her. Rather than being supportive, she almost instantly develops paranoia about Beatty, their friends, and the other firefighters finding out about the books. Eventually, she unexpectedly exposes Montag’s possession of the books in their home.
Faber is a character that is introduced into the novel towards the end and is the most relatable character to Montag at this point. "It 's not books you need, it 's some of the things that once were in books" (Bradbury, 78). When Montag reveals to his wife, Mildred, that he is in possession of books, he reminisces back to a year prior when he met Faber in a field. He knew then that Faber also did not support the censorship, but rather, he just didn’t voice his opinion on it for fear of his own life.
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His encounter with Mrs. Blake shows his compassion for her and the impact that her incident has on him afterwards is very telling of his opinion and his personality. Montag’s relationship with Faber forces him to completely open up and settle in his own opinion of how he feels about the burning of the books and the homes of those who possess them. As the protagonist of the novel, Montag reveals to the audience how important it is to stand on your own, rather than conform to society based on what society makes you think that you must do or how you must think.
Ray Bradbury 's use of censorship in Fahrenheit 451 sends a strong message about freedom that applies to not only the subjects in the non-fiction novel, but also relates to various cultures and societies throughout all of history. It is incredibly ironic how much this relates to today’s society, despite being published in 1950. In 2017, self-censorship has become incredibly prevalent in many aspects. With the rapid expansion and advancement in technology, society as a whole is practicing self-censorship more and more in all aspects of society. Whether it be via the news, on the internet through social media, or simply out in public, it is impossible to not come across some type of censorship and with examples of perspectives that replicate those of the characters in Fahrenheit 451. Social media and the news are filled with self-censorship. For
But, books were illegal in this day and age, so he must keep the city protected. While watching the senior burn with her books, he learned that these books are so important to some people- there has to be something special about these books. As a result of this, he stole some of her books and took them to his home to read. This example proves that the old lady develops Guy Montag’s character considering he went from being fearful and weary about owning books, to becoming curious and wanting to learn the importance and significance of books. He begins to become intrigued, going against the law and putting his job- and life- at risk.
The consequence of this behavior could send Montag to prison, which Montag does not care about. After reading several books Montag talks with his close friend, Faber, and says to him "We have everything to be happy, but we're not happy" .What Montag tells Faber at that moment is really an expression of how he started analyzing more after starting reading books. Although Montag's love life changes and his view of society are changed too, this is not the only change Montag must admit. In the start of the book Montag is delighted in the work of burning illegal books and the homes of where they are found. However, as the book progresses, Montag becomes increasingly disgruntled, as he realizes that he has an empty, unfulfilling life. A point that shows that Montag in the start of the book is happy about his job is when he hangs up his helmet and shines it; hangs up his jacket neatly; showers luxuriously, and then, whistling walks across the upper floor.
Montag was devastated when they burned the old lady. The firemen were playing cards when the alarm sounded; they arrived at the old lady’s house. They interrogated an old woman who has books in her house. “The woman knelt among the books, touching drenched leather and cardboard, reading the gilt titles while her eyes accused Montag.”
As Montag develops as a character, Faber becomes crucial in helping him to clarify his thoughts, and in giving him direction. Faber is the guiding force of Montag's rebellion; Clarisse was the spark that lit the fire, and Faber helped to direct that fire in a more manageable and healthy direction. As Montag strives to read books, and to understand what their meaning is, he is confused, muddled and frustrated. He senses that they are important, but can't figure out how. At one point he is so frustrated while trying to read on the subway that on a whim, he drops by Faber's house, and pleads with him, “Nobody listens anymore...I just want someone to hear what I have to say...and I want you to teach me to understand what I read.” (82) Faber's voice from then on is in his ear, through the seashell, and Faber helps to tame Montag's thoughts, guide him in the right way, and interpret life as it comes at him. Overall, Faber plays the role of mentor, strengthener, clarifier, guide, friend and conscience. He is crucial to Montag's development and shows that fire represents thinking and new insight.
Montag soon begins to enter the bonfire stage. Clarisse, is an observant, curious, open-minded and unique 17 year old girl. Montag, after meeting a couple times with Clarisse, is when his eyes truly open that his society is full of fake realities. He becomes observant and starts asking questions about his society. While being with Clarisse, Montag would smell the leaves and notice the small details; therefore, he was having a shift from being a prisoner to going up to the bonfire. On page #48 it says, “ You’re not sick,” said Mildred. Montag fell back in bed. He reached under the pillow. The hidden book was still there. “Mildred, how would it be if, well, maybe I quit my job awhile?” “You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, because, one night, some woman and her books-” “You should have seen her, Millie!”…. “You weren’t there, you didn’t see ,” he said. “ There must be something in the books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.” This is the event that changed Montags viewpoint on books
Many people are impacted by ones around them, either for the better or for the worse.
Faber changed Montag from being a confused man, to an aware, thinking and analyzing person that is deferent from the society he lives in. after killing Beatty, the chief fireman at the station who has read many books and memorized most of them. Montag seeks Faber 's help again, he was confused did not know where to do to escape from the mechanical hound that was running after him. Faber tells Montag to go to the forest, where Montag rested and thought about what happened and whether he did the right thing or not. At the forest, Montag meets a group of men that was lead by Granger; an author who is the leader of a group that hopes to re-populate the world with books.
