Morgan Laplante . Mrs. Rhodes . Pre-Ap English 10 . 13

Throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag goes from a relatively "typical" fireman to a man on the run. In the story, Guy meets his seventeen year old neighbor Clarisse McClellan, she questions Montag about his life now and the life he has always lived. Near the start of the book Clarisse asks Montag, "Are you happy?" Clarisse's question influenced Montag in many ways, causing him to wonder about his life. After speaking with Clarisse, Montag starts thinking about his wife, Mildred, and whether they really love each other or not. He leaves her to go home and find out for sure. Once he is inside he asks Mildred if she remembers where they met for the first time. Neither Mildred nor Montag remembers where they met at for the first

The world’s humanity was folding away without being noticed by a single soul. The society was focused on technology so that when the characteristics that made man human were gone, they would not be missed by the majority. Government officials were strict on the molding of the new era, but they even more harshly enforced that the wisdom of the past not be acknowledged. A harsh, cruel world that had decided that free will was too dangerous. This is the world of Fahrenheit 451.

The society in Ray Bradbury's, Fahrenheit 451 is almost completely made up of the falsehood that everyone is “happy”. Up until the main character Montag, meets Clarisse, he believes that he is “happy.” Then he is asked a simple question…“Are you happy?” (Bradbury 10). This was the most significant turning point for Montag and is what caused him stop and think about what his life had really become. The propaganda throughout the book plays a substantial role in people's lives, but not in a positive way. The government brainwashes them to not think or read, and encourages them to have a hatred for whoever breaks the law. In Fahrenheit 451, propaganda plays a dangerous role in influencing the decisions made by the characters.

It is natural for people to seek happiness. Everyone has their own methods, but at the end of the day, they all search for pleasure and gratification for their actions. Sometimes, this happiness can be long-lasting, and at other times, it is merely a short-lived illusion. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, society has conditioned itself to believe that instant excitement and shallow stimulation is equal to happiness. Due to this, people no longer take the time to appreciate and create intimate relationships with others. Guy Montag, a fireman and conforming member of society, begins to question these beliefs. He begins to see that people seek instant gratification and refuse to put effort into finding happiness. He recognizes these traits not

Being happy in life is an important feeling for everybody. Happiness is shown by somebody being satisfied, blissful and overall in a state of pleasure. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Many characters such as Mildred, Montag and Faber all show different forms of happiness and freedom. Mildred, a cold, distant and dull character demonstrates without knowledge, freedom is impossible and real happiness is unreachable. She seems to be in great pain throughout her life, and her obsession and attachment to her “family” on the television is what causes her to not confront her own life problems. Montag who begins the book having a passion for his profession, burning books, changes quickly. After being faced

Dunbar says “ With torn and bleeding hearts we smile.” and this quote relates to Mildred in Fahrenheit 451 because she appears to be happy on the outside and content with her 3 wall TV and no outside connection. “The small crystal bottle of sleeping tablets which earlier today had been filled with thirty capsules and which now lay uncapped and empty..” Page 11, when night comes around the happy Mildred that Montag thought he knew had tried to kill herself with a drug overdose and the rescuers who help her explain that it happens all the time. The people in Fahrenheit 451 are all struggling with finding happiness and the ones who have already found happiness are just blinded by the ignorance that the leaders of the society have tried to create.

In Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” Montag starts off as seemingly normal as he goes about his job, home life and inner conscious. As elements are introduced, it is clear that psychologically he has been trained to think a certain way and live his life as if it were written, or programmed. Ray Bradbury creates this world that seems to promote “sameness” in Montag’s society, and clearly discourages any deviation of one’s job or role in society. In the course of the story, Montag ‘sinner peace is interrupted when he encounters a woman named Clarisse on his way home from work. From this moment, Montag is intrigued, and his inner psychological consciousness is impacted in a way that will change the way he sees his role in society, personal, professional, and even love life. His relationship with himself, his wife Mildred, his boss Beatty, and his coworkers, and finally the most impactful Clarisse. This affects Montag, and help him see his dystopian society for what it truly is, and how he’s been serving it.

