On pages 102 through 104,
Francis experiences a serious internal conflict.
o
Explain why this internal
conflict occurs AND how he overcomes it.
o
What is your opinion of his
decision?
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Francis comes across a big internal conflict in between pages 102-104. What happens is Nicole gets harassed at the party and Francis just stood there and did nothing about it. Nicole got mad at him and never wanted to talk to him again. On page 102 Nicole states, "Go away, Francis... Just go away." This tells me that Nicole doesn't want anything to do with Francis anymore. To overcome this Francis entered the army to become a soldier. On page 104 Francis states, "In my pocket the birth certificate I had altered to change my age, and became a soldier in the United States Army." Because this happened right after his conflict with Nicole, you can infer that he did this to overcome it. I can relate this to the movie An Officer and a Gentleman because the main character enters the Army due to him getting in trouble a lot with the law.
ReplyDeleteI am all for Francis' decision to enter the army. One reason is because he can be away from Nicole, so he won't think about her as much. Another reason is because instead of doing drugs like a lot of other people do to overcome things, or killing himself, he entered the army, which I think was the best thing he could do. Lastly, not only is he joining the army to overcome his conflict with Nicole, but at the same time he is serving his country. I can relate this to one of my family-friends that also joined the army because of an internal conflict. His parents got divorced and he became depressed, so to overcome it he joined the army and it has really helped him a lot.
“Should I do this?” Francis Cassavant thought to himself. He was standing at the top of the church steeple getting ready to jump. He looked down at the hard, cold cement and thought about how long it would take to reach the sidewalk? Francis took a deep breathe, 1, 2, I stopped myself. Francis is going through internal conflict in whether or not he should jump and take away his life or continue to live. In the text on page 104 it states, “I thought of St. Jude’s Cemetery and the pitiful graves set apart from the rest, the ones who had taken their own lives and could not be buried in consecrated ground. I thought of my mother and father- could I disgrace their name this way?” This shows that no matter how much Francis wants to die there are obstacles that are holding him back. He overcame this by telling himself that he could not die that way while there were soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields around the world. In the end, Francis decides to forge his certificate in order to get into war at an earlier age. Today, there are many people who go through the same challenge in their head whether or not to commit suicide. Sadly many people do end of killing themselves. But, in the end Francis tells himself that he has a good chance of dying in war, this way he will not be known as the one who committed suicide but the one who died fighting for his country.
ReplyDeleteNot many 15 year old boys are boarding a bus on the way to Fort Delta to fight in war. Francis was entering war at 15 with the thought of dying in his head. He wanted to die in a way that would seem respectful instead of committing suicide. I disagree with Francis’s decision. I disagree with how is wants to kill himself. I feel that life will never be so bad that you will want to kill yourself forever. In the end, it will always get better. In the text on page 104 it states Francis thinking to himself, “Saying a prayer before committing the worst sin of all: despair.” This shows that Francis knows how bad committing suicide but due to what Larry did he feels that he would be better dead. I would agree a little with Francis on how he chooses not to commit suicide but rather have a chance to die while fighting for his country. Though, I still do not believe with Francis’s mind set. No matter what Larry did, or Nicole’s betrayal wanting to die is worse than anything. This reminds me of a quote. This quote says, “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” This shows that life will always get better no matter how many memories you have to leave behind. To Francis this is leaving Nicole and memories at the “Wreck” center behind and moving on to live a happier life.
What would you do if the love of your life grew angry with you and never wanted to speak to you again? Francis Cassavant faced an internal conflict when this happened to him. He was so upset that he ran all the way to the church and climbed to the highest steeple where he planned to jump off. Just as he was about to jump, Francis thought “I thought of my mother and father—could I disgrace their name in this way?” By thinking that, Francis solved his internal conflict and decided not to jump. This reminds me of the movie Titanic when Rose had the internal conflict of jumping off the back of the boat.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Francis did the right thing in backing down from committing suicide because later in his life he was able to change multiple people’s lives by jumping on a grenade. “The next afternoon I boarded the bus to Fort Delta, in my pocket the birth certificate I had already altered to change age, and became a soldier in the United States Army.” Francis’ decision to not jump leads him to do greater things with his life. Many people in present day go through internal conflict and eventually turn around and do greater things with their lives.
Bella Orlandoni
ReplyDeleteJournal Entry 3
In the novel Heroes, Francis faces a very serious internal conflict. The cause of this internal conflict was Nicole Renard, his one true love. After years of not speaking, Francis finally gets to say a few broken words to Nicole. Nicole is very upset with him, speaks very few words, and walks away. She says, “Go away Francis, just go away.”. As you can imagine, talking to the person you are in love with after a very long time, and then getting completely rejected and turned down, can cause despair beyond words. After this, he goes to the church in French town, and climbs to the top. There, he looks at the road stories below him and thinks of jumping while saying a prayer. Then he realizes how noble other soldiers are dying in the battle fields, and how he is about to die in the most un-noble way possible, by killing himself. So he steps back, and comes up with a solution. He waits for the next day to take a bus, and he’s on his way to enlist in the United States Army.
My opinion of this decision is quite complicated. For Francis, this decision is a smart one because he didn’t have anywhere to turn. He was looking at the very last option (suicide), but chose to enlist back is the United States Army. Obviously, anything besides suicide is a good choice but I think that going back to the army will also have a negative effect on him. This is because since of what previously happened to him in the army. He might get flashbacks and reminisce through the bad times that he had, which can send him into a downward spiral into oblivion like it did before. People who go through traumatic times often enlist into the army because it allows them to serve a purpose and to be meaningful to the country.
ReplyDeleteThe internal conflict that Francis experiences is guilt because he didn’t do anything while Larry attacked Nicole. He feels like he should’ve done something and he’s going to get punished for not doing anything. This is shown on Page 102, “I could only stand there mute, as if all my sins had been revealed and there was no forgiveness for them.” Francis feels as guilty as a murderer and he deeply regrets not helping Nicole. In order to overcome his conflict, he goes to the church to think about things. At first, he considers committing suicide by jumping off the building. On Page 103, Francis asks himself “How long would it take to plunge toward the sidewalk?” At this point, he realizes that suicide is also a sin, and it would disrespect his parents. Then he decides that if he’s going to die, he might as well die for a good cause, so he joins the Army.
I think that Francis’ decision to join the war was obviously better than suicide, but I think he could’ve made an even better decision. If he was joining the war with the original intent to help his country, I would support it, but he was only joining with the intent to die. If I were Francis I would’ve went immediately to talk to Larry and tell him how wrong his actions were. I think that would have made Francis feel better. Next, I would go talk to Nicole just to apologize and tell her that I wanted to do something but I didn’t have the courage. I think that if Francis went to them and talked things out, he would’ve felt better, and nobody would’ve gotten hurt.
"To be, or not to be: that is the question." As Francis peers down on Frenchtown, he contemplates the most serious internal conflict of all: suicide. He suffers from tremendous guilt. He's distraught because he did not save Nicole from being molested by Larry LaSalle. Since she was his girlfriend, he felt it was his job to protect her from evil. When he failed to do this, he thought suicide was his only answer. However, it is guilt that stops him from leaping off the steeple. Francis thinks of his mother and father and asks himself, "could I disgrace their name this way?" (104). His guilt extends to the soldiers dying with honor in the war. Perhaps Francis still wants to die. Maybe that is why he enlists in the army, so that he can die with honor on a battlefield.
