“It was a special pleasure to see things eaten… blackened… changed”(3). This line appears at the beginning of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and it exemplifies Guy Montag, the protagonist's, view of the society he lives in and of his profession. Though a blind and brainwashed slave at the beginning of the novel, Montag grows and changes slowly over the course of the book into a rebellious, brave, but frightened man. The first step in Montag’s gradual transition is his encounter with Clarisse McClellan. Bradbury shows that with her there is a difference from the rest of the society, a difference from the monotony, “her eyes...two shining drops of bright water...two miraculous bits of violet amber” (7). Montag notices this difference, both in her appearance and in her spirit. She talks to him of sitting and talking with her family and of thinking by herself. Montag …show more content…
This is what really pushes Montag over the edge, because he is told outright that ‘now he’s done it.’ Captain Beatty makes him burn his own house, which is in a way purging him of his association with the society. As I mentioned though, this pushes him over the edge, and he kills Beatty. He flees, and is chased by a mechanical hound that is sent to kill him. He has been purged, but still needs to be cleansed. He hurries to Faber’s house. Faber is a man who has helped him before and, in this case, helps him escape from the city. He washes himself in brandy and changes his clothes, running to the river and getting in. “He stepped from the river. He fell back under the breaking curve of darkness and sound and smell” (143). This is his final baptism and escape from the society. He is free to think and do as he pleases, especially since he meets a group of men similar to him, all of whom watch with him as nuclear war tears apart the city, flattening it. In the end, Montag is thoughtful, no longer submissive or
Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953, is a novel by Ray Bradbury that takes place in a futuristic world where society is brainwashed into lacking free thought. The main character, Guy Montag, is a firefighter, but because houses are fireproof and society dislikes the free thinking and creativity inspired by books, firefighters burn books as a janitorial job. One day while walking back from his job, Montag meets his new neighbor’s daughter. She talks crazy things that spark him into becoming a free thinker himself. After following society’s rules throughout his whole life, he suddenly switches and starts rebelling by threatening, endangering, and even killing others to try to prove his point to his brainwashed enemies that this way of life is wrong. After burning his path throughout the city, Montag runs away from the police finding his balanced
Montag was a dynamic character who changed a lot throughout the story, impacting not only the people around him but the society he lived in as well. This change that shaped the course of the entire novel began when Montag met the strange Clarisse McClennan. She was a vital part of his transition from being a regular fireman who loved to see things burn, to someone who saw the flaws in their society. Clarisse had a huge impact on Montag. She helped him grow as a person by talking to him, asking uncomfortable questions, pointing out the beauty of the nature around them, helping him realize he didn’t love Mildred, and that he wasn’t happy with his life and just being genuinely interested in what he had to say.
Near the end of the book, Montag was caught with books and was forced to burn down his own house, to continue living in fear, but something changes. “And then he was a shrieking smile blaze, a jumping, sprawling gibbering mannikin, no longer human or known, all writhing flame on the lawn as Montag shot one continuous pulse of liquid fire on him”(113). Montag had burned Beatty, causing a chain of events to occur. He knew that he was being deceived and decided to do this to eliminate his fear. Lastly, Montag met a group of fellow rebels, stating, “‘We all made the right kind of mistakes, or we wouldn’t be here…
Finally at the end of the novel, Montag faces the conflict of everything he has left behind such as his wife, and firemen chief Captain Beatty, which influences him to become stronger and notice that he can create a new life, in where he can be accepted by people who are similar to him. For example, when Faber gives Montag advice to run down the river, he is surprised to see other people that have settled near
First of all, Montag faces government censorship over society’s citizens, which changes him to become a courageous character, and he learns that because the government has taught people to take what they have for
Guy Montag, the main character in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, goes through a huge change in his life. He changes from a typical fireman who follows the laws, into a person who challenges the law. Montag wakes up from being numbed and realizes that he is unhappy. Montag 's wife, "Mildred", who is addicted to Television and radio, did not care about Montag 's feelings. However; Clarisse and Faber played a big role in Montag 's life. Montag is a metaphor for a numbed society and his courage is demonstrated as he wakes up and evolves into his real human self throughout the book.
(STEWE-1) Montag comes to a conclusion that what he does and his own job are wrong,”Montag only said, We never burned right, and then he was a shrieking blaze”(113). This symbolizes that Montag knows they never used fire the right way, they used it to burn when it should be used for something else. Causing Montag to react by killing Beatty. (STEWE-2) While Montag is trying to escape his society. “Watch for a man running… watch for the running man… watch for a man alone on foot, … watch. Yes, he thought where am I running”(118). While running away Montag commits a crime towards the society by putting a book in a fireman’s house and calling in the alarm, just like him and Faber had set up. “And now since you’re a fireman’s wife, it’s your house and your turn, He hid the books in the kitchen and moved from the house again to the alley”(123). Montag has started to commit crimes against the state and run away. (SIP-B) Montag fully rebels against his society and escapes it. (STEWE-1) Furthermore while on the run Montag drops in on Faber to explain to him what is going on, Faber suggests to Montag to go to the river. “One of the rare few times he discovered that somewhere behind behind the seven veils of unreality, beyond the walls of parlors and beyond the tin most of the city”(135). Montag now realizes there is more to everything beyond the robotic
Mahatma Gandhi once declared, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Change happens throughout the lives of everyone, and, like Ghandi, anyone can change the world by fighting for what you believe in and standing up for what is right. Similarly, in Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, the protagonist, Guy Montag, continues to change as he faces more problems in his society and new ideas. Montag, originally a fireman, burned books for a living, but when he meets an eighteen year-old girl named Clarisse who fills him in on what society used to be. Clarisse further questions Montag by asking if he is really happy in this society, and at first Montag is confused why she asked this. However, when Montag thinks about the question, he feels questioning of society coming upon him naturally. Montag, the protagonist, changes as a result of three main conflicts with his dystopian society, that teach him curiosity, confidence, and courage.
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
Montag is brainwashed up until the point where he meets Clarisse and then his new curiosity blossoms. Clarisse sparks a new flame in Montag and it makes him question everything he has been doing throughout his life as a fireman.
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
At the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag enjoys burning books. According to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, “It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed”
At the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag enjoys burning books. According to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, “It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury, 3). Montag begins the
running alone in the night city, the only man proving his legs...he felt the city rise… he felt the city turn to its thousands of doors… the people sleepwalking in their hallways… he felt their hands on doorknobs… he ran out away from the last row of houses, on a slope leading down to a solid moving blackness” (132). This scene makes it obvious that Montag is encountering the most unforeseeable, uncharted state of runaway fugitive. Bradbury is almost trying to inform the reader that is Montag experiencing the “abyss” as the narrator specifically claims that Montag ran down a row of houses and, lacking any option, was forced to go into “the darkness”. Acknowledging that it would be impossible for him to remain in the city, considering not
In this novel, Montag displayed strength in the eyes of defeat. This was his core trait. Certain points in the reading showed that Montag was a strong willed person. In one case he was told to burn down his whole house. He did this even though he was burning his own home and all of his belongings. Another example took place moments before when his wife left him. This was after she had called the firemen to burn down their house. Montag was steadfast through all of this. He persevered and eventually made it to a sanctuary with other scholars like himself. In the end, it is his strength and perseverance that get him that far.