Montag’s Internal Storm In the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Guy Montag is a working, middle aged man, yet he has never really lived. He, like the rest of society, is merely going through the motions of life. He never thinks about what he is doing, what it means or even why he is doing it in the first place. However, Montag eventually realizes that there is more to life than TV and book burning. This understanding does not solve all of his problems though. He now has to decide between fighting for what he believes in and conforming to society. Montag starts out as a fireman and fairly normal citizen. He has a wife, a house, a job and a TV. Regardless of this, he differs from most other people. Montag does not hate books like the rest of society, but instead he is driven by his love of fire. “It was a pleasure to burn.” (3). He became a fireman because of this passion and not because he thought the …show more content…
He goes to an old retired professor for help. “ ‘I need you to teach me.’ ” (87). Faber is hesitant at first, but after seeing Montag’s sincerity he agrees to teach him. Faber knows no one can instantly be taught to understand books, as this knowledge can only be attained over time. So instead Faber teachers Montag the importance of books. “ ‘...they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores… The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more `literary' you are.’ ” (83). The information that books supply show the real features of life. Unlike TV, which just displays the sugarcoated, happy version, books reveal the good and bad about the world. Books bring expression to humanity making people think about why things are happening. When this happens people question every change in society making it more well rounded as a whole. And when Montag learns this he knows he must fight to save