Fahrenheit 451 Hero's Journey Analysis

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The novel Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury follows the journey of Guy Montag over the course of many events and challenges. These challenges and hardships shape Montag and make him question his life. Is the information he is learning, give him power over others? Montag soon finds out that knowledge does indeed give him power and he must embark on a journey to protect that power from people who want to exploit it. This journey and the shaping of Montag is commonly known as the Hero’s Journey which was set of steps created by Joseph Campbell. The structure establishes many stops for the Hero to take to grow and develop. Some steps are the Status Quo, which describes the Hero 's life and the situation he or she is in. Next is Departure, or when the Hero leaves his or her normal life to seek adventure. Later is crisis. Crisis is the biggest conflict or battle the hero must fight to prove and show the skills that he or she has acquired over the journey. Lastly is Return. This is when the Hero completes his or her journey and returns to the new they have created for themselves, only to have to repeat the process again.
The journey starts a what is known as the Status Quo. Bradbury writes,“ He knew that when he returned to the firehouse, he might wink at himself. A Minstrel man.” Minstrel men are those known to put on makeup and or a disguise to perform in a show or play. If one understands the meaning of the phrase the description of Montag gives the reader a little hint on