The Labors of Hercules Beal

The novel’s protagonist and first-person narrator, Hercules Beal is a seventh grader who lost both parents in a car accident a year before the start of the narrative. As a result, he is being raised by his older brother, Achilles, and, together, they run Beal Brothers Farm and Nursery. At the outset, Hercules does not reveal his pain or grief. He interrupts himself and stops his thoughts about his parents’ deaths. Furthermore, he uses humor and sarcasm to cover up his pain. Hercules also claims that he does not know himself but does know others. However, his view of others is influenced by his own feelings rather than reality. For example, when thinking about Mrs. Savage’s belief that the right light reveals a lot about a person, he thinks, “I already knew what the right light would be for Viola the Vampire—none. And I knew what the right light would be for Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer: whatever light he said was right. And the right light for Achilles? The overhead light in an airplane” (50). Later, he learns that these are incorrect assumptions limited by his beliefs at this moment: his dislike of Viola, his perception that his teacher is a rigid authoritarian, and his view that his brother prefers his old life to being with him.