ReplyDelete"What's in a name?" Family name is important. This idea often reoccurs in books and movies. For example, in the movie Mulan, Mulan wants to bring honor to her family by enlisting in the army. People want their families to be proud of them. Francis made the right decision by not jumping because it would have been cruel to disgrace his family's name. Francis either enlists in the army to end his life honorably or he enlists in the army to overcome his guilt for not protecting Nicole. By becoming "a soldier in the United States Army" (104), Francis might believe he can free himself of his guilt by protecting his fellow soldiers, while he also protects his family name.
Have you ever had an internal conflict? Did you overcome it? Francis had an internal conflict of him letting Nicole get hurt while he stood there without doing anything. It was as if his body was paralyzed and Francis couldn’t think. He didn’t know why he stood there instead of doing something. He overcomes his internal conflict by thinking of all the soldiers who die with honor and how he couldn’t disgrace his mother and fathers name. At the end of page 104 it states “I could not die that way. Soldiers were dying with honor on the battlefield all over the world. Noble deaths. The death of heroes.” This shows that Francis knew he couldn’t die while others are fighting for him. I can predict that since Francis thought about everyone before doing something horrible to himself he will become a better person who will make the right decision in the future. He will learn from his mistakes.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever thought someone’s decision was right or wrong? My opinion of his decision was that he certainly made the correct choice of putting others before him. He thought of the soldiers and his family as soon as the thought of jumping went into his head. The soldiers and his parents were almost like a barrier, not letting him jump from the steeple. On page 104 it states “I thought of my mother and father- could I disgrace their names this way?” This is showing that he respected the names of his parents and didn’t want to hurt their names. Everyone has different opinions. For example not everyone supports Obama’s ideas in politics. Others may not support Francis’s decision, but in my opinion he made the right decision.
Francis sat perched atop the steeple. His heart thumped like a galloping horse. Frenchtown laid below him, an abyss in the black of night. He was about to end it all. This was because of serious internal conflict. This conflict happened because Nicole, the one person he still loved, did not love Francis anymore. Nicole replies to Francis, “I hurt. I hurt all over.” This reply shows Nicole is not only physically hurt, but mentally as well. Francis feels as if he is at fault. Nicole also says, “Why didn’t you do something? Tell him to stop. Run for help. Anything.” These words make Francis feel that she is not only hurt, but hurt because of Francis. Knowing that he lost the love of the only thing she still loved, he wanted to end it all. Francis overcomes this by thinking of “The pitiful graves set apart from the rest… I could not disgrace my mother and father in this way.” Thinking of the terrible sin that he was about to commit was the only thing that kept him from jumping. Francis’s thoughts of nothing to live for is the opposite of what Anne Frank thought during Hiding. She frequently wanted to be outside in the fresh air, but she was trapped in a cramped attic. Instead of becoming sad, she held onto the things she loved and got through it.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever been faced with a hard situation? Decisions are like homework on the weekend. No one ever wants to do them. While Francis has lost a lot in his life, he still does have his life. Instead of clinging to the past, he needs to focus on the present. Killing himself would not fix anything. Francis thinks of what the people of Frenchtown would say, “Did you hear what Lefty’s son did last night, jumped to his death from the steeple of St. Jude’s!” This thought of what the people would think, the disgrace he would cause his mother and father was probably enough to make him realize that he does still have his life. He has a legacy to leave behind, a mother and father who even though might not be living, still have a legacy of their own. This realization would have been enough to change my mind, and that’s why I agree with Francis’s decision.
A few sharp words from Nicole turned Francis, a previously overjoyed table tennis champion, into a depressed and suicidal boy. On pages 102 through 104, Francis experiences a serious internal conflict because of Nicole and he overcomes its by joining the army. After Nicole mocks Francis for not doing anything to help her after she was raped, Francis climbs the church in despair. On page 103, at the top of the church, Francis thinks to himself, “How long would it take to plunge toward the sidewalk?” Simply wondering such a notion shows that Francis is becoming mentally unstable and is pondering taking his life because of Nicole’s word of contempt. Later, Francis realizes that he would be dishonoring his family’s name by doing such a thing and instead, wants to die honorably like many soldiers were doing at the time. Many soldiers were dying at the time because, as I learned in social studies, World War II was happening during Francis’ teenage years. “The next afternoon I boarded the bus to Fort Delta, in my pocket the birth certificate I had altered to change my age, and become a soldier in the United States Army” [page 104]. To overcome his death from throwing himself off the church’s steeple, Francis chooses honor his family and die as a hero in the war by changing his age on his birth certificate in order to be old enough to join the war efforts.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion of Francis’ decision to join the war is very mixed because joining the army is very positive but his reasons aren’t healthy mentally. I approve of people joining the war because they are helping their chosen country and building a sense of camaraderie. On the other hand, Francis isn’t doing it for the reasons of defending his country and, on page 104, he claims, “I could not die [jumping of the steeple of St, Jude’s]. Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields all over the world”. This shows he actually just wants to find an honorable death since he feels unloved and cared for by Nicole. This is a terrible idea because then Francis might become reckless and insane, in an attempt to die valiantly, and might endanger his and fellow soldiers’ lives. Overall, I disagree with Francis’ decision to join the war due to the fact he enlisted simply to die and not to defend his country.
It most likely threw everyone through a loop when he thought to jump. But it all happened when he tried to help Nicole after the small incident with Larry LaSalle. But she refused and it sort of hurt him a lot. At the top of page 102 it starts with Nicole saying “‘No, I’m not all right,’ she answered, anger flashing in her eyes... I could only stand there mute, as if all my sins had been revealed and there was no forgiveness for them.” The way Nicole spoke to him broke his heart. And he felt that he had nowhere else to be and that there was no other decision for him to choose from. Until he reminded himself that people are dying “noble deaths. The deaths of heroes,” and that he “could not die that way” so instead he made a fake birth certificate and decided to join the army. Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender had a similar problem. He wanted to help the group he always wanted to capture and regain honor from if he did. They pushed him away and he felt that everything he did was wrong. Though it didn’t push Zuko to Francis’ extent, he still felt the same guilt and received a similar punishment.
ReplyDeleteI swear I was surprised when the book said Francis thought about jumping. I didn’t know at the time it was a flashback. But once I figured that out I was still surprised. I was happy that he didn’t do it once he thought it through. Like when he stated on page 104 “I could not die that way. Soldiers were dying with honor on the battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. How could I die by leaping from a steeple?” It shows that he was contemplating it and I think he was glad he didn’t jump. And I think this happens every day all over the world. People feel like they don’t have a purpose in life and want to jump, just like Francis did. But they need to understand that we all have a purpose and you don’t need to end your life like that. You just need the heart to find what that purpose is. And when Francis found that out, that’s what made him a hero.
