How Did Guy Montag Change In Fahrenheit 451

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.

Clarisse displays characteristics of an old soul, she enjoys nature and thinking. She asks him a question regarding his happiness. Clarisse asks, “‘Are you happy?’... of course i’m happy”(10). Not only does he question his happiness, but also his job and family. His dull wife, Mildred, attempted suicide and only finds excitement in technology and parlor walls. Clarisse teaches Guy that it is better to outright reject the tenets of a society than live like obedient robots. Clarisse lives on the fringes of society. She reminds him that happiness is real and possible. This opens the door for him to accept to the thoughts that enter his mind when he witnesses the horrific suicide of the old

Montag begins to show these changes early in the story when he starts to question his life and if he’s really happy, start asking why, and becomes more open minded. “Are you happy?” These are the words spoken to Montag by his neighbor Clarisse that begin his change throughout the story. Montag was fireman that always followed the rules without a second thought, but one night when he met Clarisse that had all changed. When he first met her she talked about how he didn’t seem scary even though he was a fireman and then asks him if it was true that firemen use to stop fires instead of start.

Guy Montag struggles with his new thoughts about the world. Since talking with Clarisse, he has noticed that nobody ever thinks. They just desire happiness, but Montag has realized that the world has more than happiness in it. The world has pain and annoyances that make you think. Montag struggles as he tries to act normal after Clarisse opened his mind and made him think. Then, one dark night, he met Clarisse. She caused him to think. She caused him to question. She caused him to want. He wanted to think. He wanted to question. Most importantly, he wanted books. After stealing a book from a fire one night, Montag lay in bed, ill and fretful and thoughtful. After his Captain visited him, Montag displayed his hidden books to his ignorant wife. After his wife, Mildred, collapsed with fear and horror, Montag called a man he met one day at a park. Venturing out into the night, the distressed and confused fireman journeyed to a retired professor. There, the professor convinced him to concede a book to Beatty, the fireman captain.

Guy Montag's feelings about his job do change throughout the novel so far because he loves his job, then he is not sure, and finally hates his job.

The differences between Montag and Captain Beatty; Montag perceives the harshness of society as opposed to the joys of nature in which he rarely enjoys. Guy often becomes confused, frustrated, and overwhelmed, often rash, inarticulate, self-obsessed, and too easily swayed. As a result, he has difficulty deciding what to do independently of Beatty. In the end it burns him to black ash. Captain Beatty as the shrewd, ruthless antagonist of the story, noses out information, such as the pattern of disloyalty in firemen. Beatty represents an educated, perceptive manipulator who surrounds himself with elaborate literary works.

Montag is constantly being set back by the obstacles that are constantly being thrown at him. After he handed the Bible to Beatty, the alarm spontaneously went off. Life seemed to presume back to normal after the amicable handoff. Everyone equipped their gear and rushed to the scene. Montag was then hit with the fact that he will be responsible for the destruction of his own home. His “beloved” wife ratted him out and now Guy has to face the consequences. Beatty orders him to set his house on fire, and soon after he will be arrested. As all this is happening, Beatty discovers the communicator with Faber and promises he will trace it. At this very moment Montag is left with a dilemma.

Guy Montag, on the other hand, is a fireman who starts fires, rather than stops them, in order to burn books, which are banned. Anyone caught with books are reported and their house and sometimes the people themselves are burned to the ground. People in his society don’t read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations. Guy is struggling with the meaninglessness of his life. His wife doesn’t seem to care and when he meets a seventeen year old girl named, Clarisse McClellan it opens up his eyes to the emptiness in his life. After this Montag becomes overwhelmed because of the stash of books in his house that he stole while on the job. Beatty, the fire chief, says that it’s normal for every fireman to go through a stage of wondering what books have to offer. Beatty gives Montag the night to see if the books have anything valuable in them, and to return them in the morning to be burned.

Montag begins to read and tries to copy the books, but then later gets caught. Rebellion and individualism are both vital aspects of Guy Montag’s character development. Montag was a firefighter and followed the rules in his town by not owning any books. As a firefighter ,

Montag, brought up to burn books, is confused at his actions. As his mind unravels he begins to think for himself after meeting Faber, he constantly questions how he “could have been so blind” and “how it got to this.” He thinks back to burning books and thinks “my hands did the actions, mindlessly” montag feels anger toward his ignorance, maybe he could have done things different. Guy pity’s himself and his wife, mildred, not because he is sad, because he wish things could have been different for them. Mostly, is enraged by the ignorance and helplessness of the people around himself, and is the cause of most of his confusion.

He finds an ex-professor named Faber, whom he met in the park one day. Faber is reluctant, but finally agrees to aid Montag against the firemen. Faber provides Montag with a two-way radio earpiece. That evening Montag loses his temper and breaks out by reading some banned poetry aloud to his wife’s friends. Which wasn’t such a bright decision. That night at the firehouse, Beatty pokes at Montag by quoting contradictory passages from the same books. Which he’s trying to prove that all literature is confusing and problematic. Then he takes Guy to a fire alarm. Which is very astonishing because it’s at Guy’s

Guy Montag is a round character because he changes from a fireman who burns books to stopping others from burning books. He goes to Faber’s house so he can help him understand what’s in books. They talk about helping others understand books because they don’t like the society they live in. “I don’t know. We have everything we need but aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I’ve looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burn in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help” (78). This quote shows that Guy Montag wants to change and learn

The character of Montag expresses the theme of the ability to think for oneself and the importance of self-reflection. The main character Montag transforms throughout the story. At first, Montag is content with his job as a fireman. Montag is comfortable with his life. Shortly into the story, the character of Clarisse McClean is introduced. Montag tells Clarisse, “You think too many things” (Bradbury 6). Reading further Bradbury’s dialog between Clarisse and Montag demonstrations Montag lacks critical thinking. Clarisse enlightens Montag and the character of Montag awakens. Montag begins to understand the world around him and comes to realize he is unhappy. In a way, Montag rebels against his society. Montag begins to think for himself. Montag reflected upon his happiness and the theme of self-reflection is conveyed for the first time within the novel. “He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back” (Bradbury 9). It wasn’t until Clarisse asked Montag “are you happy” did Montag stop to consider if he was happy. Bradbury expresses the importance of self-reflection by displaying Montag as content and then developing Montag’s character to awaken and identify he is unhappy. In addition, Bradbury illustrates the ability to think for oneself creates happiness. Bradbury creates an overzealous Montag towards the end of

-Guilt. Guy Montag remembers the fire in which he burned thousands of books and a woman and stole a book.

But, books were illegal in this day and age, so he must keep the city protected. While watching the senior burn with her books, he learned that these books are so important to some people- there has to be something special about these books. As a result of this, he stole some of her books and took them to his home to read. This example proves that the old lady develops Guy Montag’s character considering he went from being fearful and weary about owning books, to becoming curious and wanting to learn the importance and significance of books. He begins to become intrigued, going against the law and putting his job- and life- at risk.