To fake an emotion to the point that one has to question life like what Montag was doing, can be very struggling to anyone. One of the few books that Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451, is about a fireman named Montag, he was not a normal fireman related to today. There was not any of the printed books left in the story, along with the houses that the people hid the books in. Montag also never questioned the style of life he lives in until he meets a girl named Clarisse, he begins to question everything he has ever known. Because Montag faked his love and happiness to make others feel better about themselves, he was questioning his feelings about his lifestyle and started to change. Montag disguised his feelings to make others feel better about themselves, even though he was questioning his own lifestyle. Montag always made Mildred, his wife, very happy whenever he brought home money from his job as a fireman to go to the expensive things for the 3 televisions that fill up their walls. Montag was asked by Clarisse before she walked away if he was happy or not. He responded, “He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself” (Bradbury 9). Montag was telling himself that he was not happy because he felt was being a little used for the money. He was never really spending it for himself; rather, giving it to Mildred. Montag was not happy with the fact that his money that he earned is going into some televisions that Mildred has in the house. Mildred was so connected to the money that Montag gave her for the televisions, he really did not know her at all due to the fact that she was distracted with the televisions and not with Montag. Montag faked his feelings about Mildred even though he barely knew her at all, as she was always so distracted. Montag barely talked to Mildred about anything but the shows on the televisions that she watchs. Montag was looking at Mildred in their bed and he could not recognize her; “And suddenly she was so strange he couldn't believe he knew her at all” (Bradbury 39). Montag barely spent time with Mildred to see how was she doing here and there, he also found her sleeping pill container empty somewhere in the house. “The small crystal bottle of sleeping tablets which
Mildred is the wife of Montag. She has many different interests than Montag does which makes them foil characters. There is nothing very spectacular about Mildred. She is very bland and is obsessed with television. She believs that her family is the television shows. Montag on the other hand is appreciates books. Mildred says to Montag, “See what you are doing to us? You’ll ruin us!” (76). This quote shows that Mildred does not appreciate what Montag wants. She does not respect his interests and does not want to be married to someone who is doing illegal acts. Montag sees the books as a good thing and as an innspiration. Mildred sees them as
Montag feels at the begining of the novel that the communication is greatly lacking in society. People are becoming very ignorant and turning reallife realationships aside. They now turn to their "tv families". One victim of neglecting real life realtionships is Mildred, Montag's wife. Montag truley hates this. "Nobody listens any more. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read." (2.125). Montag hopes that his wife and him can rejoin their connection through the books, but is sadly wrong and must find some one else, Faber.
Montag’s Wife, Mildred, is a negative influence on him, trying to push him away emotionally and physically. She does not know who she really is and lives in an illusionary world with her obsession of television shows and believing they are real. He is so confused because she tries to ignore it ever happened thinking about all the bad things; “fire, sleeping tablets, men disposable tissue, coattails, blow, wad, flush...Rain. The storm. The uncle laughing...The whole world pouring down..." (19). After this incident he looks at Mildred in a different light and is someone who he can’t relate to. Another way she separates herself from Montag is through her "family", which is a television show. Montag constantly asks Millie “[if that] family loves [her]… love [her] with all their heart and soul" (83). Her world isn’t based in reality; they are clearly on different paths. Hers is one of illusion and his is becoming that of a totally self-aware person. She blocks everything and everyone out that is around her and lives within the show. Mildred opens Montag 's eyes to the real world and shows him that most people are uncaring and narcissistic.
Another incident that stayed in Montag 's mind is the old women who set her self and her books on fire. However, Montag tried stopping her by telling her that the books were not worth her life. Before she burned herself, Montag took one of her books and kept it. At that time Montag did not think about what did the old lady burned herself with the books, he did not think about it might be the value and morals that books hold to teach is. The old lady knew the importance of these books and what do they have, so she preferred to burn herself with them, and not watch the firemen burn them, who do not even know the importance of books. But they do know that books are unreal and there is so importance of them, plus they are against the law!
