The consequence of this behavior could send Montag to prison, which Montag does not care about. After reading several books Montag talks with his close friend, Faber, and says to him "We have everything to be happy, but we're not happy" .What Montag tells Faber at that moment is really an expression of how he started analyzing more after starting reading books. Although Montag's love life changes and his view of society are changed too, this is not the only change Montag must admit. In the start of the book Montag is delighted in the work of burning illegal books and the homes of where they are found. However, as the book progresses, Montag becomes increasingly disgruntled, as he realizes that he has an empty, unfulfilling life. A point that shows that Montag in the start of the book is happy about his job is when he hangs up his helmet and shines it; hangs up his jacket neatly; showers luxuriously, and then, whistling walks across the upper floor.
He read a dozen pages here and there. . . Mildred sat across the hall from him. ‘What does it mean? It doesn’t mean anything! The Captain was right!’ ‘Here now,’ said Montag. ‘We’ll start over again, at the beginning.’ “ (65). Montag’s captain, Beatty, has just left his house. Because Montag’s wife, Mildred, has discovered the book Montag stole, he reveals to her, and to the reader, that he has been stockpiling many books for a while now. Montag saw how insistent Beatty was on how books were confusing garbage compared to the fast and instant entertainment of the TV walls. However, having met Clarisse, he begins to wonder if the books actually contain anything worthwhile, and if they contain actual value. Thus, because Mildred has found the book, he makes her read them with him. Mildred reacts the way she does because she has been spoonfed thoughtless entertainment, and thus cannot think critically about what she reads. Montag, on the other hand, is willing to accept this and try and understand what he reads. Mildred shows how well the government has controlled the citizens. She is unwilling to think and understand, only watch. Also, because Mildred sees that Montag has books, she may disclose his secret to the very firemen he works with, as she has been told almost all of her life that books are bad, and should be reported to the nearest fire station. This may cause their relationship to become very strained in the
Throughout the novel, Montag evolves as a character, he slowly comes to grips with reality. He begins the story as a happy, content, and everyday member of society, and after a few choice interactions, begins to feel progressively unhappy. In search of a solution to this confusing and growing unhappiness, Montag becomes rebellious towards the value of the commonly accepted facts of his society. This is most clearly demonstrated by Montag’s opinion of books. As he slowly eases into reading books, Montag comes to the realization that despite him not knowing the meanings of the books he reads, they do have a profound and deep impact. Once
“Fahrenheit 451,” written by Ray Bradbury, is a futuristic, dystopian novel based upon a society secluded by technology and ignorance. In this future society, books are outlawed and firemen are presented with the task of burning books that are found in people’s homes. Montag, a fireman, finds himself intrigued with the books, and begins to take them home and read them. As the story progresses, Montag learns the truth behind why books are outlawed and flees his city to join the last remnants of age-old scholars. To progress the story and help the reader easily understand the events, Bradbury uses certain steps to write his book. The novel “Fahrenheit 451” possesses all of the steps of narrative structure, which includes the exposition,
When an author produces a work of literature, they are greatly influenced by the world around them. Inspired by life in society, authors are able to create work that speaks to their observations and views on society and its functions. In the book Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury incorporated the corruption of the society in which he lived in into the dystopian society created in his book. Fahrenheit 451, a fictional book about a protagonist’s attempt to overcome a dystopian society’s corruption, was written by Ray Bradbury while living in 1950’s America. The book focuses on themes of censorship, and illustrates the effects of when a society is controlled and limited. The correlation between the story and the time it was written is
Clarisse is a curious girl about her environment, how the earth has evolved, and the past. She rubs off on Montag, which could lead to a dramatic change in his life.
Throughout the book, the reader is challenged to decide what happiness consists of: ignorance or knowledge. As Montag grows throughout the book, he finds that knowledge is the only thing that will set him free and grant him happiness. Montag has lived most of his life unhappy, and the only thing he knows is missing is the knowledge books contain, “Nobody listens to me anymore. I can’t talk to the walls because they’re yelling at me. I can’t talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough it’ll make sense.” (Pg.82) Nobody listens to Montag because they recognize he wants to learn. Everyone in this society had been taught that knowing is bad. Montag frightens those around him into leaving him; this ultimately makes him realize that his quest for knowledge may feel lonely at times, but will end in him finding happiness. Once Montag meets the rebels he is taught about how the world used to
A couple pages into the book, Bradbury introduces another character whose name is Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse is introduced to Montag as his new neighbor. In the book, Montag thinks of Clarisse as crazy. The way she was exposed to the world and how her mind works is something that Montag had never seen before. It’s was strange and foreign to him. She begins to ask Montag many questions regarding his beliefs and decisions about his job. With each absurd question he begins to slowly see her view of the world. Even though he still thinks they are ridiculous and unheard of questions. The last question that she asks him is, “Are you happy?” He had never thought of asking himself that question before. Was he really happy with burning books and not exploring something new?
