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Montag's Transformation: Farenheit 451

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The novel Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury, deals with a futuristic apocalypse that happens to an entire society and creates an new opportunity for the book’s main character Guy Montag. This apocalypse needed to happen because it provides Montag with meaning, which allows him to fully transform. Through Montag’s experiences to find answers and happiness, he begins to have realization and goes through a transformation from being the representation of evil and destruction to good. Guy Montag’s character starts off as a representation of a satanic figure living in a destructive society where he burns books for a living. He explained how, “it was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury, 1) because he belongs to a society that views the elimination of books as a sort of purification or cleansing. Ultimately, the fear of knowledge and ignorant view of the world around this society, leads them to their own death. Keeping books out of the hands of the general population, allows people to follow the norm and to be happy. When meeting Clarisse, Montag begins to realize that he has been living a lie and that he and others are blinded by the lies and live very unhappy lifestyles, which consist of war and misery. Montag states how he “wore his happiness like a mask” (Bradbury, 9) and realizes that he too “was not happy”(Bradbury, 9). Montag lives during a time where couples do not speak to one other, they do not have children and the suicide rates are high. His own wife Mildred comes close

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