Characters
Disillusionment is what little heroes are made of.
— E. K. Hornbeck • Inherit the Wind
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
Disillusionment, the speaker suggests, is the raw material of small-scale heroes: people become admired figures after their illusions crack. The line is wry and faintly deflating, implying that so-called heroism grows out of lost faith and hard lessons rather than untroubled idealism.
Context reviewed