Values of Heroism Phillip Zimbardo finds that twenty percent of people qualify as heroes (Zimbardo, np). Therefore it is no surprise that the protagonists of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are heroes. Of course Montag and Atticus Finch are two very contrasting people, but they both demonstrate strength in times of judgment, an important trait contributing to their heroism. By evaluating both characters from their novels, the reader can conclude that a hero must often possess strength in judgment.
Within Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird lies various examples of strength and judgment for the purpose of teaching the importance of strength in the face judgment. Take the instance of Scout removing herself …show more content…
When Montag is on the run and briefly passes by Faber’s house, the ex-English professor confides, “I feel I’m doing what I should’ve done a lifetime ago. For a little while I’m not afraid. Maybe it’s because I’m doing the right thing and don’t want to look like a coward to you. I suppose I’ll have to do even more violent things exposing myself so I won’t fall down on the job and turn scared again”(Bradbury 125). His unease stemming from self-judgment remarkably diminishes or is momentarily gone like a light flickering on after sitting in a room suffused with dim darkness. Although his fortitude of character contributes by wanting to take action, he still comments that the possible reason for his newfound strength could be due to the thought of Montag’s judgment, and therefore Bradbury illustrates Faber confronting judgment of two various sources. Furthermore, Montag takes up residence with the band of intellectuals in the woods when Granger, who is the author of The Fingers in the Glove; the Proper Relationship between the individual and Society, shares his insights, “But that’s the wonderful thing about man; he never gets so discouraged or disgusted that he gives up doing it all over again, because he knows very well it is important and worth doing” (147). Granger’s phrase resonates with the power of overcoming judgment to promote worthy causes. Granger is Montag’s mentor and Faber is his personal confidant. Both provide him with strength to stand up to the judgment of society, which molds him into the hero he is now. As explained by psychologist Frank Farley, Montag is a “big H” hero as opposed to Atticus, because he is exposed to higher physical risk (Cherry, np). Likewise, Montag voluntarily sets out to make his society in need into a better place, and even though his endeavor poses a fatal possibility, he does not want to be