How Does Montag Use Violence 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

Readers will know there must be a reason why he thought that way when burning things, and will ask themselves why Montag said; “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed" (Bradbury 1). Fireman or pyromaniac. He is presented to the reader as a fireman; however, the descriptions of Montag’s actions are misleading—making one believe he is a pyromaniac. Statistically speaking, various readers would share the same view if they analyze Guy Montag’s word choice when describing the action of burning.

At the start of the book, Montag loves fire. He sees it as something that can destroy evil and alter reality. He thinks that “It [is] a pleasure to burn” (1). When he burns the books that people illegally hide in

Throughout the novel, Montag tries to bring realization to the people around him and waits for the day that the civilization experiences a rebirth. This corresponds to the symbol of fire. It mirrors the transformation of Montag's choices from killing his boss to burning his house down. The fire was the solution to set Montag free from the bondage of his culture, and without it, a change would not have ensued (1). Once Montag escapes from the city, he discovers a group of men sitting around a fire. It is in this scene that the fire portrays comfort. The metamorphosis that occurs in Montag is symbolized by the fire due to the fact that he is surrounded by a group of men who share his same beliefs. The comfort Montag feels in the fire is similar to the way God is a constant comfort in a Christian's life. In John 14:16, it says "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever" (NIV). God sets the rules for his people, but He will never leave their side and will always love them unconditionally. A critical altercation becomes obvious when Montag views the fire for the first time in his life as

With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history.” (Bradbury 5). Montag lived in a society where books were burned instead of read,people never admired the little things in life, they always were focused on technology or things that don’t matter. No one took the time to be curious about life and what life is truly about. This quote from the book truly shows how this dystopia was. Instead of firefighters putting out fires like they would in today’s society, they would start

In the beginning of the book Ray Bradbury shows how Montog reacts to fire when he is ignorant. Montag did not think about what he was doing while he burned books because he had not began reading books himself. “Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame. He knew that when he returned to the firehouse, he might wink at himself, a minstrel man, burnt corked, in the mirror.(4)” This quote shows Montag's outlook on fire before he began reading books himself. Montag was a complex character in Fahrenheit 451. His views constantly change as the story progresses. In the end of the book, Bradbury showed him and his reactions to fire where, after his ignorance had been lifted. He had realized that it could do more than cause destruction and take away pieces of art away, but that it could help bring people together. Bradbury shows this when montag finds people come together around fire rather than be pulled apart because of it: “It was not only the fire that was different. It was the silence that was concerned with all of the world.(146)” Montag looked at the fire at the end of the book and felt happy and at peace with the world. He did not feel anger or a resistance to the fire, but he was one with it and was no longer ignorant to how special books

“It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 3). Towards the beginning of the novel it is noticeable that fire is praised by the protagonist and those who choose to conform to society’s rules. In this quote in particular, fire is being used as a tool against literature.

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.

In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Montag loves being a fireman, he loved seeing the books go up in flame. “It was a pleasure to burn” (p.1) he said and would grin a “fierce grin” (p.2) that would stay there for as long as he could remember the burning books. He seemed happy, like he didn’t want anything more, but he soon realizes just how unhappy he is with the job and his life. Montag didn’t

Montag thought that it was a “pleasure to burn,” because he felt that he was doing the city a favor. The firemen believed that they were cleansing the people when they rid them of their books, so the act of burning became blissful to them. When Beatty made Montag burn his own house, he did say it was different. This time, it was a “pleasure to burn,” because he was able to cleanse his own mind, instead of someone else’s, allowing himself to think clearer.

Fire, the symbol of warmth, destruction, and renewal, is a dominant image in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Guy Montag, the protagonist, lives in a grim, futuristic United States where people have given up books and knowledge in general for entertainment and instant gratification. The standard use of fire to warm and heat has been replaced to be used for destruction and entertainment. Montag’s job as a fireman clearly shows this, as he is required to burn books and houses. Montag’s understanding of fire and burning as destruction is completely reversed by the end of the book when he regards it as a symbol of warmth and renewal.

In a society where firefighter’s purposely burn books, anything is possible. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, a firefighter, Guy Montag, follows the rules and expectations of burning books. The job of a firefighter is to burn books because they are banned in the society Montag is a part of. Throughout the book Montag meets various characters that create curiosity and help him gain knowledge about the rules of his society. In the end, Montag is able to develop his own opinions and views about the rules he is following.

No apparent conflict with Montag and his cultural upbringing was introduced in the opening of the novel. Montag lives in a futuristic society so advanced that all houses are fireproof and house fires are not an issue. Montag laughed as his inquisitive neighbor, Clarisse, began telling him that she once heard that a long time ago "they needed fireman to stop the flames" (6). The reader knows it to be true that firefighters did, in fact, stop fires. Along the line of advancement in society, firefighters were in need of a new purpose, so they were given what was seen as one of the highest honors. They were to protect their society from nihilism and free-thinking; to burn all books, manuscripts and written information. Not knowing what a book is or the reason anyone would value one, gave the protagonist the illusion that he was only doing what was best for his society. In chapter 1 Bradbury announces that "It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed"(1). Towards the beginning of the novel Montag favored his job as a firefighter above all else; he loved to burn things. Books and their

Bradbury’s symbolic use of fire shifts to echo Montag’s increasing enlightenment. As he talks about his love for his job as a firefighter Montag notes that he loves “to see things blackened and change...to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history” (1). Montag enjoys the immediate satisfaction of destroying something; the change in and of itself exhilarates him. Fire represents a false sense of power because he feels he controls what he burns but in reality there are other consequences. It symbolizes a blind power for destruction and change since Montag never looks to repercussions.

Throughout this passage, the word burn progresses over time from burning, to burned, to burnt. This relates to what Montag is thinking, and brings him to his realization that the firemen need to stop burning books. This is reinforced by the metaphor of “The sun burning every day. It burned time.... So if he burnt things with the firemen, and the sun burnt Time, that meant that everything burnt!”