war, and I believe that Nicole did the same thing.
I believe the Renards went into hiding because they were afraid of the war. They were afraid of being taken from the Germans or Japanese. My prediction is almost identical to the book The Diary of Anne Frank.
Jacob Blaustein
ReplyDeleteMrs. Drosdick
Journal Response 2, per 2
1-14-11
When I had a crush on a girl in 5th grade, I tried to get her attention with either something funny or smart. Most of the time it works but all you really need to do is be yourself and then you let the girl decides if she wants you or not.
When Francis walks down the streets of Frenchtown, he tries to avoid eye contact with people. I think he does this because he doesn’t want people to judge him because of his incident. This tells you that Francis is a shy man who doesn’t think highly of himself.
An actor to play the role of young Francis, in my opinion would be Harrison Ford because he is very dramatic and good with shy rolls and action parts. For the part of Robert LaSalle, I would choose Johnny Depp because he has a dark side in most of his rolls and he could really act out the part the best.
I predict that the Renards have gone back to their hometown. They originally moved to Frenchtown, which means they must have lived somewhere else beforehand. I think there was some kind of conflict that occurred between Nicole and Francis which led to the abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Renards. I believe there was a conflict because I predict that Francis chased after Nicole and was eventually able to get Nicole to become his girlfriend. Then Francis must have done something horrible to Nicole that must have really hurt her, which caused her to get her whole family to move.
ReplyDeleteI made a two text-to-world connection with the disappearance of Nicole and her family. The movie, Flightplan, was about the mysterious disappearance of a girl that took a whole plane ride to find her. This movie sparked into my mind as soon as I read “left without warning”. I also made a connection to Osama's disappearance, except I don't think Nicole did anything bad that forced her into hiding. Francis knew Nicole was still somewhere in the world, just like America knew Osama was probably hiding somewhere in Pakistan. Francis didn't know whether Nicole was alive or dead, just like we still don't know if Osama is still alive or dead. The disappearance of the Renards and Osama is very similar, which is why I made the connection.
Francis purposely avoids eye contact with all the people he knows because I think he is ashamed of himself. I think he behaves like this because he doesn’t want any attention due to the fact that his face is warped. This tells me that he is very conscious of the way people think of him which can be good and bad. I think he is doing the right thing because if I was him I would do the same. He feels like the guinea pig among pigs, small and weak.
ReplyDelete“People glance at me in surprise and look away quickly or cross the street when they see me coming. I don’t blame them.”, as Francis says. He sees himself as an outcast, when he shouldn’t. As when the Jews during WW 2, people would look at them and think they are so different from everyone else. Francis is still a person and is no different from his injuries; they think he is different because he looks different. When every human is the same. He feels like he should be ashamed of what he looks like but he has done nothing wrong, as did the Jews they were both all good people that don’t deserve the way they are treated.
ReplyDeleteJournal Entry 3 - Bullet 2
ReplyDeleteThere is some irony to why the "Rec Center" is spelled the "Wreck Center". It foreshadows what's going to happen later on in the book too.
The "Wreck Center" is called a "bad luck place" because of the murder of a couple who were getting married there. The center used to be a place for galas and festivals, but ever since the murder occurred, it has turned into a "bad luck place". Years later, they turned the place into a rec center. Somebody then changed the paint and made it the "wreck" center because of the wreck of the murder.
I think this place foreshadows what's going to happen later on in the book. Since there was a murder there before, I think there will be another murder there later. Specifically, the murder of Larry LaSalle by Francis Cassavant. I believe that Francis will take Larry to the Wreck Center and kill him there. Also, Larry used to work there - that's how Francis got to know him, so it is the perfect place to kill him.
There is irony to why the "Rec Center" is called the "Wreck Center" because of what happened there before. That event and the name of the center foreshadows what will happen later on in the book.
The irony behind the spelling of "Wreck Center" instead of "Rec Center" and the reason that it is called a "bad luck place." is that the center use to be a place of festivals, parties, balls and celebrations but then something occurred during a wedding ceremony that changed how people thought of it. During a wedding the ex-fiance of the bride busted in during the ending ceremony and shot both the newly wedded wife and husband dead. Later that day he also hung himself nearby.
