Who is the hero of Fahrenheit 451?

Guy Montag is the protagonist and hero of the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Montag is the hero because he decides to stand up for what he believes in, while others stand by and watch the injustice of society. He can teach us that this one act is what really makes a hero instead of some guy in tights flying around fighting monsters. Standing up for your beliefs may seem easy in comparison to fighting off monsters like Superman, yet in standing up for what you believe in has many risks. Montag for example, stands up to his society by stealing books and reading them. He even plans with an old professor, named Faber, to start printing books again. He says as he plots with Faber "That's the good thing about dying; when you've nothing to lose, you run any risk that you want." (Bradbury 85). This shows that Montag is willing to risk his life for his cause and turn away from the life he has known.

One of the qualities that help make Montag a hero is his courage in doing the right thing. Montag is brave because he is willing to risk his old life for the advancement of society as a whole. He is aware that he could be discovered for harboring books and have his house burned down by his fellow firefighters (Bradbury 68). I don't know many people that would risk the loss of all of their material goods for books. Not only could Montag lose his house, but he could also lose his wife. Mildred, Montag's wife, does not believe in books and thinks her television shows are the important things in life (Bradbury 50). In addition, to losing his house and wife, Montag also risks losing his life. He says that just by trying to bring books back into his society, he is dying (Bradbury 85). This is courageous because he is willingly to die for the greater good of the world.

Bibliography:

Bradbury, Ray. Farenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1953. Print