How Did Montag Change In Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953, is a novel by Ray Bradbury that takes place in a futuristic world where society is brainwashed into lacking free thought. The main character, Guy Montag, is a firefighter, but because houses are fireproof and society dislikes the free thinking and creativity inspired by books, firefighters burn books as a janitorial job. One day while walking back from his job, Montag meets his new neighbor’s daughter. She talks crazy things that spark him into becoming a free thinker himself. After following society’s rules throughout his whole life, he suddenly switches and starts rebelling by threatening, endangering, and even killing others to try to prove his point to his brainwashed enemies that this way of life is wrong. After burning his path throughout the city, Montag runs away from the police finding his balanced

Montag is impatient to help others see the value of books so Granger lectures him and tells him the following life lesson, “Everyone must leave something behind when he dies… It doesn’t matter what you do… so as long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away” (Bradbury 149-150) This quote shows that Montag wants to make a difference, he wants for others to also attain the knowledge he has, so he wants to get rid of the government censorship. Montag realizes to do that he cannot be part of the society because he will be hunted in the society. He leaves to live with people like him after being chased for his life.

A fire starts out as a small match, and it moves to a roaring flame. Guy Montag is also a simple match when he is introduced in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. He starts out as a casual fireman, and he is hypnotized by society. Montag’s life sees a spark of change as the story begins. Many events influence his characteristics. When he is filling a house with kerosene and the lady inside voluntarily remains inside to burn. When the house is finally ignited, Montag suddenly ponders why a person would die over books. He fights to find a clear answer and discovers that only books can restore thought to society. Montag is a changing character throughout the novel. Like a match held to a newspaper, Montag’s mind starts searing away in thought.

He was in fight or flight mode and wasn't thinking. Now he is starting to understand how the government is treating the citizens unfairly, and how he can’t think his own way. On page 49, it says, “And I thought about books. And for the first time I realized that a man was behind each one of the books. A man had to think them up. A man had to take a long time to put them down on paper. And I’d never even thought that thought before” (Bradburry 49). Montag couldn’t think for himself because the government told him what was right and wrong. Now he is thinking for himself and seeing how corrupt the government is. Later, Montag gets caught and finally has to be speak for himself. On page 112, it says, “We’ll take this and drop in on your friend.” “No!” said Montag” (Bradburry 112). Beatty catches Montag with the earpiece and is trying to make montag feel like he is the one at fault. Montag screams back and says “no”! He is thinking for himself and protecting his friend by concealing and not giving his name up. After Montag screams “no” at Beatty, the situation escalated very quickly. Page 113, writes, “Montag only said, “we never burned right….” “Hand it over, Guy,” said Beatty with a fixed smile. And then he was a shrieking blaze, a jumping sprawling gibbering manikin, no longer human or known, all writhing flame on the lawn as Montag shot one continuous pulse of liquid fire on him” (Bradburry 113). Beatty is

Another incident that stayed in Montag 's mind is the old women who set her self and her books on fire. However, Montag tried stopping her by telling her that the books were not worth her life. Before she burned herself, Montag took one of her books and kept it. At that time Montag did not think about what did the old lady burned herself with the books, he did not think about it might be the value and morals that books hold to teach is. The old lady knew the importance of these books and what do they have, so she preferred to burn herself with them, and not watch the firemen burn them, who do not even know the importance of books. But they do know that books are unreal and there is so importance of them, plus they are against the law!

He is curious and fearless in his quest for knowledge. Otherwise, Montag would have never taken such a big risk in order to find out if poems stir up something inside of a neighbor. Montag is one of the few people in society that presents any sort of human emotion. Shocked was the only way to describe him after hearing of Clarisse’s death, whereas Mildred refused to talk about dead people. Gazing at the woman who burned himself, Montag was horrified whereas the other fireman continued merrily. An ability to think for himself was also prevalent in his personality. Considering the amount of influence the media plays on F.451’s society, Montag could have just as easily been wrapped up in the mob mentality of the evil in literature. Instead, he followed his heart, which constantly told him what he was doing was wrong. It allowed him to understand the wrong in burning books, ultimately aiding him to escape.