ReplyDeleteYears later this place was renovated and owned by Larry LaSalle who was Francis' childhood hero. Where people still said it was "bad luck place" but, where many children would gather after school for activities and crafts. I think that the people still calling the Rec Center a "Wreck Center" foreshadows that there will be another "wreck", or murder, there later on in the story.
Francis said that his mission of being back in Frenchtown is to kill Larry LaSalle; maybe that means that this is the place that he will kill him.
The place of the death of the bride on her wedding, the Wreck Center remains as the “bad luck place”. Though it was restored, obviously trying to renew feelings of happiness at a place of recreation, the name Rec was changed to Wreck that night. Even as it was changed back to Rec Center, the name Wreck Center stuck. The death of the bride at her wedding reception and the paralysis of her bridegroom by the bride’s ex boyfriend is the story hanging around Frenchtown like fog. However, the Wreck Center is a new place for activities and learning, but everyone says it is still a bad luck place. This is a bit of both irony and foreshadowing. Any recreation center is supposed to be a place for classes to take and games to play. It should be a fun place, correct? However, the gloom of the Wreck Center lays a thicker blanket of mystery on the sheet that it Heroes.
ReplyDeleteA connection can be bridged between the treatment endured by Francis and the Jewish people during WWII in Europe. Though the reasons for the treatment may be different, the affects are similar. Avoidance was a big factor in the life of Francis and the lives of Jewish people during this time period. Both were viewed by the public as misfits based on their appearance. Francis’ face was disfigured due a grenade explosion in the war. Jewish people had to deal with the negative stereotyped features imposed on them by Hitler’s mentality.
ReplyDeleteThrough the perspective of Francis and the Jewish people, avoidance was a form of survival. They each had their reasons, which were equally validated by the world they lived in. Francis covered his face as a way to hide his identity. This allowed him to avoid judgements made by the ignorance of others. Where as, the Jewish people covered their identity to avoid capture from those ignorant to religious tolerance during WWII.
Michelle Rodriguez Strazicic
ReplyDeleteMs. Drosdick
Language Arts Period 2
January 18, 2011
Reading Assignment 3 – pp. 32 – 47(bullet 2)
The irony behind the Wreck Center is a tragic story about Marie-Blanche Touraine about her old lover and new lover. Wreck is meaning the story of love, romance, and murder. It is called bad luck because it is a place of doom, but it wasn’t always like that until one day. Marie-Blanche married Dennis O’Brian after breaking off their engagement to Hervey Rochelle. On their wedding day, Hervey entered with a gun murdering Marie-Blanche and she was left in a bloody puddle. The blood dyed her wedding dress. Dennis was paralyzed for the rest of his life when a bullet entered his spinal cord. Hervey hanged himself committing suicide. This may foreshadow all of his attempts into killing Larry LaSalle.
Journal #3
ReplyDeleteBefore Frenchtown was turned completely inside out, The “Wreck” Center was originally the Rec Center, a family friendly place of traditions and memories. This is very ironic because you learn later in the story that this present name links to two key events. The first event was what gave the Rec Center its new name, and the second event was almost like a follow-up to prove that this building was in fact a wreck.
The Rec Center became known as The Wreck Center after an unfortunate event took place. The wedding of Marie-Blanche Touraine marked the end of the Rec Center’s happy days after she was shot dead by her furious ex-fiance, Hervey Rochelle. Reading this part was upsetting because this was the first time in the book I realized how early Francis’s life began to drastically shift. After calling the Wreck Center a “Bad Luck Place” so many times, Arthur gave me a strong hint that I would soon learn something else that had also tied into the whole bad luck belief. Sure enough, after reading a few more chapters, I learned that Nicole Renard was raped in the Wreck Center by who else but Larry Lasalle. Now I know exactly why Francis is out for him.
Journal Response 3
ReplyDeleteThe irony behind the spelling of the “Wreck Center” is that the center was built to help kids in recreation. However, it's spelled wreck instead of recreation, which are two different things. Wreck is to destroy, but recreation is something that amuses or stimulates a person. Why would the place be spelled wreck, if its intent was helping kids in recreation. Is it possible it was intended to be brought down within a few months or years? It is known as a bad luck area because a wedding was held there and then the past boyfriend of the women getting married came and shot everyone. He succeed in killing the bride, and paralyzed the groom. He later hanged himself. People claim you can feel the doom inside the place.
