Dylan Rainbeau Ms. Rivera English 2 CP 6 January 2023 How Characters Influenced Montag Other characters influenced Montag’s perspective. Before Montag came across Clarisse and Faber, Montag was similar to most people in his society he wasn’t very observant, he didn’t think thoughts often, and he hated books. However, once he met both Clarisse and Faber Montag’s life changed. He became a passionate book enjoyer and wanted to spread what he learned about books to others. Montag was willing to die for books as he saw how great books were and as a result left the city to head to the county to pursue his craving for knowledge. This leads to how other characters influenced Montag’s perspective because Clarssie began Montag on his journey to becoming …show more content…
At the beginning of the novel, Montag was considered a normal member of his society, he didn’t think too much and couldn’t recall basic things. This was because he was being oppressed by his society's censorship. However, early on Montag meets Clarisse and early on notices how she is different from other kids. From her being outside and observing the world and after talking with her for a while Clarisse mentions how she doesn’t watch the parlor walls too often or go to races, he notices that she is more interested in the natural world than the fast-paced entertainment that people are given. After their first encounter because of how different Clarisse was compared to all the other people Montag has met it starts to change him. This change continues to grow throughout the novel and even after Clarisse is gone. This is best seen when Montag says, “But Clarisse’s favorite subject wasn’t herself. It was everyone else, and me. She was the first person in a good many years I’ve really liked. She was the first person I can remember who looked straight at me as if I counted” (Bradbury 68). Montag says this to Mildred while they are reading the books he has hidden. Mildred, like her friends and presumably most others in this world are only interested in themselves or what is on the television. Clarisse, on the other hand, was more interested in learning about other people. Montag learns from his interactions with her how much …show more content…
Faber who was a former English teacher had lots of intellectual ideas and thoughts. Faber expands Montag’s ideas and teaches him that it isn’t just about the book but the meaning they contain. Faber also teaches him the value of books and the importance of novels. This transforms Montag and convinces him to pursue the path he is on. This is best shown when, “It’s not the books you need, it’s some of the things that once were in books. The same things could be in the ‘parlor families’ today. The same infinite detail and awareness could be projected through the radios and televisors, but are not” (Bradbury 78). Professor Faber says this to Montag the first time they meet at Faber’s house. Here, Faber contends that the stories and ideas told in books could just as easily be told through different forms of media. But, those types of stories are not what people are interested in. Faber proves here that it is not just books that are absent from society, but knowledge and curiosity about the world in general. This changes how Montag views the world because he sees it from a different