Examples Of Friendship In Fahrenheit 451

The Friendships of Guy Montag Friendship is a tricky thing for Guy Montag, in Fahrenheit 451. In the beginning, he considers himself to have friends, but he quickly realizes that his “friends” are not what they seem. Ray Bradbury leaves the topic of friendship up for discussion, because he wants his readers to figure out the meaning of friendship by themselves. Friendship is defined as the mutual trust and support between two people (Dictionary.com). Guy Montag can only say he has this with about three people. The people he can consider as friends are Clarisse, Faber, and Beatty. Guy Montag’s first real friend is Clarisse. Guy meets her early on in the first section when he was walking home from work. This is the first time he has seen her.

Montag's life is spiraling out of control when he meets Clarisse and says this about her after her death, "But Clarisse's favorite subject wasn't herself. It was everyone else, and me. She was the first person in a good many years I've really liked. She was the first person I can remember who looked straight at me as if I counted"(Bradbury 142-143). This quote shows how Montag felt about Clarisse and how he cherished her even after her death. This is the first real person Guy Montag has ever been able to talk to on an intellectual level. Before Clarisse, he has only talked to Mildred and his coworkers. When he spoke to these characters it was not in deep context, he only spoke to them about what was happening in the now, not deep things like his life. Their conversations were only superficial. This contact with Clarisse allowed Montag to open up,

The two start as co-workers. They both are Firemen and in the beginning Montag considers them friends. He often throughout the story goes to Beatty for consult on his life. This characterizes their relationship as friends because they both go to each other to talk about things. They are also both able to joke around. When Montag gets harrassed by the Hound, Beatty blows it off as a joke, even though Beatty was the one who programmed the hound to harass Montag. This also shows how much Beatty cares for Montag because he does not want him to get into trouble. If they are able to joke around, then they are characterized as friends. This goes to show how their friendship is changing. When Montag steals a book, Beatty is understanding and states that everyone has those curiosities. This shows that Beatty feels for Montag, because he has had the same feelings himself. Friends are able to relate to each other, and Montag and Beatty do that. When Montag kills Beatty, he is doing him a favor. Beatty eggs Montag on, and then Montag puts an end to his life. This shows true friendship because friends are there for one another, and since Beatty wanted to die, he put his life in Montag’s hand. This shows how true friends can count on each other for anything, and that is the case for both Montag, and Beatty. This also shows how they are great enough friends that they will kill each other to end each others