Based on learning that the Wreck Center is a place full of doom, I predict that something really terrible had happened at the Wreck Center that involved Nicole, Francis, and Larry. We know that Francis plays ping pong and Nicole dances there, so I think something really bad is going to occur, which leads to the event of where Nicole disappears mysteriously. Since Larry LaSalle is the director, I think he must have done something to Nicole, which is the reason why Francis's goal is to kill him for what he did in the past.
In the novel, “Heroes”, there is irony between the spellings of the Wreck Center instead of “Rec Center”. The spelling “Wreck” means something ruined or messed up/destroyed. The spelling connects to its past. At a wedding that was held at the Wreck Center years ago, in the novel, when Francis was only a child, the bride’s ex-partner came in depression and obsession over the bride the day of the wedding and murdered her, in the ceremony, by shooting her. The murderer also shot the bride’s brand new husband and he became paralyzed. This was the big “wreck” of the past and, since then; the Wreck Center was given the name instead of “rec” center, which, I personally think, would be more appropriate. This is also why it is a “bad luck” place. The wedding was definitely one unlucky situation.
ReplyDeleteI can make a prediction of how the Wreck Center could affect the rest of the story. Because Francis has many, many flashbacks throughout the story, I can predict that a flashback will eventually come along about something horrible that happened to Nicole, the reason why she suddenly left and scarred Francis with depression and loss.
Or, maybe Larry La’Salle had a bad past there. I already know that Francis was asking about where he’d gone to the other veterans in the bar. How would Francis even know Larry had gone? That’s why I think that Larry left while Francis was still young and spent time with Larry. I predict that something happened in the Wreck Center that caused him to leave, or maybe he was murdered/died in the Wreck Center because the veterans in the bar also toasted to him, as if he was deceased. There are so many possibilities to what might’ve happened there. The only way to find out is to continue reading and wait for the truth to unravel.
Reading Journal 3
ReplyDeleteHeroes by Robert Cormier
The Frenchtown Rec. Center is forever known as the “Wreck Center”. In the old days it was known as Grenier’s Hall. This hall was a fun place to host all sorts of events and special occasions. There was a tragic event that happened here which made this hall be known as a bad luck place. Even though the hall was updated after the tragedy, people who knew the story still called it the Wreck Center.
The tragedy that occurred happened on the wedding day of a girl named Marie-Blanche Touraine and Dennis O’Brien. During the wedding, her previous fiancé, Hervey Rochelle stormed in with a gun. He took the life of Marie-Blanche and also shot Dennis who would become paralyzed for the rest of his life. Hervey hung himself that night after the shooting. Grenier’s Hall was no longer a fun gather place. The hall was closed for quite a while. People swore they could still hear moaning and crying coming through the doors of the hall.
When Francis was in the 7th grade, drunken workers fixed up the hall and named it Frenchtown Rec. Center. People thought it was still a bad luck place so they crossed out the words on the sign and replaced it with Wreck Center. Although they fixed the sign, the people still knew the Rec. Center as the Wreck Center.
Because the author spent so much time talking about the bad luck place in this chapter, it must mean that something bad may occur again at the Wreck Center. This is a foreshadow of something bad that may happen again. I predict something bad will happen that will make Francis kill Larry LaSalle.
Reading Assignment #3
ReplyDeleteIn the book, they call it a "Wreck Center" over a "Rec Center" because they saw it as a place of disaster or in a state of ruin rather than a recreational center. They think the center is bad luck because years earlier, during a wedding ceremony, a bride's ex-fiance came in with a gun and murdered her and paralyzed the groom. He then hung himself. Now people are afraid something else like this is going to happen. The author is making it obvious that something bad is going to happen when Joey said "he could feel that old doom hanging over the place,"on page 46-47, and Francis said that Joey, "had been right, after all." I predict that someone is going to get hurt at the rec center.
Reading Assignment #4
ReplyDeleteArthur discovers Francis' true identity when he recognizes his voice. Arthur reveals that Francis jumped on a grenade to save multiple people in the war. For his heroism, he received an honor, the Silver Star, and the appreciation and respect of all Americans. He also received his messed up face, bad memories and nightmares. I think he should be proud of his actions and tell people his story and show his Silver Star and tell every one, "I had the guts to jump on a grenade."