#sk8-14
Renee Cantor
ReplyDeleteThere he stood, think knees wobbling and bright hair blowing in the cool breeze. Though he may look like a normal 15 year old boy, guilt courses through his veins and gnaws away at his organs, like a deadly poison. Francis Cassavant, the boy in the church steeple, is considering suicide. On pages 102 through 104, Francis experiences a serious internal conflict. Francis believes that he should commit suicide. He feels this way because he was with Nicole while she was sexually assaulted and did nothing to stop it. Later, when he went to go see if Nicole was okay, she told him how hurt she was, damages because of the experience. This causes extreme guilt to grow in Francis. He was unable to help the girl he loves when she needed him most. Luckily, Francis overcomes this conflict. He comes up with an alternate way to “punish” himself in a more heroic way, which is going to war. In the text, page 104, it says “Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The death of heroes. How could I die by leaping from a steeple?” This shows that Francis overcomes the internal conflict of suicide by going to war.
Many people consider suicide a coward’s way to die. I do not quite agree. My opinion on Francis’ decision not to kill himself is that it was a good one. I believe that there is always something to live for, and that whether Francis thinks that or not, there is a reason why he should stay in the life he was given. Francis would go on to do many great things, as we read in the book. He saves many of his comrades, helps Nicole feel better about herself, and more. Also, there is more to come in his life, if he works towards it. In the book, page 134, it says “Maybe I should buy a typewriter and get started. Maybe I should try to find Dr. Abram’s telephone number in Kansas City. Maybe I should track down Enrico, check out those hospitals he told me about. I should do all those things.” This shows that there are reasons for Francis to keep living, in the future.
According to the American Association of Suicidology, “Every two hours and five minutes, a person under the age of 25 completes suicide.” Just like Francis, large numbers of youth consider suicide, attempt suicide, or commit suicide. This is outrageous. Suicide is becoming more and more common and is a huge problem. It is important that we all try to stop suicide within our communities, and outside of them. I believe that there is always something more to live for, and a person should never take their own lives.
#oneinamillion #oneinamillion6
If somebody hurt someone you loved how far would you go to avenge them? Francis experiences an internal conflict in Heroes. The internal conflict that occurs is that he regrets not helping Nicole when she is trapped with Larry LaSalle. Francis states on page 97,” How long would I stand there listening? Hearing a small sounds, then a sudden gasp, and the needle scratching as the record went round and round.” Francis feels very guilty that he stood in the doorway and did not go back inside to help Nicole. One convers this reminds me of when my grandmother got into a car accident because she got lost. She asked me to come with her but I was playing video games and didn’t go. Could I have changed the situation? My dad and mom said no but I felt guilty for a long time. It was like a pin kept stabbing me in my foot. I know now it wasn’t my fault. Francis also thinks it is his fault and that he could have prevented Nicole from getting hurt, so he thinks about killing himself by jumping off the St. Jude’s steeple. He knows, however, he will be labeled a cowardly as a monkey if he takes his own life. The only way to die honorably would be to join the army and do something. He overcomes this conflict by joining the army. He does this by changing the date on his birth certificate because he is too young.
ReplyDeleteHow far would you go to save your loved one? I think there’re many things Francis could have done to save Nicole from getting hurt. In my opinion, he should have helped her and stood up to Larry because he swore he would stand by her side. Francis vows this on page 92 when he says, “I’ll never leave you”. Secondly, I think that Nicole has every right to be mad at Francis because he heard the noises and knew something was wrong. He didn’t act and that makes him a coward. This reminds me of the lion in the Wizard of Oz who was always afraid to act because he lacked courage. Lastly, I think that Francis should get revenge on Larry but not by killing him. On pg. 102 Francis asks Nicole, “What can I do?” She says, “Just go away”. He does choose to go away, to the army.
As the book continued, Francis has just recently witnessed a terrible act. He confronts Nicole and he doesn’t like the answer. On pages 102 and 104 Francis deals with an internal conflict. He has decided that it his only way to stop his suffering would be to kill himself. While on top of the church Francis as a Christian believe he has sinned, for he has was about to be in despair, the worst sin of all. He has come up with the idea of going to war, where he thinks it would be easy to die. Thus dying with “honor” as opposed to jumping of the church. Later he decided to board the next bus to Fort Delta.
ReplyDeleteI do understand that Francis has gone through betrayal and being hated, but in my option I believe Francis is not doing the right thing. He should have either confronted Larry or confessed to a nun/priest. I personally know that, it would be highly unlikely to experience what Francis has gone through, but death is not an option, or rather a reasonable option. I believe that Francis should have taken a little more time to decide what to do.
I think the reason for Francis's internal conflict is because the girl that he loves won't even talk to him because he didn't stop Larry from hurting her. He overcomes his conflict by thinking about killing himself, but he doesn't what to disgrace him parents so he going to war. He thinks that dying in war is much more honorable and it is much easier to die in war. Francis says " its amazing how the heart doesn't make a sound when it cracks" after Nicole left him that night.
ReplyDeleteSo really loosing Nicole is his internal conflict.
in my opinion I think that Francis made a very stupid choice to go in to war. He was only 15, that is way too young. I think he acted to harshly, and he reacted too early. he didn't have to think about killing himself, he could have tried to talk to her. If he would have just left when he was told to his life would be so much different. " the next afternoon I boarded the bus to fort delta, in my pocket my birth certificate I already altered my age and became a soldier in the United States Army" this shows how quick he was to react to the situation.
Journal entry 3: option c
ReplyDeleteFrancis’s internal conflict occurs because he knows he did nothing to stop the incident that happened to Nicole, and he also knows he had abandoned her, hurt her and caused her emotional pain. He overcomes it by knowing that committing suicide is not the way to go. He realizes that it’s not an honorable death and it is selfish of him to think that way. On page 102, the story states, “I hurt. I hurt all over.” This quote was from Nicole. It also shows that Francis has caused her pain, thus setting off his internal conflict. Knowing that he has hurt her and did nothing to help her causes him to regret his past and pushed him to experience his conflict. And, on page 104 Francis says, “Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. How could I die by leaping from a steeple?” This shows how Francis was able to overcome his internal conflict of committing suicide. He realized that jumping from the steeple is not the way of solving his issues. On the news I hear so many suicide attempts and actual suicides. I always think to myself what drives a person to do such a thing. Then reading about Francis and his conflicts reminded me of everything I have recently heard about this topic. As I was reading I came to the conclusion that its things like love, betrayal, regret, and pressure that causes people to commit suicide, things that Francis goes and went through.
My opinion of his decision is that I agree with him. Jumping from the steeple is no way to solve his problems or give him relief of them as well. Running away from his situation is not right. I’m glad he changed his mind and realized he must face his problems and that suicide is no way to go. He was right. There are people out in the world that are dying for real reasons such as war. Jumping from the building is no way to leave the world. It has no meaning and is pointless. Why run away from problems by committing suicide when you can face them and go in an honorable way? On page 104 Francis states, “Saying a prayer before committing the worst sin of all: despair.” This shows that Francis knows he should not commit this act because it is an act of self-pity. And I agree with him. Taking your own life is not how one should go. My grandfather gave me a book to read shortly before he passed away. It was about a sad and depressed man who was thinking about suicide. As the book continues, the man slowly starts to realize his whole life he was feeling sorry for himself. He decided to make a change and face his problems by getting up and making a difference in his life. By not completing his though of suicide, he lived a happier, fulfilling life. I think Francis should do the same. He should make a change and work through his obstacles. I agree with his decision. He now has a chance to make things right again.
