What if you were stuck in a society that was devoid of any personality? What if you went home everyday to a family who didn’t care about themselves, much less you? It would be horrible, and we, as humans in our current society would see that as monstrous and dull. But this is the world that Guy Montag, as fireman in the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, has to endure. His job as a fireman is not to put out fires, but to start them, specifically getting rid of the filth that this world perceives books as. And while he has been content to do his job for ten years, Montag’s view of the world around him starts to change as a girl makes him question all he has ever know. She makes him question the primary basis or teaching of his society, which …show more content…
As Montag starts to have these revelations, he begins to challenge all of these wrongs, not because he thinks he can fix them, but because he hopes by at least acknowledging and fighting against these obvious faults, he can bring happiness, or at least meaning to his life.
Perhaps the most obvious of the aspects that Montag challenges was the ban on books. This is the one rule in Fahrenheit 451 that all citizen must follow, that all books are strictly prohibited, except for a few government mandated ones. We know that Montag has worked his whole life as a fireman, which means that he has always been in close proximity to books. This gives him a unique advantage over a regular citizen, being that if he ever wanted to start taking books, it would be pretty easy for him. Montag sees books daily, and nobody ever checks to see if every book that that person was in possession of was burnt, probably because only that singular person actually knows how many books they ever had. So if Montag ever wanted to take even one book, it would be pretty easy of him. And that’s exactly what Montag does, “His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of it’s own,
Juan Ramon Jimenez once said, “If they give you ruled paper, write the other way”. This quote shows the challenge of authority, like Montag and his society. Just like challenging the normal, or doing the opposite of what seems to be right by “writing the other way” on a lined piece of paper, Montag chooses to challenge authority by reading, remembering, and comprehending books, instead of burning them. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes place in a dystopian society in the twenty-fourth century and the main character is Guy Montag. He is a fireman whose job is to burn books and start fires instead of putting them out. Moreover, he lives in a society which just listens to government propaganda and follows whatever they are told; the citizens do not think deeply about aspects in life but rather focus on mind-numbing activities, that does not take any deep thought process. Books are banned but Montag takes the risk to start to read books, hoping they will bring him happiness in the dark world he lives in. In his journey he has three mentors who help him, Clarisse, Faber, and Granger. The protagonist, Guy Montag, changes as a result of the conflict within his dystopian society and this change connects to the novel’s theme of government censorship over its citizens.
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!
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
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 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.
Montag forms a connection with anyone who receptive to true friendship. Professor Faber, a former English professor, confesses that the current state of society, is due to the cowardice. Faber still has some rare books but considers that could put him in danger. “Mr. Montag, you are looking at a coward. I saw the way things were going, a long time back.” (Bradbury, 78). Captain Beatty, chief of the firemen hates books, but previously had a passion for them. “Once, books appealed to a few people, here, there, everywhere. They could afford to be different. The world was roomy. But then the world got full of eyes and elbows and mouths.” (Bradbury, 51) Many tones of irony are set throughout Fahrenheit 451. An example of ironic style is where Montag is introduced as a fireman. As the reader, we naturally think of firemen putting out fires, however Bradbury generates Montag as a fireman who starts fires. As the novel goes on, we see that several characters go against the law. Without books, distinctiveness is lost in the characters. This happens to be relevant to today’s society because books are becoming less popular, while technology is taking over. Books can be used as a helping tool, however our society today has become very lazy. Through over usage of technology it is easy to forget the true value that books
In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by author Ray Bradbury we are taken into a place of the future where books have become outlawed, technology is at its prime, life is fast, and human interaction is scarce. The novel is seen through the eyes of middle aged man Guy Montag. A firefighter, Ray Bradbury portrays the common firefighter as a personal who creates the fire rather than extinguishing them in order to accomplish the complete annihilation of books. Throughout the book we get to understand that Montag is a fire hungry man that takes pleasure in the destruction of books. It’s not until interacting with three individuals that open Montag’s eyes helping him realize the errors of his ways. Leading Montag to change his opinion about books, and
Guy Montag changes as a character throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Montag is a fireman, and that is the most important job in his society. Where Montag lives, everything is really the same, and no one questions anything. They just go along with society. In that society you aren't allowed to have books, and if they are found in your house, firemen come and burn your house down. There are three things in which causes Montag to change. The three things that cause him to change are him seeing the old lady burn, Clarisse, and jumping into the river. Montag changes as a character throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451.
Sydney Mr. Soard English 16 November 2016 Guy Montag “He would not be Montag anymore…and one day he would look back upon the fool and know the fool. Even now he could feel the start of the long journey, the leave-taking, the going away from the self he had been.” In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, guy Montag is a fireman who I believe has changed throughout. Firemen in Fahrenheit 451 do not fight fires but start fires by burning books. Guy Montag goes through many optsticals during this story such as, becoming distant from everyone around him.
In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, there is a story of the character Guy Montag who is a fireman in a dystopian society, a society in which people get entertainment from giant TVs they call “Parlor Walls” and houses have been deemed fireproof. Since fireman do not need to run around and eliminate fires, they start them. The job of a fireman in this dystopian society is that they burn books and the places that contain them, all the while being the official censors of the state. But there is something different about Montag, he used to be a proud fireman, he had the look of one: “black hair, black brows... fiery face, and... blue-steel shaved but unsaved look” as it states on page 30, the feel of one: “It was
Most books will often have a character who, even though they rarely or never appear, leave a lasting impression on the protagonist and the reader. Clarisse McClellan functions as a briefly showing character who helps start off Montag’s thought process and shows that, in life, transformation and progress are only possible when we are allowed the time to think for ourselves.
In the book "Fahrenheit 451" Montag changes from a firefighter that burns books and houses down into a caring man the cares about people and books.
The rules and lifestyle of Montag`s society are all he has ever known and being a fireman there are even more restrictions but by the end of the novel Montag freed himself from his controlling, brain-washed and close-minded society. One of the main reasons why Montag changed throughout the novel was because of curiosity. Montag starts questioning everything he has ever known, his job, lifestyle, relationships and everything else in between. He starts
A fear of insignificance and being used can be applied to Montag as well after his statement. Privately unloved by his wife and abused by his employers Montag is a more tender person than his gender stereotype would have readers believe. Montag is easily influenced both by his employer Beatty and new more poetic friends Faber and Clarisse. Easily molded and reshaped Montag is susceptible to those around him. Although built of good intentions Montag burned the written past and extinguished the chance of a literary future; mainly due to the government's insistence and Beatty’s persuasion. When opened up to the ponderings of a young girl and the wisdom of an old man Montag demonstrates his ability to take the things around him and draw his own conclusions. When a puppet realizes he's controlled by strings he will cut his prison in half, Montag’s awareness of the government's violation of intellectual life depict to audiences the good naturedness and aspirations that Montag has. Montag defies ignorance and travels not from love to hate, concerning fire and what it symbolizes, but to seeing things from a different
Guy Montag's character development in Fahrenheit 451 illustrates how when people conform to a society, it’s difficult to find yourself and be able to break through that shell. In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, it is obvious that the main character, Guy Montag, loves his occupation of burning books. He is a ‘fireman’ which in the 451 society do not extinguish fires, however they start them upon books, for they are illegal. Without any context into the book or plot, the story is opened with the quote “It was a pleasure to burn.”