Are you happy? This question sparks the beginning of Montag’s rebellion against society. In a world where books, writing, and thinking are practically unheard of Guy Montag works as a fireman; However, he starts fires rather than put them out. Night after night Montag methodically burns books, something illegal to possess, and returns home smelling of kerosene, a constant reminder of what he has done. This bleak process takes on a whole new life as Ray Bradbury uses multiple rhetorics of hope in order to keep the reader's faith high throughout the entire novel. From the very first page the audience is confronted with a world shrouded in the flames of destruction, ignorance, and hope.
The novel may begin with the destruction of knowledge, however
…show more content…
A short while later Montag calls in sick after witnessing a woman so passionate about knowledge she died with her books. Montag’s boss, Beatty, then shows up to try and explain away Montag’s fears, but his mind is made up. This scene shows Montag finally reaching his full potential and in doing so becoming the audience’s new beacon of hope. Similar to Clarisse, Guy refused to agree with what he was taught and instead chooses to chase after the future he believes in. Prior to this the audience had grown to understand that every person was expected to conform, and it is expected that no one has new ideas. However, by speaking to each other in depth or reading, citizens could grow in awareness and this could lead to knowledge that would make others feel superior or lesser to others. Beatty best sums up this mentality when he says, “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door (Bradbury 82).”
The book ends with the biggest illusion to hope yet. The city was burned to the ground, however Granger compares the fire to that of a Phoenix. The destruction of Montag’s city, similar to a Phoenix, leaves them free to rebuild as they see fit. Hopefully, into something far better than before. This comparison directly