In Montag 's case, he understands that he is unhappy with the way he is living, and he begins to rethink his ways of destruction. In like manner, a literary criticist, Rafeeq McGiveron, gives a good analysis of the character of Montag when he says that Montag has a “blithely clear and pathetically blank conscience” towards burning books until he relives his childhood through walks with Clarisse (p.6). Clearly, Clarisse tugged and Montag 's heart and helped him understand the heartlessness of burning books. Most definitely, it was Montag 's hand and not his brain or mind that was the true monster. In another example, the reader sees Montag 's private life during a conversation between he and Mildred, his wife, when she says, “when can we have a fourth wall television put in? It 's only two thousand dollars” and Montag responds by saying that two thousand dollars is one-third of his yearly pay (Bradbury 33). The example presented adds more depth to the grim life of the main character because Montag is married to a woman that is selfish and has no interest for any part of Montag 's life. Similarly, because Montag is faced with unhappiness in both his professional and private life, he is quick to accept the words of Clarisse that there is a better and brighter life possible for him. Overall, Bradbury successfully acomplishes a sense of sympathy for Guy Montag by revealing the
In Montag’s journey to enlightenment, he begins, much like the prisoner, in the stage of illusion, that is represented by Mildred. Out of concern for her well-being, Montag attempts to speak with Mildred, his wife, about her recent suicide attempt. Seeing that she is in denial and refuses to talk about it, he diverts the conversation to their parlor walls. They talk about the shows, in which Mildred spends all day watching. During their discussion, she expresses that “ ‘It’s really fun.
Have you ever binge watched a TV series? Many people usually do and even consider this a normal behavior in our society; however, the main character, Montag, from the novel Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury is the only one in his society to be detached from the world of media. The civilians are brainwashed from the nonsense that they are watching and listening to. Television helps people to not interact with one another and trying to stop conversations. The people in the society are also getting into harm's way, when they are watching tv. In his novel, Ray Bradbury puts the focus on technology ruining the lives of innocent civilians.
Montag’s wife, Mildred tried to kill herself by taking “sleeping tablets which had been filled with thirty capsules and..now lay uncapped and empty” (10). The spouses relationship is drastically in trouble, considering Mildred’s attempt to take her own life, willing to leave Montag alone in the world. Mildred does not care about anything but watching television, not paying much attention to her own husband besides asking for things and now requesting for him to get their “fourth wall torn out and a fourth t.v wall put in” only leading to more distance between the two (18). She would rather spend her time alone, only thinking to please herself, rather than being with Montag, this lack of communication is leading is them nowhere but down. One of the few times the couple times actually communicates, Montag asks Mildred “when did we meet and where” but neither of them
Albert Camus once stated, "The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so free that your existence is an act of rebellion." If something is not how it ethically should be then it is acceptable to rebel within the limits of what is morally correct. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, he presents a world where the government has restricted access to printed literature so they can gain increased control over their citizens. The main figure, Guy Montag, shows an incredible growth in his personality through his journey of enforcing and accepting the government restrictions to stop the flow of information to a realization that the sharing of knowledge leads to a stronger society. Guy Montag's role comprises many qualities, including that he is a loyal and accepting government employee that works as a "fireman" whose job is to destroy all remaining books and to burn the personal property of those that he caught reading the outlawed books. A depressing and lonely home life influences Montag's personality, including a drug-addicted and shallow wife, named Millie. While sadness and loss surround Montag, he is a strong individual that can overcome obstacles and the challenge of the government's policies. Montag struggles when he realizes the impact of his orders from his boss puts on others, and that he must take a stand for the betterment of the public. When the government is not doing their duties of protecting their citizens, either by limiting their knowledge, putting them in danger or destroying those who disagree with them these actions can prompt citizens to turn toward rebellion.
