Marcus Heilbroner/ The Laughing Man

Marcus is into Physics (mostlyconcrete.org)

My Definition of a Hero: A hero is someone who will selflessly make some sort of sacrifice for someone else's wellbeing. A hero isn't concerned with what's in it for them. They do what they do because it's right. Not because they're getting a reward for it.

I believe it's important to have a hero. Having a hero gives you someone to look up to. You can aim to be like that person. They become like your role model whether they know you personally or not.

A character that portrays heroic characteristics is the Laughing Man. Things don't become clear until the end of the book. You find out that The notes that Miranda had received were from the Laughing man on the corner of her street who turns out to be Marcus. In the first note it says, "I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own"(60). This is heroic because Marcus had punched the kid he was going to wind up saving. This tells me that he feels remorse for what he did. the next quote is when the Laughing Man says to Miranda, "I am an old man, and she's gone now. So don't worry, okay?"(114). He knows that he is going to die in saving Sal but his wife is gone and he is ready to go. He tells Miranda not to worry. Accepting the sacrifices of his action is very heroic. Of course, the most heroic thing was when Sal was about to get hit by the truck and, "Suddenly the laughing man was in the street, his leg flying out in a mighty kick. The laughing man's foot hit Sal's body. Sal flew backward and hit the ground, hard. The truck hit the laughing man"(160). He gave his life to save the life of a kid he punched as a kid. That was the ultimate sacrifice and was extremely heroic.

Marcus/ the Laughing man should be inducted into the Hero Hall of Fame for showing extreme heroism. Marcus felt so bad about punching Sal. In the future he learns how to time travel. In doing so, he sacrifices his sanity and becomes the Laughing Man. So that was sacrifice number one. Then, after coming back, he sacrificed his life to save Sal's. That was sacrifice number two. It's because of these actions that he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Interview with Marcus after he reads Miranda's letter and knows about his fate:

Q1: Marcus, you wound up sacrificing your sanity and ultimately your life to save Sal. What made you make such a sacrifice? A: I just felt so much regret and remorse for hitting him. I didn't even have a good reason to. I had to make it right.

Q2: Who is your personal hero? A: My hero is Albert Einstein. Without his Theory of Relativity, I never would have been able to figure out time travel.

Q3: Off topic for a moment. What is your favorite book? A: Well, much like Miranda, I really enjoyed the book A Wrinkle in Time.

Q4: Also off topic. Why did you hit Sal? A: I hate admitting this because it was such a stupid reason, but i hit him because my brother said that one day I'd hit someone and get hit back and I hit Sal thinking he'd hit me back.

Q5: Back to the topic of heroes, did you expect to gain anything from saving Sal? A: I only expected that my wrongs were righted. I couldn't expect much. I mean, I DIED. Right?

Q6: What is your personal definition of a hero? A: To me, a hero is someone who isn't afraid to give something up to do what is right.

Q7: Back off topic. What is your favorite food? A: I like food in general. But apparently, towards the end of my life I liked bread with butter on it and bananas.

Q8: Are you upset that you're dead? A: A little. I'd rather not talk about it.

Q9: How does it feel knowing that you are the crazy Laughing Man? A: To be honest, something seemed familiar about him the whole time.

Q10: Do you think Miranda could also be considered a hero? A: Yeah. She helped me finally get that i had to time travel and save a life. that's a big deal.