Firstly, Montag faces the conflict of having to burn down a house with a woman in it, which led him to thinking that something important may be hidden within the books that could be different from what he has learning in this new version of society; Montag becomes more curious through this event and starts to wonder. Eventually, the protagonist is so deeply engrossed in his curiosity that “his hand closed like a mouth, crushed the book with wild devotion, with an insanity of mindlessness to his chest” (Bradbury 34). This quote illustrates

Montag at the beginning of the book is a person that you could love and hate. Montag was a person who loved his job as a firefighter. To Montag he got pleasure out of burning the books. One of Montag's favorite things from burning the books was he would put a marshmallow and put it on a stick and roast it.When Montag's done and goes home he goes to bed with a smile on his face. Then everything changes once he meets Clarisse.

In the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, there are many different characters and each one plays a different role. One of the main characters, Guy Montag, is a fireman who takes pride in his work and enjoys burning books as a part of his job. His outlook about burning books changes after he meets Clarisse McClellan and Professor Faber. It’s very interesting how Montag’s way of thinking transforms overtime. He becomes very courageous about hiding books and is also curious about reading them. Throughout the novel his actions, ideas, and his feelings change as he starts to think for himself.

As Montag walks home from work that night, he meets Clarisse McClellan, his 17 year old neighbor. Montag is at once taken aback by and drawn to the precocious girl's inquisitiveness. Clarisse loves nature, doesn't watch television, and hates cars that drive fast. She questions him steadily about his perception of the world, leaving him with the query "Are you happy?" Clarisse leaves a strong impression on Montag, and he continues to reflect on their brief encounter and her very different way of viewing the world. After some time, Montag comes to terms with his answer to Clarisse's final question. He is not happy.

In my opinion, Montag went through a more mental than physical change. These changes in his mind mostly occurred because of the influence of individuals such as Clarisse. I think that the situation with the burning woman also influenced Montag’s change of mentality. Later in the novel after these people and situations came into play, Montag’s mind and reasoning were operating reverse of what they had in the beginning of the novel. I believe the biggest reason that Montag and his mind changed was because of Clarisse.

He was once emotionless man, a person who rarely thinks about his surroundings evolving into a agog man eager to know about the world around him. Finally, evolving into a courageous man. This man is Guy Montag from the book Fahrenheit 451. Montag is a fireman, but not one’s typical fireman, his job is to burn books. Throughout the book, the main character Montag undergoes a transformation from being disengaged, to curious, to brave. Bradbury uses this to demonstrate that everything can change.

People always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. This is the case as well in Fahrenheit 451, the novel, written by Ray Bradbury, is the story that follows a normal man, Guy Montag, who lived a normal life in his civilization post apocalptic as a fireman. Although where he is from, it is not a fireman’s duty to put out fires, but rather to burn books. It is because of his profession he battled his conscience to find answers to his many questions. Throughout this book, Montag changed his perceptive on literature in his society for the better because he became a critical thinker and stopped being passive like everyone else where

Montag is now at the point where his views are being tested and new beliefs of life are being created. “Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in each trembling finger, had turned thief” (35). Here Montag sees a plethora of books inside of Mrs. Blake’s house and seemingly of its own accord Montag’s hand takes a book. He has now broken a rule that everyone in Montag’s society knows, never to take or read books. Mrs. Blakes, instead of coming with the firemen out of the house decides to burn with the books. This confuses Montag and piques his curiosity to figure out what inside the book could drive someone to die with

This change is dangerous for Montag, because being a fireman got him closer to books. Books were illegal, possessing them, reading them, even remembering them made other people think they were crazy. The closer he got to books, the more curious he became of them. Two things pushed him over the edge, deaths, the death of Clarisse and a random old woman who burned in her home with her books. This strengthened his curiosity and he started to steal books from the houses he burned.