Extension English Book 2: Short Symbols

This is an important part of the book because this realization could cause Guy change the way he acts. He could also end up trying to take steps to regain his happiness that he lost. By trying to fill that hole in his heart that once contained happiness, Montag could end up doing something very drastic or unexpected.

Montag is impatient to help others see the value of books so Granger lectures him and tells him the following life lesson, “Everyone must leave something behind when he dies… It doesn’t matter what you do… so as long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away” (Bradbury 149-150) This quote shows that Montag wants to make a difference, he wants for others to also attain the knowledge he has, so he wants to get rid of the government censorship. Montag realizes to do that he cannot be part of the society because he will be hunted in the society. He leaves to live with people like him after being chased for his life.

Thesis Statement: As the protagonist, Montag undergoes many changes throughout the book due to several characters that function as catalysts in his life.

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

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!

statement by Clarisse makes Montag think of a time when he was a child during

It was Montag curiosity that led him to a deeper place of refection and thought

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's attempts to rectify the damage his distorted society has cast upon humanity parallels with the prisoner’s return to the cave, where his newfound beliefs are rejected out of fear. Despite Montag's intentions, the public only attacks him, berates him and labels him a criminal for acting out and rebelling against the society’s wishes. Montag’s attempts to “sear all their faces and wake them up” only result in failure (Bradbury 128), as after all, the public is too afraid. Any threat to the fragile peace the society holds is automatically fought against. The members themselves protect the status quo by isolating outsiders who think differently, as Clarisse explains to Montag, “The others would walk off and leave me talking. Or threaten

how he feels. This shows reader that life does not involve happiness. When Montag realizes this, he is motivated to make a change. The city he once knew as home was now a place of the past, as he has escaped to the city. As we see here, “Montag stared back at the city, far down

One of many times Montag really stopped to think, and each time, he traced it back to his conversation with the

Montag is hiding his true feelings for books. “Behind each of these books, there's a man that’s what interests me” (51). Montag is holding a book in his hand when he says this, and when he says this he is saying that books interest him. In his society having knowledge is not acceptable but Montag is keeping the secret that he wants to become knowledgeable. On John’s journey he has found knowledge within books and wants to share with his people.

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

Firstly, Montag crisis of being in danger started when he talks with a true and sincere outcast of that society, Clarisse because there was a conflict between his desire and his duty as a member of that society: “the two halves grinding one upon the other”. Secondly, we can see that he knew that there was more truth to it when he witnessed a lady dying in a burning house: “there must be something in book, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house;” although he himself don’t understand it. Thirdly, he feels so strongly about the truth to books that started reading them “Dover Beach” to make a point to them. This led to him putting himself on the line. From this novel, we can see that Montag chooses his inner desire, although it was very dangerous because it was what led him to telling the truth on what was

When Montag first meets clarisse she reveals to him that “he never stops to think what he has been asked”[pg 6].Montag is indirect characterization as an ignorant man discloses through this conversation with Clarriese as she points out Montag's ignorant personality. Thus, his inability to think reveals him as a close minded and ignorant character. After his chat with Clarisse he realizes“he is not happy, he says the words to himself”[pg. 9]. This builds an internal conflict within his mind.