Before this understanding, Montag is ‘happy’ and feels that nothing is wrong with his life. He loves his job. He is just like everyone else. Blank and empty inside, Montag wears a mask of happiness on the outside. In the very beginning, he loves to burn books. Afterall, he is a fireman, whose job is to burn the horrible books. For him “it was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things blackened and changed” (1). Montag was just another person brainwashed by television and the lies of government. Montag would have never suspected that Clarisse is the person who takes off his blindfold. After she asks Montag if he is happy, he starts to notice the world. At first, he assures himself that he is happy. When he’s home, he realizes “he was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask…” (9). The mask of happiness that the leaders and government force the people to wear has been torn from Montag’s face and he is shocked as he sees the truth for the first time. Clarisse has started the first step in a transformation that will lead Montag on a path towards true
Montag is someone who is shy and keeps his thoughts to himself, but thinks many things. He shows that he is distracted instead of being happy throughout the book. At the time, he was walking home from work and was looking at Clarisse. Clarisse is a girl who would roam the streets and was also Montag's neighbor. She walks over to Guy and they start to have a conversation while walking to their houses. They discussing if talking about to see if Montag is really happy or if he was lying. She keeps questioning him. Bradbury explains “He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as true state affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run across the lawn with the mask and the way
The character of Montag expresses the theme of the ability to think for oneself and the importance of self-reflection. The main character Montag transforms throughout the story. At first, Montag is content with his job as a fireman. Montag is comfortable with his life. Shortly into the story, the character of Clarisse McClean is introduced. Montag tells Clarisse, “You think too many things” (Bradbury 6). Reading further Bradbury’s dialog between Clarisse and Montag demonstrations Montag lacks critical thinking. Clarisse enlightens Montag and the character of Montag awakens. Montag begins to understand the world around him and comes to realize he is unhappy. In a way, Montag rebels against his society. Montag begins to think for himself. Montag reflected upon his happiness and the theme of self-reflection is conveyed for the first time within the novel. “He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back” (Bradbury 9). It wasn’t until Clarisse asked Montag “are you happy” did Montag stop to consider if he was happy. Bradbury expresses the importance of self-reflection by displaying Montag as content and then developing Montag’s character to awaken and identify he is unhappy. In addition, Bradbury illustrates the ability to think for oneself creates happiness. Bradbury creates an overzealous Montag towards the end of
Fahrenheit 451 is a novel based on a character amed Montag and the life he lives. Throughout the novel his belief will be challenged and he will begin to see the world he and the other characters live in differently. Overtime the man who he was will not be the man he becomes. His beliefs, the characters who have influenced him, and the ways that Montag changes will all be discussed in this essay.
When walking home from another duty as a fireman Montag stumbles upon his new neighbor, Clarisse McClellan. The two engage in philosophical conversation, mainly driven by the young, “socially ill” neighbor. Before heading into his home, Clarisse asks Montag a question. She asks if he is happy. He laughs at the question at first but after looking at Clarisse’s bright, cheerful home, Montag realizes he may not be as happy as he thinks he is while standing in his cold bedroom. A metaphor describes his feelings as Bradbury writes, “He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back,” (12). Then as matters couldn't get worse, he discovers his wife has attempted suicide shortly after accidentally kicking an empty sleeping pill bottle on the floor. From that moment on he continues to refer to this incident, wondering why his wife took the pills in the first place. Even after calling for help and saving her life, Mildred continues to bother Montag with distrust and ignorance. She even reports Montag’s interest in books to the fire department, leading Montag to completely change the way he thinks about their
Clarisse says, “I tell them that sometimes I just sit and think”(21). Finally, Montag is made aware of this simplicity. When he is trying to find happiness himself, he remembers that Clarisse finds contenment through siting, observing and thinking. Montag begins to notice that his wife is a foil as she had never done either one of those things. Bradbury supports Jameson’s quote of happiness by showing how Mildred is suicidal and has no connection with people and her only connection is with her “Family” in the walls on Television. Montag begins to find himself and starts to realize that he really doesn’t care about Mildred, that she is an empty vessel. Later in the book Montage feels a stronger connection to a girl that he has only spoken to a handful of times versus his own wife whom he is suppose to have a strong connection. When Montage almost died by getting run over he says, “I wonder if they were the ones who killed Clarisse! He wanted to run after them yelling. His eyes watered.” (114). Montag knew Mildred for years yet he realizes that when she leaves him she will never miss him or mourn him; Montag feels closer with Clarisse as marvels at her idea of happiness. Montag starts to develop deeper feelings about thoughtful people like Clarisse. He would cry for this girl he barely knew more than he would for his own wife whom he felt no connection to.