Fahrenheit 451 Character Analysis

I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames.’ ‘He laughed’”(Bradbury 6). Montag and the rest of society thinks that houses “have always been fireproof”, but Clarisse knows something that everyone else would think is rubbish, including Montag. Also, stated by the Beatty,

Montag grew closer to Clarisse each time they talked, and he enjoyed that. So this shows that Montag, when he talks to Clarisse, gets to be himself and become independent and has to think for himself instead of everyone else thinking for him.

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.

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.

In the society in which the main character Montag lives, people are influenced by media and technology.

Clarisse is showing how different the time periods are from “back then” to what is now in the novel. Clarrise even states, “‘Is it true that long ago firemen put out fires instead of going to start them? I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames.’” (page 8). This shows that people were afraid of firemen because during this era, firemen start fires, mainly to houses that contain literature, whereas in our time period, firemen put out fires. In addition, this shows how people changes from looking up to firemen to being afraid and fearful of them. This is important because although Montag does not realize it then, he would soon come to know that a once blinded-by-the-law firemen like himself can learn the truth.

Clarisse helps Montag look around him and see everything, from the smallest snowflake to the biggest tree. Montag never really thinks about what is happening in his life, or why it seems he never shows much emotion towards anything. Clarisse teaches Montag to look around and to pay attention to what is really important in life, just not what his society tells him. Even though I believe Clarisse was the reason for Montag’s major metamorphosis, I believe that there were two additional individuals that had a role to play in Montag’s expedition to find answers to fill the void in his life.

This symbolizes a crack in Montag’s shell of ignorance and shows how he is capable of thinking about the past with the knowledge he gained from Clarisse. Moreover, the shell of ignorance breaks even more when Clarisse compares Montag to other citizens. In her narration, she describes how different Montag is and how she feels it is strange that he is a fireman:

Ray Bradbury is a master of characterization techniques. He uses his expertise, such as indirect characterization, in the creation of Fahrenheit 451. In addition to learning about the explicit qualities of Bradbury’s characters, readers receive deeper insight as we carefully read his stories. In Fahrenheit 451, we learn more indirect information about the protagonist, Guy Montag, through the words used to introduce this character. We have a clear view of Montag’s thoughts and feelings that lead him into his own transformation.

Early in the book when Montag first meets Clarisse, she tells how violent this society has become, partially due to how technology has affected their society. She goes on to say:

(SIP-A) Montag enforces laws in his society and enjoys doing so. Thus he is a fireman and agrees with the entertaining aspects of the job, (STEWE-1)”It was a pleasure to burn. It was a pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (1). Montag is like any other fireman who agrees with the parameters of his job and has no problem with burning books. In fact, he takes pride in his work and thoroughly enjoys the burning of literature. The way Montag describes the burning of books leads the reader to believe that he’s content with the laws. Nevertheless he has no problem with the way fireman are behaving, including himself, as they love

At the beginning of the book, Guy Montag is set up as not only a follower of the governments will, but he executes it, by being a fireman, which is that society’s figure for a police officer. When the reader first meets the character Guy Montag, it is with the phrase, “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 1). In this line, we see the characterization of Montag. He is experiencing joy in destruction, which helps the reader to understand, perhaps not initially, but later in the book that he is a follower/adherent of the tenants of his society. As a matter of fact, the reader learns the true definition of “Fireman” which reveals that he is an enforcer of the law and will of his government. This is a complete differ from the real world’s view of the term fireman. Today, a fireman is a person who saves lives, helps people, but in Guy Montag’s case, a fireman is a cancer, spreading from house to house, burning all that disagrees with what the government wants and demands. A typical fireman, which is Guy Montag in this point of the book, is

Guy Montag: Character Development While reading a book, there is no doubt that one of the characters go through some changes - whether they are good or bad. Have you noticed a character go through some transformations before finishing the book? Guy Montag, the protagonist of the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (published in 1953), goes through a huge transformation from the beginning of the book to the end. Characters such as Clarisse McClellan, Faber, Captain Beatty, and the environment have helped transform Montag into who he is at the end of the novel. Using examples from the book, I will explain how the characters and environment affect Montag in the upcoming four body paragraphs.

“ you know i’m not afraid of you at all” (bradbury 7) The character saying this quote is clarisse. (the neighbor) Montag replies “ why should you be? ” (Bradbury 7).This proves that montag doesn’t know why people should be afraid of him if he’s just doing his job. “ so many people. Are afraid of firemen, i mean. But you're just a man ,afterall… “(Bradbury 7 ). Clarisse also says this quote. Clarisse asks questions to montag about his job being a firefighter. This quote proves that Montag being a firefighter, he doesn’t know the fear he puts into the society when he’s doing his

As Montag’s external appearance stays the same as the rest of the firefighters who burn books, his internal appearance and physical actions are continuously evolving. The narrator reveals Montag’s realization about the firemen who all looked the same with dominant traits such as, “black hair, black brows, a fiery face and a blue-steel shaved but unshaved look,” which was expressed to show the lack of individuality among the men(33). Each firefighter, including Montag, plays a role in the burning of books and each is content doing so, but