“"I’m hungry" "Last night" he began. "Didn’t sleep well. Feel terrible" she said. "God I’m hungry I can’t figure it" "Last night" he said again. She watched his lips casually. "What about last night" "Don’t you remember"”. Mildred doesn’t really listens to Montag He always tries to tell her something but she seems careless about it. He feels like he’s not getting the attention he wants from her. ““When did we meet? Where?”… “It doesn’t matter.” She was up, in the bathroom now, and he heard the water running, and the swallowing sound she made. “No, I guess not,” he said. This demonstrates that all this years of marriage meant nothing to Mildred. By her not remembering how they meet tells that Mildred doesn’t really care about their marriage.
Montag sees the potential in books and can’t keep these rising feelings to himself. Just as the song describes, Montag was wearing a mask and posing to be something he’s not until Clarisse openes his eyes to a new world. The song later says,
Montag first changes when he meets Clarisse, opening his eyes and being able to see his own faults and those of the society. He then proceeds to further change when he questions himself and thinks about his lifestyle after learning how powerful the meaning in the books are when the woman insists on dying. Montag learns the importance of books in the society when he meets Faber, learning how the meaning in books can be applied to what is happening in society. Finally, killing Beatty shows his change from being a passive reader and spy to an active
Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451, expresses his perspective on life in an interview. His interview contains a common theme: "Do what you love, and love what you do" (Bradbury). Bradbury sends a message in his interview that people should love life, and live to the fullest because he believes life is a beautiful thing. Although Bradbury no longer can demonstrate his love for life his message still lives in the pages of Fahrenheit 451. The Government of the society in the novel has told their citizens that thinking is as useless as a broken power tool. The citizens are told that books are meaningless, and have no value to anything except those who want to create chaos. The Government replaced all the meaningful things in society with seashells that can play music and television sets fit to fill a wall. For some, the TV 's have become so important that they replace family interaction. The Government has corrupted society. The protagonist, Guy Montag 's profession is to burn books, but he does not know that the government requires him to do this in order for them to restrict knowledge. Clarisse, Montag 's neighbor, lives in a home where socializing and thinking are essential. On the contrary, these elements are highly unusual in society. Montag has always been curious, but Clarisse sets Montag on a journey that involves being rebellious, curious, and persistent by asking him a strange question. These characteristics set Montag apart from society. Montag has been
In a society preserved by destruction, fire was thought to be the answer. Guy Montag, one of many firemen, participated in this so called “preservation”. Books were considered abominations. Reading provoked thought, and thought led to reality and unhappiness. The solution was to burn everything. Burn the books, burn the houses, burn the foundations of life! Guy went along with this, led his boring life, took the boring walks to and from his work, and afterwards came home to his boring wife Mildred. She, like many others, was consumed by her television “families”. All was thought to be well until one day he stumbled across Clarisse, a curious girl in his incurious world. She awakened his mind and senses. Changed by her, he works to preserve
At the beginning of the book, Montag makes a friendship with his seventeen year old neighbor, Clarisse. Soon, he realizes he is unhappy and no longer loves her. He also begins to question the ways of the world. For example, he wonders why books are aware to be so dangerous and why some people are so loyal to them. Montag lost his mind, job, and family. He also finds himself running away from everything he knows. Even when Montag meets Clarisse, Montag wasn’t a normal guy. Through most of the book Montag lacks knowledge and believes what he hear.
In a dystopian society where life consists of television walls and the burning of books, deep, underlying themes surface throughout the course of the novel. These themes can be connected to each other with one thing: fire. Ray Bradbury uses fire to show the intellectual discourse in this futuristic society overrun with technology by using characters and other symbols to show the downfall of a society where entertainment and “snap endings” are increasingly valued. At the beginning of the novel, Montag meets a young girl, Clarisse McClellan: the symbol of innocence. She represents how technology has destroyed most of the innocence within the world. The phoenix, as explained by Granger, represents mankind, rising from the ashes, in a way representing the transformation Montag goes through. A symbol represented throughout the whole novel is the parlor walls. They represent a distraction from reality so people don’t need to have independent thought. Ironically, they end up getting burned down by none other than the fire.