The Time of the Hero

Main Ideas

• The merciless clash of youth with the cruelty of the adult world, where the military school becomes a microcosm of society, reflecting its vices and violence
• An exploration of the nature of power and submission, where discipline and fear turn boys into faceless soldiers and individuality is suppressed by harsh rules
• The theme of betrayal and lies permeates the relationships between the characters, where friendship and trust prove fragile in the face of fear and the need to survive
• A deep dive into the psychology of growing up, where inner rebellion collides with the need to adapt, and dreams of freedom are shattered against the barracks walls
• A critique of militarism and authoritarianism, where the system breeds not heroes but broken people, incapable of compassion and sincerity
• The poetics of alienation, where the city and the school become arenas of loneliness, and each character is forced to find their own path through a labyrinth of lies, pain, and lost illusions