#7eleven3
Throughout pages 102 to 104, Francis’ internal conflict was that he had contemplated suicide. He had gone to the top of the church steeple and looked down on Frenchtown. After thinking about what would happen to his life and his family, he started to have second thoughts. Finally, he went down the church and back to safe ground. I saw this one instance on the news where there was this man who was going to jump off a building. Before he could, somebody on a grappling line came down to his window and pushed him back in. Grappling hooks can’t be used when Francis is at the top of a steeple, but he decided to step down regardless.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion of his decision is that obviously he made a good choice by not committing suicide. This was before he decided to kill Larry, but had he done it, he would not get to try and kill Larry! I mean sure, he wouldn’t have to deal with his face, or he wouldn’t have to go to war in the first place. But had he died there, his whole squad would have been killed by that grenade! So because he didn’t die, more people didn’t die! Suicide rates are fairly high in today’s world, and I feel that Francis, even though he is fictional, was one person who overcame the struggles he was going through. Hopefully more people end up like Francis and stop themselves from killing themselves.
Francis had an internal conflict after Nicole told him to go away. He had been heart broken and had a feeling of despair. The day after Nicole left, Francis was having self-depression and was about to commit suicide when he realized what he was about to do. He didn’t want to disgrace his family name, he didn’t want to disappoint his parents. He told himself he could not die that way. He said on page 104 “…and became a soldier in the United States Army.” He did this also because he said soldiers were dying on the battlefield all over the world with honor and they had been dying as heroes. Francis had joined the army because there was a high percentage of dying and he wanted his death to seem like it hadn’t been on purpose.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion on Francis’ decision was that I’m glad he didn’t commit suicide and I’m glad that he joined the army but I’m not happy of the reasons why Francis joined the army. I wish it was because he wanted to protect the citizens of the United States by fighting for them. I didn’t like how he joined just because of self-depression and that there was a gigantic chance of getting shot. I know self-depression could make you do crazy things but I just wish he had friends or family around to help him and his ego stop his decisions. But I am also glad that Francis had comeback alive. #7eleven7
Francis had an internal conflict after Nicole told him to go away. He had been heart broken and had a feeling of despair. The day after Nicole left, Francis was having self-depression and was about to commit suicide when he realized what he was about to do. He didn’t want to disgrace his family name, he didn’t want to disappoint his parents. He told himself he could not die that way. He said on page 104 “…and became a soldier in the United States Army.” He did this also because he said soldiers were dying on the battlefield all over the world with honor and they had been dying as heroes. Francis had joined the army because there was a high percentage of dying and he wanted his death to seem like it hadn’t been on purpose.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion on Francis’ decision was that I’m glad he didn’t commit suicide and I’m glad that he joined the army but I’m not happy of the reasons why Francis joined the army. I wish it was because he wanted to protect the citizens of the United States by fighting for them. I didn’t like how he joined just because of self-depression and that there was a gigantic chance of getting shot. I know self-depression could make you do crazy things but I just wish he had friends or family around to help him and his ego stop his decisions. But I am also glad that Francis had comeback alive.
Heroes Journal 3
ReplyDeleteFrancis did absolutely nothing, he stood there and watched Nicole get abused. From that day on Francis had a very heavy burden on his shoulders. He felt guilt, regret, and sadness. Many people can’t handle things like that very well, and Francis was one of those people. Francis wanted to kill himself because of the mistake he made. “Then stopped horrified at what I was doing. Saying a prayer before committing the worst sin of all: despair… I thought of my mother and father, could I disgrace their name this way?” Said Francis. As he sat at the top of the Church he contemplated whether or not he should leave the world the way. He realized that hundreds of soldiers die everyday on the battlefield. Then thought to himself how he could die in such a way. The next day he went to join the United States Army to over come this sadness.
To kill yourself in such a horrible way is not the way Francis should leave this earth. It was amazing for him to really think about it and realize how many people are dying everyday just to protect him and everyone else in the United States. “Soldiers were dying with honor… noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. How could I die leaping from a steeple?” Admitted Francis. I think that he made the right decision. Taking your life so easily is such a shame. Millions of teenagers kill them selves every year. All because of one mistake, but there is always a solution. I’m glad Francis focused his energy to helping protect the United states.
#4musketeers24
I never stop thinking about her. Every day I wonder why I didn’t run into that room and tell Larry to stop because that was the worst decision I have ever made. If I had just spoke up everything may have been different. I might not be standing on the steeple of the St. Jude’s church, wanting to jump down. Francis experiences a serious internal conflict that causes him to think suicidal thoughts. He wants to die because he feels that Nicole doesn’t want to see him anymore. As stated in the text, “Go away, Francis. Just go away.” Nicole says this to Francis after Francis asked how Nicole was doing after being attacked by Larry LaSalle. When Nicole tells Francis to go away Francis interprets that as going away forever, not coming back. This passage reminds me of when I saw on the news about a man that committed suicide after his girlfriend broke up with him. It made me feel horrible and I wished the girl didn’t breakup with him just like I wish that Nicole would have stopped him from enrolling in the army because she was too late when she reached his Uncle Louis’ house.
ReplyDeleteThe girl you love just tells you she doesn’t want to see you anymore. You have been trying to talk to her for days but she won’t listen to you. You know there is no one else you will love but her and yet, you still can’t have her. I would feel surrounded by despair everywhere I went, if I was Francis. I am not sure what I would have done in his position. In the text is stated, “I still want to die. ‘What you did to her. And I did nothing. Just stood there and let it happen…’” Francis says this to Larry when Larry asked why he is so upset over one incident. Although, Larry doesn’t know that that one incident ruined Francis’ life. Francis was told by Nicole to go away so he wanted to go away and jump off the church steeple, killing himself. He did not feel it was appropriate to die that way, after all, there were people, normal and happy people that were risking their lives for to protect our country. So, Francis decided to do enroll in the war and die with respect and honor. Although he still did not die, I feel that Francis’ decision was made too hastily. I think that if Francis had only waited another week or so, he might have changed his mind or Nicole would have apologized for yelling at him like she said she tried to do. When Francis quickly decided to go into the war it reminded me of times when I make choices that I regret. When I make bad decisions I usually wish that I would have taken more time to think things over and that’s what I feel Francis should have done.