Journal 3
ReplyDeleteThere is irony behind the spelling of “Wreck Center” in the story. the word wreck means to means to be in ruins. With time, the “Rec Center” eventually became ruins within Frenchtown. Therefore, making its replaced name, “Wreck Center”, by locals appropriate. The reason it is called “the bad luck place” is because bad things have happened at this place. For example, there was a tragic shooting of a bride during her wedding reception at the building before it became know as “Wreck Center”. Even more ironic is how the “Wreck Center” symbolizes Francis. They are both damaged and in ruins.
From this irony we can possibly foreshadow that Francis’ condition will worsen like that of the “Wreck Center”. I think in the end, Francis might become vacant and abandoned like the center. This can happen through death or him living his life in isolation.
Reading Assignment 3:
ReplyDeleteFrancis avoids contact from all people, but the veterans mostly because of what he thinks of himself. His self-confidence was lowered deeply since he became less normal looking. He doesn't feel that he's a hero yet because he looks like that. He also probably has some guilt hanging around on his back because his friends died right next to him and he probably felt like he could have stopped them from getting hurt. He also hasn't finished one of his missions, to kill Larry LaSalle. He feels unaccomplished which would prove to himself nothing. He feels like he hasn't done anything to help others, like the other veterans have. That's why he doesn't show his face to them.
The Rec Center is now known as the Wreck Center. The irony behind the spelling of the Wreck Center is because there were so many bad things that happened in the Wreck Center when Francis and his friends were young. The Wreck center is called the “bad luck place” because when Francis was younger, there was a wedding going on. When the reception was happening a crazy man walked in and stabbed the bride. She ended up passing away, and then the next day, the husband hung himself because of her death. I predict that when Francis goes back to the Wreck Center when he is older something bad is going to happen again.
ReplyDeleteThe "Wreck Center" was rather clever if I do say so myself. The fact that it is actually a Rec Center makes a great pun. Since the Rec Center is full of bad luck and is said to be a "bad luck place," the rundown old center was renamed the Wreck center, because it's a wreck. The names sound the same, but have different meanings. [Puns = LIFE by the way.] The Wreck center is a magnet for bad luck, so this lets us forshadow, or predict, that something potentially bad is eventually going to happen. The canter is full of bad luck. Back when it was a thriving, happy-go-lucky place of parties and weddings, something tragic happened that would change the Rec Center forever. Marie-Blanche was marrying sweet ol' Dennis O'Brian when Hervey Rochelle: A man she broke off her engagement to, burst into the hall and shot both Marie and Dennis. The Rec center plumitted from there and when the town tried to fix it up; someone replaced the words "Rec Center" with "Wreck Center." This bad luck place will most likely continue to spiral downwrds until another catastrophy takes place in it's empty halls.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, Francis looked up to Larry LaSalle as a role model and hero. Alike, i looked up to Michael Vick, a famous football player and actor, but later found out he was a dog fighter and was sentenced to a term in prison. My experience is similar to Francis's which is why i would pick Michael to play Larry LaSalle in a modern movie. For Francis, I would pick the boy form Good Luck Charlie, I'm not sure his name, but he looks up to John Theresa, a famous musician in the show, to later realize he is enemies of his parents and did bad things to them years ago. I would pick this boy because he looked up to someone who later he found out to have doe something bad to the people he loved.
ReplyDeleteJournal 3
ReplyDeleteThere is irony behind the spelling of “Wreck Center” in the story. the word wreck means to means to be in ruins. With time, the “Rec Center” eventually became ruins within Frenchtown. Therefore, making its replaced name, “Wreck Center”, by locals appropriate. The reason it is called “the bad luck place” is because bad things have happened at this place. For example, there was a tragic shooting of a bride during her wedding reception at the building before it became know as “Wreck Center”. Even more ironic is how the “Wreck Center” symbolizes Francis. They are both damaged and in ruins.
From this irony we can possibly foreshadow that Francis’ condition will worsen like that of the “Wreck Center”. I think in the end, Francis might become vacant and abandoned like the center. This can happen through death or him living his life in isolation.
