At the beginning of the novel, it’s clear that Montag has no knowledge about the flaws that exist in his society, but as the story unfolds during Part 1, Montag meets Clarisse, a girl who is different from him and is always seeing beyond what society makes people believe in. As Montag has more interactions with Clarisse, he slowly starts to question society. In the very first pages of the novel, it’s clear that Montag is unaware of what his job means. He describes the way he does things as a fireman with passion; this is clear when he says, “While the books went up in the sparkling whirls and blew on, a wind turned dark with burning. Montag grinned at the fierce grin of all men, singed and driven back by the flame.” (Page 2) Readers can see that Montag has leisure doing what he does. …show more content…
But a few more pages into the book, this has a slight change when Montag has his first interaction with Clarisse, and when she is about to go, “She seems to remember something and came back looking at him with wonder and curiosity. “Are you happy?” she said. Page 7 When she asks Montag if he is happy, he realizes that he doesn’t know the answer to that. He knows he likes what he does and the life he leads, but there is nothing different; it’s always the same thing. So after that one interaction with Montag, it’s possible to see the effect the question asked by the girl has on him. So he starts to get suspicious of how things are, so readers can see the mindset start to change, and it’s noticeable when Montag says, “I’ve tried to imagine,” said Montag, “just how it would feel. I mean to have a fireman burn our houses and our books. ” We don’t have any