The warm, summer air blows on my face. Climbing the stairs, I felt hot and disgusting, now I feel cold. My lips quiver and I tremble. The town is lit up in the evening dusk setting in. The ground stares up at me, and my head aches. My recent past experiences swirl in my head. Francis’ internal conflict occurred because he let his loved one go. That night at the Wreck Center, he let Nicole Renard get hurt and get attacked, but he just stood there. Nicole had felt betrayed and was angry with him. She had told Francis to leave and stay away. Francis’ heart broke as Nicole’s words left her lips, a slow, aching break that left him numb. He knew he let their relationship get torn up, nothing but memories and an empty soul left. As Francis stood on the church roof, about to take his life away, he changed his mind. He thought of his family and veterans risking their lives each day. He thought of the graves in St. Jude’s cemetery, unable to be buried in holy ground. Sin was written all over his act. Francis knew that he could not die by leaping to his death. As the text states, “Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. How could I die by leaping from a steeple?” Francis knew he could not die by killing himself, a sin. He was a veteran, and was expected to die a less sinful death. If he jumped, he would be disrespecting his family watching him from above. How could Francis honor them this way? Francis is like many other people, in despair and searching for a way to find freedom. Many others are depressed and hurt, unwilling to find the better in life. Like Francis, they make up their mind, and find out that they are better than that. For whatever reason, there is always a solution. For Francis, it was his honor. Honor in his family, other veterans like himself, and honor in who he was.
ReplyDeleteYour life is priceless. No piece of art or jewelry could ever mask your beauty. Every person is born to live and die. Your death is unknown, a mystery many are unwilling to be told or seen. No matter what the situation is, you weren’t supposed to kill yourself or harm yourself. Even if you see the worst in yourself, and notice every flaw or ugly truth, other people love and care about you. That’s what Francis Cassavant realized as he stood on top of his Church roof, about to jump to his death. My opinion about Francis’ decision is that he was smart. Francis had realized that killing himself was not the right choice. Many people would be disappointed in him as soon as they realized that he took his life. Francis was known as a hero, a Silver Star earning, platoon saving man. After getting hit with a grenade and his face badly injured, why should he kill himself? No matter what the situation, you are a person with family and friends who care about you. In the text it states, “Still staring down, I began to mumble a prayer, in French, the old Notre Père, the way the nuns had taught us, then stopped, horrified at what I was doing.” Francis realized that his actions were a big mistake. It was as if a light bulb lit up above his head, realizing what he was doing. Francis is like Michael Phelps, a famous Olympian swimmer. Michael had made mistakes and ruined his swimming and career. He stayed in a phase of confusion. Soon, Michael realized what he was doing and stopped, like what Francis did. Michael Phelps regained his life, and did great things. Just like what Francis did. Instead of killing himself, he became a hero. It’s like Francis grew up, becoming more mature. Instead of jumping for his death, he jumped for his friend, saving many men’s lives. He earned his Silver Star, and was known as a hero. No jump was nearly close to what Francis became.
Journal Entry
ReplyDeleteFrancis’s internal conflict occurs because Nicole Renard was raped by Larry LaSalle. Francis heard everything, but didn't do anything. Nicole was hurt by what Larry did and Francis didn't do. On page 102 Nicole says, ‘“I hurt. I hurt all over.”’ Nicole is saying that she was hurt by Larry and Francis. This hurt Francis; he knew he should have helped, but he was obeying Larry. Francis overcomes this by forging his birth certificate and joining the army. At St. Jude’s church during the night Francis climbed up the steeple where he was going to jump off and kill himself. He started to mumble a pray that he learned in school and released that he was going to do a horrid thing. On page 104 it says, “Saying a prayer before committing the worst sin of all: despair.” He couldn't do it. He thought of the graves at St. Jude’s Cemetery, and the graves away from the rest. The people to took their lives and could not be buried at all. Francis couldn't die from jumping off the steeple. He boarded a train to Fort Delta and altered is age so he can join the army. Now he was a soldier in the United States army. This relates to a fallen soldier named Timothy McGill. Like many soldiers who have fallen on the battlefields protecting our country, he was one. Timothy was in the United States Army like Francis. Both were named heroes for their service overseas.
My opinion on his decision is that I did not like what Francis did. Francis let someone get to him that caused a life changing decision. If it wasn't for how Nicole acted, Francis would not want to die like that. He took what Nicole told him too seriously. He only jumped in front of the grenade to kill himself. Francis should not have done that. My opinion is that he should have begged for forgiveness from Nicole, instead of him trying to kill himself. On page 102 it says, “I could only stand there mute, as if all my sins had been revealed and there was no forgiveness for them.” He is saying that Nicole would not forgive what he had one. In my opinion he should have let go because it was causing too much pain. It says on page 103, “… the way the nuns had taught us, then stopped, horrified, at what I was doing.” I think he should have stopped there and not go on with his plan. This relates to people who commit suicide, cut themselves, or people who have an eating disorder. Part of the reason why people do that is because others judge them. They start this because of one thing someone thinks of them or says about them. That is not always the reason but sometimes it is. They shouldn't care nor Francis should either.
"Go away Francis. Just go away." Francis knew that this was the moment he'd lost her, lost Nicole, the love of his life. While she had been tied up by the ankles, wrapped in Larry's web, he'd just stood by and watched. Too petrified to even think. That was when Francis decided he'd rather be dead. His breaths came in gasps, growing shallower by the second, until he was standing solemnly above Frenchtown on St. Jude's highest steeple. Francis was alone in every possible way. Mid-prayer, he stopped, pure horror filling his veins. He wouldn't dare disgrace the family name of Cassavant.
ReplyDelete"...then stopped, horrified at what I was doing. Saying a prayer before committing the worst sin of all: despair." Francis still wanted to die even after realizing this, but decided against going out this way. His entire plan to commit suicide was completely ridiculous in my opinion. Instead of choosing Nicole, he was choosing death, while he in fact thought this would be best for the both of them. The decision not to actually jump to his death from the steeple was excellent though. In the world today, people are devasated by the news of suicides. They don't even have to know the person personally to feel upset about it. A suicide doesn't solve anything. Not one thing. Though Nicole was angry with Francis about the entire situation, she absolutely wasn't angry enough to want him dead.
At times people have internal conflicts and have to overcvome them. Francis experienced a serious internal conflict when he about to jump from the top of the steeple. He does this because he feels as though he has nothing to live for now that he has no family and Nicole is gone. In the story it says, "I could not die that way. Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. ......the next afternoon I boarded the bus.......and becaome a soldier in the United States Army." This shows that he wanted to die another way instead of jumping off the steeple. He wanted to die with honor.
ReplyDeleteI think that he made the right decision of not jumping. It's better to die in honor of your country then of jumping. But I disagree with him enlisting into the Army just so he could die. He should have realized that he has so much to live for. All though it was a good decision not to jump it wasn't a good decision to enlist into the Army when he was only fifteen.
#7eleven8
People all over the world commit terrible acts and some can be forgiven but some will be well remembered as dreadful and awful. On pages 102 to 104 in the book of Heroes, Francis Cassavant is dealing with a major internal conflict. The internal conflict occurred because he didn’t protect Nicole Renard well enough and he didn’t truly show his affection towards her, so now he is feeling pain inside about what he should do after committing a harsh act and he will most likely never see Nicole again. Francis tries to now overcome this loss in his life and later that week he goes to the church. At the church, to overcome his problems he prays for forgiveness after all he has done, but he feels like it is too big of a sin to be forgiven. On page 104, he says “Saying a prayer before committing the worst sin of all: despair.” He felt like he disgraced his family, you knew by this that it is going to be tough for him to overcome this. I can relate Francis to the people in the Hunger Games because the citizens of Panem did nothing to try and save the tributes from death by the capitol, just like how Francis let Nicole get hurt.
