Over the course of Fahrenheit 451, the main character Guy Montag is characterized, but is shown to change. In part 1, the book establishes how he initially acts and how he starts to change. In part 2, the reader sees how his personal experience shapes him into taking drastic actions. In part 3, the reader sees the effects of his actions further his character until he reaches his full potential as a character. Readers recognize Montag’s development as a character throughout the novel by means of personal experience, important events, and influential characters.
This quote, found on page eleven, is from the scene where Guy Montag is attempting to dial the emergency service number to save Mildred Montag’s (his wife) life. His way of counting shows the build up of what can lead to a war. This quote, found on page thirty-five, is spoken by Captain Beatty. Beatty is speaking to the owner of a secret library who then sets herself on fire along with her books.
Books can inspire life changing experiences for people and society. Montag is a man that burns books and houses for a living in F451, but after he pulls the books out of the vent to show his wife, he starts a new era for himself and others. Montag tells his wife, “We can’t burn these. I want to look at them, at least look at them once”(Bradbury 66). After reading the books, Montag’s perspective of them shifts, and he feels the need to protect them.
In stories, a character can be influenced by many things. In Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451, Montag meets new people, and finds out new things about people whom he already knows. Along the way, the people he interacts with influences his choices and actions; including Clarisse, Mildred, and Faber. Frequently, Clarisse influences Montag’s choices and actions. In the beginning of the book, she influences Montag by making him realize that he is not happy with his life, by asking him the simple question, “Are you happy?”
Beatrix Mr. O’Brien English 9 December 15 2015 Guy Montag: Montag is described as a fireman which job is to burn books, not to fight with the fire. He is brave and royal and always try to find true happiness. At the beginning of the book, he thought he was happy with his job and his life but many things happened that changed his life. He met Clarisse, a bright girl, and she questioned him “ Are you happy?” that startled him.
Guy Montag as a Dynamic, Three Dimensional Character “Are you happy?” (Bradbury 10). This quotes is taken from the science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, which is written by Ray Bradbury. It encompasses the struggle that society faces as characters such as Montag -the confused fireman,-
In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Montag, the protagonist and book burner, battles between the light and dark sides of society, first with Beatty, his boss, and the government and then with Clarisse, a neighbor girl and Faber, an English professor. Montag is stuck in the dark burning books and is ignorant to the world around him. He moves towards greater awareness when he meets Clarisse and is awakened to the wonders of deep thought and books. Finally, he risks his life by trying to save the books.
Can books and people change a person’s way of thinking? Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is about Guy Montag who is a fireman who burns books and houses. Throughout the book he realizes he’s not happy so he has to transform his mindset by using books and people. Guy Montag changes in the story through his increasing problems in his relationship and his perceptions in books.
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a classic novel that challenges authority through self-discovery and growth. The main character Guy Montag is a dedicated fireman. He enjoys his job, watching pages of books become nothing more than burnt ash. He has never questioned anything before, nor has he had a reason to. That is, until he encounters three important individuals that seem to influence a change in Montag and ultimately change his world.
(MIP-2) From certain experiences, Montag comes to realize that he’s not actually happy with his life because he discovers that it lacks genuine, valuable, or humane relationships, eventually driving him to find the truth about his society by making him think about and question it. (SIP-A) Montag realizes from his experiences with Clarisse that his relationships in his life lack genuity, value, or humanity. (STEWE-1)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is one of a mustread book for all ages. The book tells the story of a fireman whose life takes an unexpected turn when he meets his new neighbor. Guy Montag, the fireman, then he have to face many challenges and overcomes his own fears. Montag’s society forbids its people to read any kind of books because they don’t want their people to be able to think for themselves. Much like our society today, in a way.
A usual fireman will try to put off fires but Montag is a fireman that starts a fire with his flamethrower and burns books and the houses where they are illegally kept. Firemen wore helmets that had the numeral numbers of 451 which represented the temperature that paper burns. Montag meets a young girl named Clarrisse and suddenly realizes the emptiness of his life when he was questioned about his happiness. Since then, Montag questions what he had been doing and what he had not and searches for an answer/reason why stuff was like the way it was. Guy Montag can be a brave character because he decides to put himself in a situation where he is the outlier in the society.
Guy Montag has a moral dilemma whether to rebel against the government or comply with the law. The law has illegalized books, whether it is owning or reading them. Montag’s responsibilities of being a firefighter ironically is to ignite fires rather than put them out. Guy Montag lives in a very uniform society where everyone acts the same, dresses the same, and even thinks the same. Therefore, it is uncanny to be different and unique.
The book follows Guy Montag, a fireman who sets things on fire instead of put out fires. He enjoys his job until on one job an old woman decides to burn with her books rather than evacuate. Haunted by her death, Montag becomes confused on why books would mean so much to anyone. He then decides to find out for himself by reading books from a personal stash of stolen books. Montag has a personal revolution; he realizes the dangers of restricting information and intellectual thought.
Neil Gaiman once wrote, “some books exist between covers that are perfectly people-shaped” (Gaiman xvi). The idea that books can be defined as the sharing of thoughts and information between people reveals a deeper meaning in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. In Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist faces a society in which books are censored and, thus, burned. This, according to his definition, means that if books become banned, certain connections between people will, too, be destroyed. Ray Bradbury reveals the theme (the importance of books) through the protagonist’s dynamic character, which comes as a result from his conflicts with society.
