The character of Larry LaSalle
Charismatic, admired, enigmatic, glamorous, bewitching, entrancing,
mysterious, manipulative, predatory, magnetic, hypnotic, ambiguous,
duplicitous, unrepentant, remorseless, deceptive, sinister
Larry, a young war veteran from Francis’s hometown, is the novel’s
antagonist. Athletic, graceful, and charismatic, Larry is ‘a hero’ in the lives
of the children of Monument; he is a source of entertainment and
encouragement (as he runs the local recreation centre, known as
the Wreck Centre), and he is also proof that even someone from their
sleepy town can become a success. Despite outwardly framing his
decision to enlist in the army as fulfilling his patriotic duty, Larry goes to
war after the bombing of Pearl Harbour looking for revenge, betraying a
penchant for violence beneath his “movie star” image. While on furlough,
his cruelty is manifested when he rapes Nicole Renard in the Wreck
Centre whilst Francis stands in the shadows frozen by fear. When
confronted by Francis, Larry seems defeated and haunted by his past, and
he ultimately talks Francis out of killing him with the promise that he will
commit suicide instead. Whether Larry is succumbing to his feelings of
guilt and despair or lifting up his former pupil one last time by making
Francis “better than he is,” his suicide ends the cycle of violence he started
when he raped Nicole.
Quotes:
“But Larry LaSalle is not innocent”
Charismatic, admired, enigmatic, glamorous, bewitching, entrancing,
mysterious, manipulative, predatory, magnetic, hypnotic, ambiguous,
duplicitous, unrepentant, remorseless, deceptive, sinister
Larry, a young war veteran from Francis’s hometown, is the novel’s
antagonist. Athletic, graceful, and charismatic, Larry is ‘a hero’ in the lives
of the children of Monument; he is a source of entertainment and
encouragement (as he runs the local recreation centre, known as
the Wreck Centre), and he is also proof that even someone from their
sleepy town can become a success. Despite outwardly framing his
decision to enlist in the army as fulfilling his patriotic duty, Larry goes to
war after the bombing of Pearl Harbour looking for revenge, betraying a
penchant for violence beneath his “movie star” image. While on furlough,
his cruelty is manifested when he rapes Nicole Renard in the Wreck
Centre whilst Francis stands in the shadows frozen by fear. When
confronted by Francis, Larry seems defeated and haunted by his past, and
he ultimately talks Francis out of killing him with the promise that he will
commit suicide instead. Whether Larry is succumbing to his feelings of
guilt and despair or lifting up his former pupil one last time by making
Francis “better than he is,” his suicide ends the cycle of violence he started
when he raped Nicole.
Quotes:
“But Larry LaSalle is not innocent”