ReplyDeleteI believe people who lie or don’t save someone when they have the chance to be a hero and helpful are ruthless and brutal. My opinion of Francis’ decision of praying for forgiveness was probably one of few options he could have done to make things better for himself. Although he was part of a really horrific event and normally people like this shouldn’t ever be forgiven, but in his defense he did the best he could to make things a little less painful inside of him. The main part of why I like his decision of praying for forgiveness is because it makes his family a little less disgraceful and it shows that maybe he could care for Nicole, but right now in Nicole’s eyes it seems like he is a liar and someone who doesn’t deserve to be upbeat. On page 102, she says, “Go away Francis, just go away”, you can tell that she was as angry as Peyton Manning losing the Super Bowl. The reason Francis is so much alike other criminals is because they all regret things, but in this case Francis did something that not many criminals do which is to believe a pray for what is right and just against all evil.
An ongoing war played through Francis’s mind as he stared down at the busy life beneath him. Down beneath him, there were two type of people, the innocent ones, and the guilty. Nicole was innocent, a girl who didn’t deserve what was given to her. And then there was Francis, who truly believed he was guilty for letting Nicole go through the pain thrown upon her. And then you had Larry, appearing innocent, a hero, but underneath his disguise was a layer of guilt. Larry was like a present, beautiful paper on the outside, and on the inside? A terrible present. Francis continued to stand on the edge, watching the world beneath him, his mind overwhelmed with thoughts of jumping, leaving his regrets behind, forgetting the past. However, the thought of his death this way stopped him from immediately leaving everything. As the text states on page 104, “I could not die that way. Soldiers were dying with honor on the battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. How could I die by leaping from a steeple?” This quote shows Francis’s internal conflict is he wants to die, forget about how he hurt Nicole and leave it all in the past. However, he doesn’t want to die without honor, disgracing his parent’s name. To overcome this, he decided to join the army, where Francis is positive he will die, with honor and nobility in his name.
ReplyDeleteAs Francis boarded the bus, he recalled the battle he had with himself yesterday. Now, his war was over and as he joined the army, he won. He would die, just as Francis wanted to. I personally don’t completely agree with Francis’s decision to just abandon everyone and everything, and leave Nicole and everyone else he knew behind him. After the incident, Francis could have gone back and fixed everything. He could have truly explained everything that happened that night to Nicole, or even gotten help from someone. Running away from your problems won’t fix them. However, the fact that Francis now wants to die in nobility shows a lot from his character. As the text states on page 104, “the next afternoon I boarded the bus to Fort Delta, in my pocket the birth certificate I had altered to change my age, and became a soldier in the United States Army.” This shows that although he’s running away from his problems (which I don’t agree with) and not fixing them, he is willing to die for others and in honor, even if no one ever knows it’s really because he wants to die because of his own problems.
Francis experiences internal conflict on pages 102 through 104 and this occurs because of his little fight with Nicole. Nicole was still furious at Francis because he didn’t do anything at all when Larry raped Nicole; he was sitting right outside the door doing nothing. ““go away Francis” she said “Just go away”“ This made Francis go to the church and climb up to the top where he was ready to jump and take his own life. Then his conscience came alive and told him what people might think if he jumped. He thought that he couldn’t do that to himself if people were out there dying in the war.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion about this is that I am glad that he didn’t jump. Even though he might blame himself for Nicole getting raped and her hating him, he still has a life to live. It was a better choice to go into battle then ending his life right there and then. “I could not die that way. Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. How could I die by leaping from a steeple?” Francis does care about his life even if it meant to live for a couple more hours. He also wants to save people like a hero.
Sk8-15
On pages 102 through 104, Francis experiences a serious internal conflict. His internal conflict is committing suicide because he felt very guilty about Nicole and she was really mad at him. He overcomes this internal conflict by thinking. He does not want to disgrace his families name so he decides to join the army. On page 104 it states, “I thought of my mother and father- could I disgrace their name this way? ... I could not die that way.” This shows that Francis stopped himself from jumping off the building. I predict that Francis decides to join the army because he thinks he can die for his country and with honor instead of committing suicide.
ReplyDeleteI think Francis made a good decision. Even though it is wrong to want to die, I think it is good that he will try to die as a soldier, serving his country. On page 104, it states, “Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. How could I die by leaping from a steeple?” This shows that Francis decided to become a soldier. I wonder if Francis ever considered what he would do if he survived the war.
Internal conflicts, they are the altercations we have with ourselves, they cause us to make irrational decisions, similar to Francis Cassavant. The serious internal conflict Francis experiences occurs because of Francis’s regret for betraying Nicole Renard. For the duration of the time when Nicole was at her weakest, Francis did not make the decision to help. Francis’s action, or there lack of, enrages Nicole, causing her to reject her former love. To overcome Francis’s unlimited regret, Francis makes the decision to put an end to his life. He ponders on direct suicide, where he could jump off of St. Jude’s. Before jumping Francis questions,”I thought of my mother and father- could I disgrace their name this way?” He know this action would bring dishonor to his parents’ name and therefore decides to join the army, a more honorable way to end his life. Francis reminds me of Halle Berry, an actress, who confessed to attempt suicide over a marriage failure, similar to Francis’s actions which were also caused by relationship trouble.
ReplyDeleteDecisions. They are what separate a billionaire like Bill Gates from the old and forgotten. My opinion of Francis’s decision is that he shouldn't make such significant decisions when he is at a state of such extreme negative emotion. Larry LaSalle states, “Does that one sin of mine wipe away all the good things?” If Francis committed suicide it would wipe away all the good things he was remembered for. Francis wouldn’t be thought of as the table tennis champion, he would be thought of as the poor fifteen year-old boy who committed suicide. Francis reminds me of Greg Louganis, who attempted suicide at the age of twelve and received a knee injury, which ruined his chances of making it to the Olympics, his lifelong dream. This is similar to Francis’s irrational behavior of attempting suicide at a young age.
#4musketeers18
The only people that think about committing suicide are common everyday people, right? That would be incorrect, for one example would be Kurt Cobain. Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of the band Nirvana that was a very popular grunge band of the 1990's. He had lots of money, tons of fans, and tons of talent. However, in April of 1994 Kurt sadly took his own life. When Francis sees what Larry LaSalle does to Nicole, he is befuddled by the betrayal of his trust by Larry. Nicole later confronts him about it aggressive like a tiger chasing down its prey eventually getting the final blow. That led Francis to ponder about committing suicide at St. Jude's church. "I could only stand there mute, as if all of my sins had been revealed and there was no forgiveness for them." This is how Francis says he feels after he is accused nastily by Nicole. As Francis was about to follow through with his life ending act, he decides against it by convincing himself that it is not a noble death, and he cannot disgrace his family's name. He thinks of the separated graves, of those who took their lives, and were excluded from being buried in the sacred grounds. All of this together makes him come to the conclusion that he must enlist in the United States Army with his forged birth certificate. Francis's mindset of what a honorable death is can be related to the death of famous glee star Cory Monteith who sadly died while servicing his country.
