How does Jem become a hero to Scout in chapter 4 of To Kill a Mockingbird?
In Chapter 4, Scout receives quite a fright when she rolls in the tire right up to the Radley's porch. She hears Boo Radley laughing when she gets up to run back to the boys who are also yelling at her to bring the tire back. She does think...
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thatJem is brave to run back and get the tire for her; but she believes he is a hero for a couple of other reasons. First, Jem shows that he is brave by wanting to play out the Radley family drama in their front yard for everyone to see. Of course, Dill gets the villain roles, Scout gets the women's roles, and Jem always gets to play the hero of their stories.
Next, since Scout heard laughter coming from inside the Radley home, she knows that someone is watching them. She doesn't tell this to Jem, but she does protest playing the game by saying, "He can get out at night when we're all asleep" (39). Jem reassures her over and over again that no one will get her at night because they probably killed Boo, anyway, and stuffed him up the chimney. He also tells Scout that no one will get her with him and Calpurnia there to protect her during the day and Atticus can protect her at night. Scout says, "Jem was a born hero" (39). The fact that Jem says that he is one of her protectors shows Scout that he is a hero that she can depend on.
What evidence suggests that Jem is the hero of To Kill a Mockingbird?
While there are many heroes in To Kill a Mockingbird, some of them honestly more heroic than Jem (including Boo Radley and Atticus Finch), Jem does stand out for being the bravest in the face of insurmountable odds and danger. Jem could be considered a hero because of the threat he is willing to face to save his sister’s life.
After the trial and embarrassment of Bob Ewell, he is bent on revenge. Ewell spits in Atticus’s face and threatens him. Atticus, though, never imagines that Ewell will come after his children. That is precisely what happens when Jem and Scout are walking home one night from play practice. Bob Ewell, drunk, attacks them under an old tree.
Jem, brave and protective of Scout, tries to help her get away from their drunken assailant. When Ewell first attacks, Jem shouts:
“Run Scout! Run! Run!” (chapter 28).
He then turns to face the attacker himself. Scout describes the action:
Something crushed the chicken wire around me. Metal ripped on metal and I fell to the ground and rolled as far as I could, floundering to escape my wire prison. From somewhere nearby came scuffling, kicking sounds, sounds of shoes and flesh scraping dirt and roots (chapter 28).
Jem manages to get Scout free, but in the ensuing fight, his arm is broken, and he passes out. Jem is Scout's older brother, and he loves her dearly. That is why he shows his love by fighting to keep her safe, even though Ewell is both bigger and stronger than him. Jem’s willingness to fight Ewell, a perilous situation, is evidence that could prove that Jem is one of the most heroic characters in the story.