In researching the Fahrenheit 451 character, Guy Montag, “Guy” means guide, or leader.1 This is surprisingly suitable as a descriptor for this particular character because, as a fireman, he tries to lead people in the correct way of life. An example would be when he tried to lead the woman out of the house, since they were going to burn it. Later he tries to guide Mildred to the belief that the woman wouldn’t have died for nothing, and that there must be something meaningful in the books. In the beginning, the name doesn’t completely fit, because Montag seems more like a follower. Specifically, when Beatty comes to visit lecture him and he’s very afraid. Even when he first meets Clarisse, his name definition seems out of character because she seems to be guiding him out from under society’s spell, rather than the other way around. However, this is actually a pretty fitting name for this particular character overall, since he winds …show more content…
Clarisse doesn’t go to school, yet she knows the history of billboard sizes changing to accommodate fast drivers. She also knows the science of dew on the grass and the man in the moon. All definitions of the name don’t apply, because she is not very clear or easy to read. Specifically, when she first meets Montag, she almost seems like she has ADHD the way she keeps changing the subject from billboards to her uncle’s arrest record. Also, when Clarisse is talking to Montag about being afraid of children her own age, the description “famous” doesn’t really fit, as she seems to be almost in hiding from society, since she doesn’t go to school and doesn’t fit in with those who just go along never questioning whatever they’re told. However, on the whole, this is a very fitting name for Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian work of fiction that occurs in the twenty-fourth century. It follows the journey of the protagonist, Guy Montag, a fireman who starts fires instead of putting them out. Montag's world is turned upside when one night after work, he meets Clarisse McClellan. She is Montag's seventeen-year-old neighbor who has a different idea about the function of the society the two live in. Before his unexpected meeting with Clarisse, Montag is content, even happy with his life and an occupation. After parting ways with her that evening, Montag examines his life and comes to the conclusion that he is actually not happy (“Fahrenheit 451: A Christian Perspective" 1). Montag is nauseated with the disillusionment of his life and is
Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel for all ages, written by Ray Bradbury. The author crafted a society highly dependent on technologies such as cars, televisions and radios. In this city, the people lack creativity or knowledge because they chose to burn books instead of reading them, however, others like Montag who is a fireman, wants to read books. In this society, instead of stopping fires, firemen start them, they burn books. Montag's wife, Mildred, a TV addict, is highly dependent on technology and hates books. As the story progresses Montag learns that he doesn’t love Mildred and questions if he ever did. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury indirectly characterizes Mildred’s actions to communicate that technology destroys relationships by
Throughout Fahrenheit 451 Guy Montag goes through many changes and by the end of the story, he is ultimately an entirely different person. He is not responsible for all of the changes on his own however, and several characters play an essential role in shaping who he eventually becomes. At the beginning of the book, Montag encounters a teenage girls named Clarisse. Clarisse is only present for a short time, however she immediately gets Montag to think in a way he never has before. She looks at the small things in life and goes against what the current society tells her to think and do. She is different from everyone else in a very freeing way and Montag starts to be drawn into her personality. She is like a burst of fresh air for Montag
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.
Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 and various other short stories once said, "Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations," and his observation is a perfect analysis of the importance of characters in fiction. The actions of characters in stories are what guide the most beloved ones. When a story is beloved it is most often driven by love of the characters, but the real question is why do readers love and relate to fictional beings. The types of characters that are most loved in fiction have roots in reality, and traits that make them more relatable to the reader.
In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is one man attempting to turn his society upside down. After discovering for himself the injustice of his society as it shuns all literature, Montag relentlessly fights to fix this corruption and endures large amounts of persecution in the process (Bradbury). Meanwhile, in his autobiography, Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass recounts his past as a single slave doing his best to right the evils of southern slaveholders. Although one takes place in a fantasy and one during 19th century America, both works portray individuals going against the unjust grain of their societies, and persevering through extreme opposition in the process. After escaping the grip of slavery, Douglass recounts his life story to a curious, yet most-likely privileged audience in an intelligent and revealing manner. Throughout his narrative, Douglass praises the surprising resilience of the human spirit even in the midst of constant hardship.
