Fahrenheit 451 Hero's Journey Essay

In Fahrenheit 451, a science fiction novel by Ray Bradbury a man named Guy Montag goes against a dystopian society to pursue happiness, freedom, and knowledge. This dystopian society has banned all books, and firefighters have been transformed into book burners in hopes of creating a perfect society also known as a utopia. Although the ancient Hero’s Journey Archetype may not seem to have a lot to do do with this science fiction novel set in the future, it applies to this book more than you would expect. Throughout the book Guy Montag experiences many steps of the Hero’s Journey Archetype, as he is setting out to pursue knowledge.

In Fahrenheit 451 the first three steps of the Hero’s Journey are: The Call to Adventure, Refusal of The Call, and The Beginning of the Adventure. The beginning of the adventure is when Montag is burning a lady’s house and, “Montag’s hand closed like a mouth, crushed the book with wild devotion, with an insanity of mindlessness to his chest.” (Bradbury 34) Montag taking the book is a sign that he does not agree with society and he wants it to be different

In the book The Refusal of the Return is not included. Fahrenheit 451 does not have a traditional Magic Flight step, instead of facing danger as the protagonist is returning Montag faces danger as he is fleeing from the city. “But he was at the river” (Bradbury 133) This quote is The Rescue From Without step from the hero’s journey, the rescuer for Montag is not a human, but it is a river that takes him away from his enemies. The final step in the hero’s journey archetype is The Crossing or Return to the Threshold, which in this book is represented after the country is bombed the group of men that Montag has found is planning on going to the government and sharing their wisdom and attempting to bring back the