Happiness in our society is harder to find than in the society of Fahrenheit 451, but once achieved, it is a true happiness, one which grows upon its seeds, and sprouts a great and fulfilling life for that person. The average citizen in our society believes themselves to be happy, but in reality, they too are replacing their true desires and childhood dreams with superficial entertainment and mindless activities, which resembles the society which is portrayed in Fahrenheit 451.

A couple pages into the book, Bradbury introduces another character whose name is Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse is introduced to Montag as his new neighbor. In the book, Montag thinks of Clarisse as crazy. The way she was exposed to the world and how her mind works is something that Montag had never seen before. It’s was strange and foreign to him. She begins to ask Montag many questions regarding his beliefs and decisions about his job. With each absurd question he begins to slowly see her view of the world. Even though he still thinks they are ridiculous and unheard of questions. The last question that she asks him is, “Are you happy?” He had never thought of asking himself that question before. Was he really happy with burning books and not exploring something new?

“And he remembered thinking that if she died, he was certain he wouldn’t cry” (Bradburry 47). Throughout the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury the crumbling relationship between Mildred and Montag leads to the breakage of their marriage and Montag finding his place in the world. The couple goes through ten years of marriage without love. This unhealthy relationship causes a miserable life for both of them. They live is a damaged society where everyone is under strict control. Books and pedestrians are banned, while killing and hurting are allowed. Mildred goes through life knowing very little about the world surrounding her, she is comfortable with being ignorant. Montag, on the other hand, is on a mission to learn more about his and Mildred’s civilization. He wants to find the root of the problem and repair it. This difference in the two individuals leads to the breaking of their relationship, and the ending of their life as they know it. Mildred’s realization that she doesn’t love Montag, Montag questioning the ways of society, and Montag reading books to Mildred and her friends leads to Mildred giving up on Montag and turning him into the government.

Have you ever wondered when society breaks down and there is no such thing as happiness? In Fahrenheit 451 firemen don’t put out fires, they are the ones that make the fires. Books in their society are banned and when people are found with books they are burned and are thrown into the asylum. Though people think they are happy they really aren’t. They are actually just numb to pain.

In this society, people will always try many different things throughout their life - just because they become curious. Curiosity is what leads humanity in innovation and improvement, and makes us diverse. Once people stop having individual thoughts, our sense of self and different beliefs will also disappear. In the book “Fahrenheit 451”, Guy Montag lives in a society where the government controls all with technology, preventing people from having books and even individual thought. Montag, who was a fireman that burned books for a living, was one of those people until he encounters a 17 year old girl who asks him if he is truly happy. After returning home that night and discovering that his wife had almost killed herself with sleeping pills,

Now on both of their behalves they really did not have the same view into the dystopian society. Montag believed it was wrong to burn books, and Mildred did not care about nothing including Montag and them books. “It is easy to read the women in Fahrenheit 451 as stock, one-dimensional characters, set up only to illustrate the opposite poles between which Montag struggles.” Montag does not realize he struggles to see the differences in him and women. “Although Montag has not yet recognized the problem with this reduction of happiness to a step below hedonism, a kind of vicarious hedonism, in which even sensation is often artificially provided, Beatty seems aware of it." Beatty realizes something different before Montag has the chance to. “Before Montag can begin to recognize his connection to others and to his inhuman society, however, he needs to reconnect with himself, reestablish his relationship with the world.”

The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.

According to Storm Jameson, “Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.” Jameson suggests that happiness is not just having fun, but it is to be present in the moment and to make connections with others. Happiness is rarely found in the novel Fahrenheit 451, because this joyless society defines “fun” as driving with the need for speed and with an intention of killing small animals and people or the deadening white noise of endless television viewing. The novel Fahrenheit 451 conveys this very idea as the protagonist Guy Montag and others in his society are unable to achieve full happiness. Author Ray Bradbury suggests the truth of Jameson’s statement primarily through