_____ is shown when takes out the books he had previously hidden in an air vent. He does this in an attempt to explain to Mildred why they are important. She becomes upset and confused by the seemingly meaningless excerpts Montag reads, used to her idle distractions that required no in-depth thinking or interpretations. This is similar to when Montag brought out a book to read the poem “Dover Beach” to her friends. As to not worry the women, Mildred tried to play it off as a familiar occurrence by saying that once a year, firemen were allowed to bring home a book to show their family how silly it was, when in reality she had no idea what Montag was doing. Through his earpiece, Faber protested but Montag would not listen: “‘What good is this, what’ll you prove!’ ‘Scare hell out of them, that’s what, scare the living daylights out!’” (95). It is clear that Montag was not thinking straight because of his shouting at Faber, who he was supposed to keep secret. Montag desperately wanted to make the women understand why literature was important that he acted without thinking in trying to get them to cooperate. Montag believed that he could make them change their minds to realize the importance of literature with this small act, although he failed to take into consideration that when people are brought up thinking one way, it is very difficult to
Faber opens Montag's eyes to the world around him and Montag comes to see how everyone around him is in a daze and is simply not living their lives. When Montag visits Faber to inquire about books and what they contain, Faber sates "I don't talk to things. I talk to the meaning of things. I sit here and I know I'm alive" (Bradbury 71). Faber's deep knowledge of books help him see life in ways that others cannot, and Montag hopes to obatin some of this knowledge. In fact Motag craves this knoweldge. He describes the sate of life he is currently in as numb. Montag firmly believes that "the numbness will go away...It'll take time, but I'll do it, or Faber will do it for me" (Bradbury 74). He wants the clarity that comes with knowledge. Montag's new found knowledge and a want for change is easily seen in the way that his views on fire changes. This is evident when Montag is forced to burn his own home. "He burnt the bedroom walls and the cosmetics chest because he wanted to change everything, the chairs, the tables, and in the dining room the silverware and the plastic dishes, everything that showed that he had lived here in this empty house with a strange woman...And as before, it was good to burn, he felt himself gush out in the fire, snatch, rend, rip in half with flame, and put away the senseless problem. If there was no solution, well then now there was no problem, either. Fire was best
Throughout the decades, certain restrictions have been shown in various forms from newspapers to television to social media. In America today, it serves as a positive outcome due to it protecting children from watching certain shows that they are too young to see. However, there are negative effects of censorship still prevalent in some parts of the world today. Censorship can block new and varied beliefs and ideas, which hides information from the public. Consequently, this is seen in the book Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury. In the dystopian society, many of the citizens daily routine consists of the act of burning books, watching manipulative “parlor families” on television, and not being accepted for doing things out of the norm. The residents in the story are limited to only juvenile thinking and actions which makes the society less diverse and knowledgeable. Even though restrictions can be effective at times, the author expresses the sense of censorship and how it is a bad influence by revealing certain characters that are affected by the restrictive society.
As Montag is becoming more and more rebellious, he finds a confidant in Faber. Faber was once a college professor but lost his job when things started to change and books were burned. Though he is somewhat of a coward who does not want to rebel due to the fact that he does not want to face the consequences, he is a big help to Montag as he evolves. Montag is forced to burn his own house down and it seems as if all is coming to an end. At
Montag’s entire system of beliefs changes when Guy meets a couple of people with unique perspectives, Clarisse McClellan and Professor Faber. Clarisse McClellan is a seventeen year old girl who Montag met while walking down the street one night. She claims she is crazy and always seeks out the answers to questions that nobody else thinks to ask. Faber is an ex-professor who is old enough to have watched the decline of intellectual life in his country. Montag once met Faber in the park carrying a book of poetry on his person and quoting it. Nevertheless, Guy does not turn Faber in to the authorities for possession of a forbidden book, but keeps Faber’s personal information. These two people alter Montag’s perspective on the world and the stories concealed in it by the media and government. By the ending of the story, Montag transforms into a completely different person who, desiring more out of his life, discovers that he can save his burning society by bringing back books and poetry. Therefore, Montag changes throughout the course of the story by beginning to question authority and doubt the ways of his life and society. From the beginning to the ending, Montag transforms through the influence of the people in his life.
Montag is now at the point where his views are being tested and new beliefs of life are being created. “Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in each trembling finger, had turned thief” (35). Here Montag sees a plethora of books inside of Mrs. Blake’s house and seemingly of its own accord Montag’s hand takes a book. He has now broken a rule that everyone in Montag’s society knows, never to take or read books. Mrs. Blakes, instead of coming with the firemen out of the house decides to burn with the books. This confuses Montag and piques his curiosity to figure out what inside the book could drive someone to die with
Ray Bradbury comments the censorship in the future, even though this novel was written in the early 1950's by showing these same ideas in a dystopian novel called Fahrenheit 451. He shows the readers how terrible censorship really is by writing about it in his novel. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury uses "technological controls", such as television and seashells, to show the reader about how controlled the public is by the government and how their minds are being controlled by these certain technologies in the twenty-first century. Technology he uses are the Mechanical Hound and also TV’s, to show the genius the government has by feeding information into the minds of the citizens, in his novel. Fahrenheit 451 is a chilling example of censorship
The use of censorship to examine and eliminate elements in media that are found to be unorthodox or radical has been prevalent in society for centuries. Through censorship, ideas found to be objectionable or offensive are repressed. In his prophetic novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury denotes the common practice of government censorship of books as a suppressive and marginalizing concept for humans because it strips them of the realities, truths, and meaning behind books and deprives them the freedom to deliberate and act on them. The protagonist, Guy Montag lives in a futuristic, American society and is a ‘firemen’; a group of men that deflect the old conventional purpose of stopping fires, to creating