Significance Of The Hero's Journey In Fahrenheit 451

Owen Bice

Ms. Carino

Accelerated English 10

14 March 2023

Hero’s Journey and Fahrenheit 451 Joseph Cambell’s novel, The Hero With a Thousand Faces creates the Hero’s Journey outline for stories to follow. The idea of the Hero’s Journey by Joseph Cambell creates the image of a “hero” in many stories such as Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury writes about a futuristic and dystopian society in which the protagonist lives. Through the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the depiction of the main character Guy Montag can be conveyed as a hero through the steps of the Hero’s Journey by Joseph Cambell.

The first main component of the Hero’s Journey is the “Departure.” We learn the characters that are involved in the story as well as where the conflict

The hero begins their path to glory and the story begins. In Fahrenheit 451, the main protagonist is Guy Montag. The “Call to Adventure” is when Montag steals the book from the lady whose house is being burned. From the novel, “Montag had nothing. His hand had done it all…” (Bradbury 35). This quote is detailing how the book was being stolen. The second component of the “Departure” is the “Refusal of the Call.” The hero refuses their journey due to fear of what is ahead of them. In many stories, it is possible for the character to “turn the other ear” and continue on with their normal life instead of their destined journey (Cambell 49). Guy Montag does not follow a “Refusal of the Call” stage that is outlined by Joseph Cambell. The “Supernatural Aid” is the third component of the “Departure” and is when a person helps the protagonist along their journey. The “Supernatural Aid” also provides ways for the hero or protagonist to overcome challenges. In Fahrenheit 451, this aid is Faber. Faber guides Montag on what to do with his stolen books as well as

(Schiever) The “Road of Trials” is when the hero undergoes many challenges or tasks after traveling past the “first threshold.”Most of the action and excitement in stories can be found in this stage (Cambell 81). In Fahrenheit 451, while out of order, Montag attempts to find a guide or teacher on what to do with books he has. Montag also faces more complications of his own due to Beatty catching on to him with stealing and reading books. The “Meeting with the Goddess” is when the hero encounters the goddess or empowering female figure during their adventure or journey. Montag experiences this when encountering Clarisse early in the story. Clarisse causes Montag to see the world differently as well as eventually lead to Montag rebelling and stealing books. The “Woman as the Temptress” is similar to the “Meeting with the Goddess” in the sense that there is a female figure causing change to the protagonist. The difference is that the “Woman as the Temptress” stage is where the goddess attempts to either harm the hero, spurn his advances, hamper him in his quest, or tempt him into desire (Study Guide 19). Montag does not go through this stage of the journey during the novel. The “Atonement with the