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How Did Montag Change In Fahrenheit 451

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Fahrenheit 451 Essay
“My theory on life is that life is beautiful. Life doesn't change. We people change. We can be miserable or we can be happy. It’s what you make of your life.” said Mohamed bin Rashad Al Maktoum, the Vice President of Dubai. This quote means humanity can’t blame undesirable situations and others for their depression. It’s vital that they modify themselves to conform to their situations. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag meets starts to fathom the problems with burning books after he meets 17 year-old Clarisse McClellan; he changes from ostensibly, blissfully ignorant to caring, self-thinking, and courageous. Throughout the book, Montag’s beginning to think for himself. At the beginning of the book he seems …show more content…

Standing up for what is right appears to intimidate Montag. This is evident in the way he gets excessively nervous around Beatty, his captain, and doesn’t oppose him at all. As the plot continues, Montag’s character is developing a strong need for others to see how broken their world is. At one point Montag shows some of Mildred’s friends books that he’s secretly taken. He haphazardly performs this task even though he could be arrested and have his home burned. According to page 97, “ Mildred beamed, ‘You just run away from the door, Guy, and don’t make us nervous.’ But Montag was gone and back in a moment with a book in his hand.” (Bradbury, 1953). Montag is hiding nearly twenty books in his home and his bravery amplifies continuously. By the end of the book, he is on the run from the police and he is a publicly-known criminal, all for the cause of bringing books back into the world. I believe Faber helped Montag become a hero. Faber tells Montag his regrets at not being more courageous, and he helps calm Montag when he is distressed and act like a dolt. It’s phenomenal that Montag gains courage, but without love he would never have made the changes he …show more content…

Clarisse helps Montag start caring for others because he sees that she cares for him. According to page 72, Montag stated, “ ‘But Clarisse’s favorite subject wasn't herself. It was everyone else, and me. She was the first person I can remember who looked straight at me as if I counted. These men have been dead a long time, but I know their words point, one way or another, to Clarisse.’” (Bradbury, 1953). Montag perceives a similar theme in Clarisse and the books, love, which he has never experienced before. Love is so powerful that Montag’s longing for it begins to transform him. We observe this selflessness when he fought to save the woman who wanted to be burned in her house, his heartbreak at Clarisse’s death, and his worry for Faber’s safety. At the beginning of the book these thoughts would never even have crossed his mind, as he was only worried about

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