ReplyDeleteWhen anyone undergoes tough times, it's difficult to figure out a way how to deal with it all. In my opinion suicide is never the option because there is always hope. What stuns me though is the fact that Francis didn't not commit suicide for his own sake, but for his family's name. "I thought of my mother and father - could I disgrace their name this way?... I could not die that way." As this is a positive attitude in a way since he isn't committing suicide, he also should respect his own life, and not just the well-being of his family's name. It's like Francis is more focused on the one tiny quarter more than the $1,000,000 prize. This can be related to the medieval times because it's all about what your family does, and not altering from that set course to not disgrace the family's name. In this instance for Francis, it is dying a normal, honorable death, or changing route and taking his own life which would be shameful to his family's name.
Have you ever felt so guilty that you were at the brink of committing suicide? It seems impossible, but Francis Cassavant was. Francis Experiences a serious internal conflict when he is unsure whether to commit suicide. He has this emotion because he feels guilty for Nicole’s sexual assault. Nicole got raped when she was a kid and Francis feels guilty because not just he knows, but Nicole knows that he could have stopped it from happening as well. On page 102, Nicole says, “Go away Francis, just go away.” This is portraying that even his best friends doesn’t want to talk him. Francis is very sensitive, so when his best friend told him to leave, he thought that he didn’t belong anymore. This triggered him to want to commit suicide. He overcame this by thinking about the negative outcome that him committing suicide will have on his family. He said that he doesn’t want to be buried on the wrong side of the graveyard to insult his family like all the other suicides. He also said,” I could not die like that. Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. How could I die by leaping off a steeple?” This is showing that Francis would also feel like a coward if he jumped. A couple years ago, I got sent to the office for a disrespectful act. I was reminded the consequences if I did it again, just like Francis were reminded of the consequences if he committed suicide. This helped me as it did with Francis.
ReplyDeleteWould you agree with someone’s decision to commit suicide? Neither would I. I agree with Francis’s decision to not commit suicide because he had a wonderful life ahead of him and he had to figure out that Nicole would forgive him. I do not agree with Francis’s decision to go into the army and try to die. It is disrespectful to his fellow soldiers, his country, and his leaders. He should have thought about the digression he would have on himself after the war. On page 113, Larry confesses,” I didn’t fall on the grenade to save the GI. I saw my chance to end it all.” This quote is portraying that Larry was so selfish that he admits he doesn’t risk his life for his “brothers”, but to kill himself. He didn’t even care about his fellow soldiers, and that’s what I disagree with. This year during football, there was a mix in grades for the teams. The A team was the veteran 8th graders and the begging 7th graders. The B team was the veteran 7th graders and beginning 8th. I was on the A team and there was a seventh grader who was struggling to keep up physically. He decided to quit at the end of the season. I disagree with his choice because he left our brotherhood, gave up, and missed all the fun at the end of the season. I disagree with his decision to leave the team as well as Francis’s decision to enter the army to look for a path to death.
Life is a gift that every person in the world receives. However, this gift is not always seen as a gift to all people and those people sometimes do the unthinkable and take their own lives. When a person does the unthinkable like that it makes people wonder. What made life so bad? The internal occurs because Francis knows he could have stopped the sexual assault that happened to Nicole, so he climbs to the top of St. Jude’s Church and thinks about jumping off and killing himself. Francis overcomes his conflict by deciding not to jump and to join the army. On page 104 in the text it states “And became a soldier in the US Army. This shows that Francis decided taking his own life wasn’t the right choice, so he decided if he going to die he would help his country in the process. Our Armed forces today are so much different about regulations about signing up today. In the book Francis creates a fake birth certificate and he gets in, but now a day’s people have to give a lot more personal information to get. Forging one document wouldn’t get you into the armed forces today.
ReplyDeleteAn opinion and decision are very similar. Every person has a different opinion and every person would make a different choice in any situation. Some people may be selfish and others may be very generous like a saint, but it all depends on that person’s personality. I agree with Francis’s decision not only for not jumping, but also that he will serve his country in a time of need. On page 104 the text states “I could not die that way. Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields” This shows that Francis was not going to take his life by committing suicide, he would die honorably for his country and I agree with him. Bullying in todays’ world has cause many teens to take their own lives. This should never be the answer for those kids, when they do that it put a lot of grief on the family of that person and it sometimes make them go crazy. This is why Francis joining the army was better than him taking his own life.
This internal conflict occurs due to the guilt he felt for not doing anything while Nicole was being raped by Larry. Through the pages 95-97, Francis talks about how he heard small moans and gasps from the hallway, while Larry was inside with Nicole. "How long did I stand there listening? Hearing the small sounds, then a sudden gasp. What were they doing? But I knew what they were doing", Francis thinks at the end of page 95 and beginning of page 96. In chapter 12, Francis thinks of himself as a kind of bogeyman who does terrible things like letting his girl get hurt and attacked. Due to the overwhelming feeling of guilt he feels when he sees Nicole upset, he goes up to the steeple of St. Jude's and thinks about committing suicide. What stops him is the thought of his mother and father and how it would disgrace their name.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that Francis even thought about suicide. But I am happy that he decided not to, because of his parents. Francis thinks, "I thought of my mother and father -- could it disgrace their name this way? Did you hear what Lefty's son did last night, jumped to his death from the steeple of St. Jude's?" In the last two paragraphs on page 104, Francis talks about how soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields. Noble deaths. The death of heroes. Then he boards the bus to Fort Delta to become a soldier in the United States Army. I am not happy that Francis joined the war to die in battle, I mean at least that's what the last few paragraphs are implying.
On pages 102 through 104, Francis faces the internal conflict of suicide. On page 102, paragraph 4, Nicole says to Francis, “go away Francis just go away.” His is rejected by her because he let her get molested by Larry La Salle. Depressed, he climbs the church tower, looking to jump off, when a thought crossed his mind. On page 104, paragraph 1, Francis thinks, “I thought of the pitiful graves set apart from the rest, the ones that had taken their own lives could not be buried on consecrated grounds.” He steps down overcoming his conflict by thinking of how something like this would also smear his family name. This reminds me of the man that threw his son off a 20 story building, and then jumped off himself, to spite his wife. I believe that he jumped off the building because he realized what he had just done, and couldn’t live with himself. This man jumped because of the guilt of his actions. Francis wanted to jump because he did not take action to protect Nicole and was feeling the guilt by her rejection of him. Unlike the man, Francis realized what he was about to do, and came to terms with reality.
ReplyDeleteAfter this, Francis decides to join the army. On page 104, paragraph 2, Francis says, “I could not die that way, soldiers die with honor on battlefields all over the world, how could I die from jumping off a steeple?” I do not support his decision because he is joining the army for the wrong reason. He still wants to die, just in a more honorable way. He doesn’t join to fight for his country, just as a way to not die at his own hand and be buried on non-consecrated ground. In some respects, I think Francis is a coward. He was too cowardly to stand up to Larry, just as he was too cowardly to jump off the steeple. People with guilt, like Francis, sometimes do things subconsciously to punish themselves. I think joining the army was Francis’ way of punishing himself. As an effect of him joining the army, his face becomes disfigured by a grenade.