Other characters throughout both novels aren’t as important as the main characters, just like most stories, but all characters serve a purpose in all books. In Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse was a strange girl that was brought into the book to help Montag discover his true self. When Clarisse invites him to think, “‘Bet I know something else you don’t. There’s dew on the grass in the morning.’” (Bradbury 13). She makes him realize the small details
Ray Bradbury uses the static characters of Clarisse and Mildred to illustrate that Guy Montag is not happy in his 1953 book Fahrenheit 451. Even though Clarisse and Mildred are two very different characters in the novel, with very different personalities and ideas, both are clear examples of a static character and are a stark contrast to Bradbury’s character of Guy Montag.
Montag found who he was as a person just by opening up his eyes to the world. Clarisse McClellan was a brief but significant character within Fahrenheit 451; she allows Guy Montag to discover what his true values are and helps him realize what he was missing in life, which was books. Books give people a sense of intelligence, but we humans tend to miss out on the importance of written literature because we are too focused on what the world chooses to believe. Clarisse has a significant impact on Montag’s life and how he views society. Even if he doesn’t realize it, she challenges his views of himself and the way he sees the world.
Montag lives in a society where books aren’t allowed, but when he starts realizing things his feelings change about books and love. Clarisse a girl comes into Montag’s life and shows him a different view in love. Also, an old man, Fabor, Montag met at the park shows Montag a different view in books. Montag believed that reading books were useless and that he’s in love with mildred, but towards the end Montag learns from Clarisse and Fabor that books are more than words on paper and that he wasn’t really in love with Mildred.
What would you do if your partner is reading in a world where you can’t. Would you stay quiet or say something to the authorities. Would you hold that secret and know that if someone finds out you can even get in a lot of trouble or would you just not even think twice and say something to the authorities and know that your partner would get in trouble. In my opinion Mildred didn’t do anything wrong or good. Yes, she could’ve called them but she was never thinking straight. She was always in her own world.
Throughout the book, Montag starts to discover his true self through his friends and acquaintances.Clarisse shows Guy the obvious world around him that he had never stopped to think about. Eller describes Clarisse in her essay, Overview of Fahrenheit 451,
Did you know that firefighters are the ones who actually starts the fires and not put them out? Well, me either,but in Ray Bradbury’s story “Fahrenheit 451”Firefighters are different and actually go into homes and burn book collections just cause.Books are important but in Fahrenheit 451 not so much.one important theme in “Fahrenheit 451” is that technology will take over and we will no longer need knowledge from books that were created in the past.I know this due to the fact they are burning books with no reason but have tv’s that are the size of walls. In Ray Bradbury “Fahrenheit 451” people in the society seem to be clueless about everything.On page twelve chapter one Clarisse McClellan ask another character named Montag “Is it true that
People can change a lot across the time of their life, in some instances however, people can change in just a few weeks. Guy Montag, fictional character in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, is a fireman of a dystopian future where books are illegal and are to be burned, but in this story Guy Montag is the perfect example of change. Some of the things that influenced Montag and changed with him throughout the story being; some of the people he met, his emotions for his strange wife Mildred, and his views on fire and books.
Everybody cares for something in their life. Whether it be their family, pets, or friends, it is sometimes hard to show all your love to everybody at the same time. However, what if one of these loved ones is fake? In Fahrenheit 451, Mildred Montag is torn apart between trying to love Montag and trying to love her superficial TV family. She tries to care for both things, but this eventually breaks her and she betrays Montag for her TV family. In the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Mildred’s split personality illustrates the idea that when society believes that something is right or wrong, people tend to conform to societal pressures because it is easier to do, it makes people think they are happier, and because society has made being an outcast something to fear.