Examples Of Heroism In Fahrenheit 451

Rev. Dr. John Prochaska, opens the second chapter of his nonfiction work Extreme Heroism by writing, “The first thing that sets extreme heroism apart from other forms of heroism is its relationship to injustice and justice; it is partly a response at an emotional level to seeing an injustice, hearing of an injustice, or otherwise experiencing an injustice.” In Bradbury’s world of Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist Guy Montag lives in a similar world of injustices; a city of rampant oppression, extreme totalitarianism, and limited knowledge. If anyone steps outside of the borders of conformity and ignorance, their home will be burned to ash as an example to the rest. Living in a brutal environment like this pushes people to intellectual suicide

In his speech about new research on heroism, Philip Zimbardo says that he reached the conclusion that heroic action is circumstantial: “I’ve become even more convinced that acts of heroism don’t just arrive from truly exceptional people but from people placed in the right circumstance, given the necessary tools to transform compassion into action.” If heroism is just noble action at the right time and place, it requires no background or former concern regarding the issue. Heroes are just placed in the “right circumstance;” from the word “right,” it seems that being given the opportunity to act heroically is extremely lucky opportunity for the hero. He later says that heroes are also given the “necessary tools” needed for heroism during the event; basically, every element needed for heroism is supplied in the moment. This shows that it is all just a quick decision to use the materials given. Zimbardo also shows that any bystander can act heroically, as they have everything they need except courage; heroism is not just from “truly exceptional people,” but from ordinary ones in the right time. While the fact that heroism finally arises under chance circumstance is definitely true, true heroism is more than thoughtless spontaneity; they have to have some form of compassion that

At the very beginning of Fahrenheit 451, it is evident that Montag has some very quiet doubts about the structure of his society, but he was not convinced enough to take any defiant action yet. His passivity first notably changes after he sees an act of commitment to knowledge by the woman with her books who let herself be burned rather than surrendering to authority making his doubts increase with internal curiosity. As he tries to recount what he saw to Mildred in an attempt to get her to see his perspective, he finally lets his true thoughts slip: “‘There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there’” (48). He tries to use the extremely powerful image of a woman wanting to “stay in a burning house” to try to communicate the importance of the event, but of course, she doesn’t understand. His eyewitness experience made him also start questioning the topic even further. Montag tries to see the scene out of the woman’s eyes, thinking that “there must be something there.” He looks at the issue from different perspectives, but he can not find an easy answer right away, which just made him think more. Montag seems determined to understand the situation by insisting that there “must be” something there; this