When it comes to the hero of James Baldwin’s short story “The Rockpile,” there appears to be two primary candidates.

The first candidate could be John, Roy’s older half-brother. John is one of the main characters, and, as opposed to Roy, he tries to act in a decent, honorable manner. As Roy roughhouses with his friends on the forbidden rockpile, John draws. While drawing might not be as heroic as, say, saving the world from an irremediably evil villain, it is, in the context of Baldwin’s story, more valiant than the acts of wanton (albeit minor) violence that Roy partakes in.

While John himself doesn’t save Roy from further injury, he does indirectly rescue Roy, because he tells his mom that Roy is in danger. Through John, Roy is removed from the perilous situation. Preventing someone from suffering harm is usually a trait of a hero.

Then again, if the hero is someone who saves people from trouble, perhaps Elizabeth should be named the hero of the story. Not only does Elizabeth excise Roy from his dangerous situation, but she prevents her husband from inflicting harm on John.

When Elizabeth’s husband—Roy’s biological father, John’s stepfather—enters, he blames John, since he favors Roy. John’s stepdad wants to punish him with a beating. Elizabeth comes to her son’s defense. “You ain’t going to take no strap to this boy,” she tells him. Her firm words save John from physical abuse. Indeed, the courage and determination with which she stands up to her husband and sticks up for her son could reasonably be called heroic.