Journal 1
ReplyDeleteA connection can be bridged between the treatment endured by Francis and the Jewish people during WWII in Europe. Though the reasons for the treatment may be different, the affects are similar. Avoidance was a big factor in the life of Francis and the lives of Jewish people during this time period. Both were viewed by the public as misfits based on their appearance. Francis’ face was disfigured due a grenade explosion in the war. Jewish people had to deal with the negative stereotyped features imposed on them by Hitler’s mentality.
Through the perspective of Francis and the Jewish people, avoidance was a form of survival. They each had their reasons, which were equally validated by the world they lived in. Francis covered his face as a way to hide his identity. This allowed him to avoid judgements made by the ignorance of others. Where as, the Jewish people covered their identity to avoid capture from those ignorant to religious tolerance during WWII.
Reading Assignment- 3
ReplyDeleteThe irony of the spelling of the “Wreck Center” is that the “wreck” no longer stands for recreation, although it did before the name got changed and fixed on the sign and everybody started calling it that. This place is called a bad luck place because the wedding of Marie-Blanche Touraine. Marie-Blanche had a married Dennis O’Brien, a handsome Irishman; this was after she broke off her engagement with Hervey Rochelle, the shipping foreman at the Monument Comb Shop. In the middle of the reception when Marie-Blanche and Dennis were cutting the wedding cake, Hervey burst into the hall, a gun blazing in his hand. Next, Marie-Blanche was lying bloody, dying in her wedding gown and Dennis got a bullet to his spine paralyzing him for the rest of his life. Hervey hung himself that night in a shed behind the comb shop. That is why the place is called a bad luck place; some say that when there is a full moon, you can still hear Marie-Blanche’s screams and moans.
on pages 27-30 francis tells us about how he has reoccuring dreams about the war, i think that this happens because he was traumatized by the war since he joined when he was young and wasn't emotionally ready for it. these dreams tell that he has a guilty conscience and also that francis suffors from post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 1 of the book Heroes, Francis Casavant says, "People glance at me in surprise and look away quickly or cross the street when they see me coming. I don’t blame them." He can be related to the Jewish people of WWII.
ReplyDeleteJews were deeply hated during the time of World War 2. They were like a lesser species to most people then. Francis wasn't hated, but he was not looked upon very well. His appearance mostly kept people from interacting with him. His wrapped up face and bandages were probably not very appealing to them. How people look at him make him seem like he's from another world, too. Just like the Jews.
Although Francis was very similar to the Jewish people in Germany during WWII, they do share some differences. Jewish people were treated like scum and were thrown into concentration camps or sent to be killed when seen walking the streets. Francis was just a spectacle, nothing was wrong with him to the people that stared. He was treated no different than everybody else, and Jews were treated a lot worse than most people in Germany.
Francis Casavant was similar to the Jews of World War 2, but also different in a way.
While walking in the streets of Frenchtown, Francis Casavant avoids eye contact with the people he knows.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a logical reason to his actions. The reason is, even with the scarf and bandage covering his face, he wants to hide his identity from them. He doesn't want the people he knows to see him like that. He doesn't want them to get this new image of little Francis Casavant into their heads, he wants them to remember him as who he was before the war.
This tells me something about Francis. It tells me that Francis can't accept the way he looks now, and he thinks that other people shouldn't be able to accept it, either. I think he's very self-conscious. This is my idea of what he feels like inside.
Why Francis avoids eye contact with the people he knows is very obvious to me know. He wants to conceal his identity.
There is irony from the spelling of "Wreck Center", instead of Rec Center. The irony is that of the terrible tragedy that occurred there. When a woman was having her wedding, her ex-husband barged in and shot her dead. The bride's soon-to-be husband hung himself the next day. Also, the next night, someone changed "Rec Center" to "Wreck Center" on the sign of the building. The sign was restored to the original name, but the other name will hold ever so true in Frenchtown. I predict that something tragic will happen again when Francis is older, and this is foreshadowing it.
ReplyDeletethe irony of the spelling of wrcek center instead of rec center is that it was built like a wreck and since the workers built it haphazardly and i think its considdered s badluck place because it was wrecked and also i think that the name of the place could predict something about it maybe it could be called wreck because maybe larry does something to francis that mortifies him so much that he wants to kill larry
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