Light In Fahrenheit 451

In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist, Guy Montag is a fireman whose job it is to burn books, which are illegal to have in this dystopian novel. Through the course of the story, Montag starts to question the “what” of books-why are they being burned? His boss, John Beatty, is captain of the firemen and serves to try and keep the banning of books in power, and to keep Montag in line. In this novel, Montag wants to be in the light, and Beatty likes the power he finds in keeping people in the dark, both co-existing, both opposing one another. Throughout the novel, Montag experiences the light a multitude of times. His first connection is as a young child:

‘[I]n a power-failure, his mother had found and lit a last candle and there

On a walk back to his house, Montag meets a young girl named Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse is a curious girl, far more inquisitive and observant than anyone else in their society. Through Montag’s perspective, Clarisse appears to be, “‘an odd one"’ (6). Nevertheless, Clarisse justifies her curiosity when she says, “‘Bet I know something else you don't. There's dew on the grass in the morning.’ He suddenly couldn't remember if he had known this or not, and it made him quite irritable. ‘And if you look-she nodded at the sky-there's a man in the moon.’ He hadn't looked for a long time” (7). Montag takes a moment to think, and he realizes that Clarisse is right; he does not notice these things. This makes his perspective change and causes the light inside of him to

Nonetheless, he begins the novel, retaining a positive relationship with Montag. While visiting Montag, they have a conversation about the firemen and entertainment in their society and civilization. Eventually, the conversation comes to a close and Beatty tells Montag:

‘The important thing for you to remember, Montag, is we're the Happiness Boys, the Dixie Duo, you and I and the others. We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought. We have our fingers in the dyke. Hold steady. Don't let the torrent of melancholy and drear philosophy drown our world. We depend on you. I don't think you realize how important you are, we are, to our happy world as it stands now.’ (59)

Beatty reassures Montag, to make him feel better about what they do as firemen. This is his way of being friendly to Montag and keeping a positive relationship with