LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Heroes, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Simplicity of Childhood
Flawed Heroes
Religion
Appearance vs. Reality
Summary
Analysis
Back in the present, Francis learns through eavesdropping on his landlady and her neighbor that Larry has finally returned to Frenchtown. While he imagined he would make this discovery in a more dramatic fashion, Francis is filled with a rush of anticipation at the possibility of completing his final mission.
With Larry’s return, Francis nears the final stage of his quest to not only exact revenge for Nicole’s rape, but also to symbolically negate his own early, brutal entrance into adulthood. As such, he feels an almost childlike sense of excitement at the mention of Larry, instead of a more serious contemplation about the murder he is planning.