In the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the protagonist faces many hardships in his dystopian society. He begins to question his society, creating many conflicts. At the beginning of the novel, Guy Montag is very naive, he goes through many challenges, but as a result of these conflicts, he becomes more self-aware and, learns that knowledge is power.
At the beginning of the novel, Montag is very naive, but he begins to change his view of society in a different way. After meeting Clarrise McClellan she asks him, “Are you happy?” (Bradbury 7) After this conversation, Montag begins to feel very unsure about how he is actually feeling and even says, “Of course I’m happy. What does she think? I’m not? He asked the quiet rooms.” (Bradbury 8) Later he admits that he doesn’t actually feel very happy in life, finally realizing this after all this time. After this, he begins to be more aware of the way he looks at society and even begins to question why things are the way they are.
…show more content…
He reads a book to his wife, Mildred, and her friends, and they are anguished. After Montag steals the books, he begins to read them a poem, to which they react unexpectedly, “Mrs.Phelps was crying. The others in the middle of the desert watched her crying grow very loud and her face squeezed itself out of shape.” (Bradbury, 97) None of them have experienced anything like this, and don’t know how to behave. Montag begins to see the emotion and feelings that books can bring out in people, and how it changes them. As the story continues, Montag opens a book on a subway, and people are in awe. They don’t know how to react and immediately freak out and call for guards. Throughout these experiences, Montag begins to see the real effect the knowledge of books can have on