4musketeers4
Nicole Renard, Francis’s love, has been violated by a childhood hero, Larry. “In the spill of the moonlight, her eyes flashed back with anger as she looked at [Francis]. More than anger… [Francis’s] betrayal of her in her eyes (page 96-97).” Francis did nothing, but watch like bystanders of a case related to bullying. Nicole disowned him for doing nothing but watching pitifully in bitter despair. Francis had been cornered into a wall of shame and moroseness. Francis, depressed and ashamed, thought of a solution to end all the pain and suffering as he watched the city on a steeple: suicide. But Francis could not disgrace his parents. “[Francis] could not die that way. Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The deaths of all heroes. How could [he] die by leaping from a steeple (page104)?” Francis Cassavant has failed; instead of killing himself, he has gotten a silver star for saving many men by falling on a grenade that was meant for Francis to die gloriously. This leads to the mission of killing Larry.
ReplyDeleteFrancis Cassavant’s way of overcoming despair was, in my opinion, not the best choice, but it was fine. Although life is not as precious as any sum of money or equivalent to any sort of problem, what is the point of living if you don’t have anything to motivate you? For instance, it states in page 102, ‘“Poor Francis,’ she said at last. But no pity in her voice. Contempt, maybe, as her eyes swept me. She flung her hand in the air, a gesture of dismissal. ‘Go away, Francis,’ she said. ‘Just go away.’” This reveals that Nicole disowned Francis, which made Francis lose a motivation to live. Moreover, the text states in page 103, “How long would it take to plunge toward the sidewalk? ... Saying a prayer before committing the worst sin of all: despair.” This reveals that Francis was having thoughts of suicide and we can conclude that he wanted to kill himself because Nicole disowned him. This reminds me of a book called The Unrequited. It is about a bunch of people coming together from the internet in a huge group to kill themselves because of numerous reasons such as bullying and self-dissatisfaction. But one guy infiltrated the group and tried to give them a motivation to live like a man desperate to keep his daughter alive when she is almost dead. Like Francis, the group of people had no reason to live, so they tried to kill themselves.
Maddie Khoury
ReplyDeleteMiss Drosdick
Language Arts/ Period 4
February 6, 2014
Have you ever had your feelings hurt so terribly, your heart feels like its breaking? Francis Cassavant experienced that as well when Nicole Reinard was horrified at him for not reacting to when she was sexually abused by Larry LaSalle. Francis was experiencing an internal conflict of extreme sadness. The night the incident occurred between Nicole and Larry, Francis was in such shock that he wasn’t sure what to do if he should have even done anything. When Nicole found out Francis was there the whole time she was horrified in his lack of attempt to help her. On page 96, paragraph 1 the text states, “…I couldn’t breathe, my body rigid, my lungs burning, and at the moment of panic, heart thudding, my breath returned…” Francis was in a state of panic and was unsure of whether to attempt to save Nicole or to wait. Francis overcame this conflict by having a thought of suicide as well as to join the United States Army as a soldier. He thought of jumping from the church steeple onto the sidewalk below would be a good way to end his life because of his mistake. Instead he thoughts of how soldiers were dying on battlefields in honor as heroes, and noble deaths. He asked himself, “How could I die by leaping from a steeple?” Francis then decides to join the army. This situation could have affected Nicole later in her life because she would have realized she was a trigger to Francis’s death. All Francis did was love Nicole, and in one situation where he wasn’t certain on how to react, she made him feel terrible and ordered him out of her life. Francis could have been killed in war or suffered from a weapon’s damage on him. If I were Nicole and I knew I was the reason someone killed themselves, I would feel terrible and guilty.
Francis’s decision is confusing to me. I don’t understand if his intention on joining the army was supposed to be a better and less guilty way of dying or because he wanted to fight for his country. Maybe being a soldier made him feel like he could let his anger out on others and remove the feelings he had. Either way, I think Francis’s decision on joining the United States Army was a good idea and bad idea. This gave Francis an opportunity to leave Nicole and start somewhat a new kind of life. Francis had to get away from Nicole because that’s what she wanted. Page 102, the text states. “Go away, Francis. Just go away.” He realized she wanted to be left alone so maybe his decision to join the army made him feel isolated and far from Nicole Reinard. Francis could have also felt that if he did want to kill himself that he would be doing it for a good cause, by sacrificing his life for his country. This is also a bad idea as well because if he did lose his life, this could have affected people around him. He would be remembered by many people such as Larry LaSalle, Nicole Reinard, his close friends, and many people who knew Francis as “The Table Tennis Champion”. This relates to children who have parents or relatives in the military. They are gone for a very long time on a battlefield, sacrificing their lives for not only their fellow soldiers, but for their country. The children have to fear if their friend will ever survive and return. It is a very scary thought and a very life risking career.
4musketeers13
Have you ever loved somebody so much that you can’t live without them, stop breathing at the thought of never being with them again? On pages 102 through 104, Francis experiences a serious internal conflict that occurs due to his heart, which took the shape of a thousand broken pieces. He wants to kill himself by jumping off the top of the church steeple. Sadly Francis takes the blame for what Larry LaSalle did to Nicole Reynard because he didn’t stop him. Francis carries so much guilt on his shoulders as if the whole world depends on him. After what Larry did to Nicole she tells Francis to just go away, he goes to the church late at night in order to commit suicide. He then takes a second to think and says, “I could not die that way. Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields all over the world. Noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. How could I die by leaping from a steeple?” He overcomes his conflict by altering his birth certificate and becoming a soldier in the United States Army the very next day, so that he can die with some honor and not disgrace his name.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Francis did not make the right decision in the end. He reveals that he enrolled in the Army for the wrong reasons. He only wanted to die there not to help fight for country. Francis should’ve realized that it wasn’t his fault, and there wasn’t really anything he could’ve done to stop Larry. If Nicole really loved him, she would’ve known that and never should’ve gotten mad at him. “The next afternoon I boarded the bus to Fort Delta, in my pocket the birth certificate I had altered to change my age, and became a soldier in the United States Army.” If I were Francis Cassavant, I would do the same, yet I would have joined to protect my country, and not just to die. I would’ve rather died for my country than to have died out of my despair.
We all go though difficult times in life with school and sports. Decisions are made and we can't control our mistakes. What was Francis going through? The internal conflict that Francis has occurs because Nicole Renard tells him to go away. She gets very mad at him. In the text it states, "Go away Francis. Just go away." This means that Nicole is angry at Francis and Francis doesn't know what to do. He overcomes the internal conflict by joining the army. In the text it states, "I boarded the bus to go to Fort Delta, with my birth certificate i had altered my age and became a soldier in the United States Army. This means that he changed his age to be in the Army rather than killing himself. In the book So. B. It, the main character has a disability and can't handle it anymore. She trys to kill herself but was caught and someone saved her. She was sent to a camp all of her life to help her. Francis was about to kill himself but went to the Army instead.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion of his decision is that he did make the right choice. If he did want to die, the wrong decision was to jump of a church building. I am glad that he didn't because it is a terrible thing to do. In the text it states, "I could not die that way. Soldiers were dying with honor on battlefields. Noble deaths. The deaths of heroes. How could I die by leaping from a steeple." Francis is trying to say that he would rather die in the war then from his church steeple. I agree with his decision and i am glad that he made it.