F451 Essay By: Max Nguyen Change in people's lives will always have a consequence. The novel, Fahrenheit 451 shows this by the growth and development of the characters' personalities and life. The contrast between people who live a static and unchanging life such as Mildred and someone who had their entire life flipped and changed, like Guy, show the ways that change affects the individual's character. Experiencing more and different things causes growth in character and allows people to understand more. The changes in Guy throughout the beginning of Fahrenheit 451 represent how character and personality are shaped by the environment and events experienced in life. This happened multiple times inside Fahrenheit 451, but none more so than …show more content…
In the beginning of the story, Guy Montag describes an event during a power outage he experienced as a child: "There had been a brief hour of rediscovery of such illumination…hoping that the power might not come on again …"(Bradbury 6). Due to his "illuminating" experience with fire, Montag as a person is warped around the idea of it, quick to make decisions, erratic in his actions, and has a blazing personality that attracts the attention of others. Personalities that stand out in the modern world can appear in the form of influencers, a form of entertainment where the loud minority influences the silent majority. Due to technology, it’s easier than ever for people to extend their influence onto the masses and spread ideas. In F451, this exact power of technology was used via networks on the parlor walls. Montag went from someone who thought that "it was a pleasure to burn" (Bradbury 1)to someone who realized that "it was a special pleasure to see things change"(Bradbury 1). Guy Montag grows slowly throughout Fahrenheit 451 and it was foreshadowed that he wasn’t a static person who watched as the world went on by, but instead someone who grew along and helped it evolve. As a person, it is often seen that it is our duty to provide something meaningful in society, whether it be some form of science, education, safety, etc; People often forget that before you can contribute anything, you have to learn and find …show more content…
During the scene where Montag confronts Mildred, asking her if her "family" and the "white clown" truly love her, Mildred tells Montag "Why'd you ask a silly question like that?",(Bradbury 73) because whether or not the parlor walls truly love her, at the end of the day she is happy and entertained. Montag realizes that he lost Mildred to the parlor walls and begins to accept that. In losing the one person he loves, he uses books and stories to fill his time. Despite this, Montag doesn’t drown himself in the words on the page to keep entertained, but uses the knowledge to improve upon himself and learn more. This shows that, not always do you have to take initiative for change to happen, it can happen on its own with no regards for you or others. Entertainment is used to fill in free time to alleviate stress. Normally, people would enjoy interacting with others, pursuing their passion, or enjoying a hobby to kill time, but there are many cases where entertainment can take form as television, social media, and mind numbing videos. This isn’t any different from reading stories to pass time, however, the problem occurs when you take time away from other activities to spend more time on the singular individual form of entertainment. The only true productive form of enjoyment is one where you’re improving upon yourself while doing it, be it mentally,