To Kill A Hero Analysis

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers fear”(Nelson Mandela). This means that a hero is someone that protects without thinking, even if they are afraid. They put aside their fears for the sake of others. Mandela believed that all people should be equal and he worked towards this goal facing fear even if it meant being punished. Similar to what Nelson Mandela said, in the book, Maus,, by Art Spiegelman, a hero sacrifices himself for someone who they are close to, no matter the consequences. Additionally, the heroes in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, also sacrifice themselves in order to protect others. Specifically, Vladek protects

On the night of the school pageant when Jem and Scout were walking back to their house they heard somebody following them. Once Jem realized it was Mr. Ewell walking behind them and eventually running at them to attempt to hurt them, Jem had to protect Scout and himself. He fought Mr. Ewell as hard as he could until Mr. Ewell broke Jem's arm. He is only thirteen but he threw himself out in front of a grown man who had a knife, to protect his sister. Another example of a hero is being calm and collected in a stressful situation. One character who shows these characteristics is Atticus. When Ms.Dubose was yelling at him, along with Scout and Jem, Atticus replied to her politely, trying to change the subject by saying she looked "like a picture"(100). In addition, he was also calm during the court case when Mayella was on the stand and Atticus called her ma'am. She obviously did not like that and yelled at Atticus, but Atticus did no get upset and just walked towards the window calmly waiting for his chance to talk again. He was also extremely calm when Mr. Ewell said, "Too proud to fight you n****r lovin bastard', Miss Stephanie said Atticus said 'no to old' (he) put his hands in his pockets and strolled on" (217). This shows that he does not care what other people think. Although he does care what his children think. This quote is telling the reader that Atticus does not want to start anything, nor does he want to do something not worth his while. He is quite a gentleman and has a fantastic reputation. Therefore, a hero is someone who is brave in tough situations, calm in times of stress and polite to the people who are rude