Ray Bradbury‘s novel, Fahrenheit 451, thoroughly and meticulously characterizes Guy Montag, a man who refuses to conform to a society repudiating intellect and cogitation. Throughout the piece, Montag gradually begins to reveal a number of heroic attributes, such as his selfless actions to spare the life of the woman found harboring books and his attempts to separate Mildred and her friends from a thought»repressing lifestyle by reading them passages from a book. These events indicate Montag’s heroic nature, as he risks his life in order to uphold his views of morality, Finally, his determination to seek out emotion and knowledgeias well as to aid others to do likewise—directly and efficiently communicates Montag’s heroic disposition In Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag, the protagonist, is developed to reveal a multitude of heroic qualities, as indicated by his acts of altruism, audacity, and perseverance, which are centralized to provide a better understanding of the character and the story as a whole.
This archetype appears in a number of other works as well, such as 1984, To Kill A Mockingbird, and The Giver. Near the beginning of the novel, Montag and the firemen are alerted that a woman is possessing books. As the firemen arrive at the woman’s home and gather them to be burned, Montag notices that the woman refuses to exit the house and wishes to burn with the books He pleads with her to leave the premises so that she could live, however she refuses and dies in the fire. After this event, Montag is revealed to be emotionally affected by the woman‘s death and her courage to die for forbidden knowledge, This represents Montag’s concern for the lives of others and further indicates his altruistic nature.
This is expressed again in the second part of the book, “The Sieve and the Sand,” in the second chapter, where Montag reads “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold to Mildred and her friends. At this point in the story, Montag becomes annoyed with the futility of technology and the emotionally suppressive society he lives in, as well as the habitual actions of the women to embrace such things. In an attempt to intellectually and emotionally liberate the women, he reads the lyric to them. This incident again exhibits Montag’s selfless character, as he risks his life to psychologically rescue the women. In a curriculum report by Robert Lyman Biral, from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, the literary essence of a hero is evaluated, reinforcing the idea that a hero is simply one who values morality and other virtuesi “Whether the hero is Perseus, Superman, or the poet who pities mankind, his importance lies in his potential for recreating the perfect human community. In Classical and Biblical tradition the picture of the perfect human community is clearly set before us at the beginning of each myth—the Golden Age and Paradise.“
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Montag’s heroic and altruistic temperament has become a common archetype and appears in multiple works of literature one being To Kill A Mockingbird, for instance. In this novel by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch, the attorney of the convicted African American man, Tom Robinson, is presented as a heroic figure due to his virtuous motives to reveal his client’s innocence. Another way in which Bradbury portrays Montag as a hero is by characterizing him as an audacious and intrepid man. At one point in the novel, Montag plants books in the residents of some of the other firemen in order to discredit the firehouses, and the suppressive ideas they’ve upheld. These actions characterize Montag as a courageous and bold protagonist, a heroic figure willing to oppose the majority to uphold his views of ethical virtue. However, some have argued that Montag can be considered an anti—hero because of his rebellious behavior and his framing of the firemen. This is a false inference, though, due to Montag’s opposition to villainous and corrupt officials and their ideals.
This event in the story is simply an illustration of the hero vs, the villain and good vs. evilinot a radical anarchist vs. order and society. Lord Raglan’s hero scale supports the claim that audacious behavior often renders a character heroic. Raglan’s twelfth point states that once a character achieves victory over some sort of king, giant, or dragon, the hero’s position as a ruler solidifies. Montag’s heroic audacity is a common attribute in literature and even appears in Orwell’s 1984, where Winston, the protagonist, possesses the ability to stand up against oppressive totalitarianism, reflecting very similar goals and attributes as Montag has. Finally, Montag’s unfaltering determination to attain knowledge and learning reveals to the reader his heroic desire to pursue righteous ideals, and his refusal to conform to a society that represses such things. Throughout the novel, a number of characters attempt to pull Montag back into the senseless and suppressive lifestyles they have accepted.
For instance, after Clarisse sparks the idea to question life within Montag, and he begins to express his ideas to Mildred and Captain Beatty, they try to explain that he is being dangerous and unreasonable, considering thought is speculated to cause conflicts in this society. At one point, Faber, Montag’s accomplice, expresses this cautionary warning as well, Montag remains open-minded and inquisitive, however, again indicating a heroic quality of perseverance In an article discussing the qualities of a hero, this idea is expressed. “For a hero the word ‘Impossible’ always decomposes to yield ‘1 am possible} A hero is unflinching in his or her determination and believes in his ability without the whiff of dubiety,” (Personality Tutor). This heroic attribute of determination surfaces in Lois Lowry’s piece, The Giver, as Jonas, a boy confined in a community lacking diversity, emotion, and thoughtfulness, becomes determined to escape such a society in order to freely be pensive and sensitive. Conclusively, it can be said that the author exquisitely and skillfully characterizes Montag as an almost iconic literary hero.
He first expresses an altruistic and moral personality as he begs the woman to exit the burning house and attempts to share knowledge with psychologically numbed people. Next, Montag reveals an intrepid attitude as he breaks the law to uphold his human rights to think and feels. Finally, Bradbury’s portrayal of Montag as a determined individual that opposes society and law ethically represents a hero that is identified and understood, which helps the reader comprehend the societal critique the author is making Each of these attributes have appeared in a number of works with considerable literary merit, such as. To KillA Mockingbird, 1984, and The Giver. The protagonist in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag, is characterized as a hero through his altruistic, bold, and determined actions, which helps the reader comprehend the author’s message involving the folly of conforming to society and the heroism of having the ability to think and act as an individual.
