To what extent are our beliefs influenced by the actions of others, In the novel fahrenheit 451 by ray bradbury ,he shows through multiple characters how beliefs are influenced by the actions of others. In my essay i will be talking about a few key characters and scenes that are good examples of this topic. these characters are clarisse mcclellan an elderly lady and granger.
Montag throughout the novel is the main protagonist and his beliefs are influenced by many people through multiple scenarios. It is quite early in the book were montag starts to feel different about himself and becomes confused with the person he is now a s he is introduced to some characters that will soon have a big effect on him . The first character is Clarisse
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As the firemen arrive to burn the house and books they are confronted by an elderly lady who instead of fleeing or trying to escape was just standing still with her mouth murmuring something she's trying to remember. as the firemen all enter she starts to recite the verse bradbury page 7) “ play the man, Master ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by god's grace, in england, as i trust shall never be put out. The elderly lady is quoting hugh latimer who recites this verse to his friend Nicholas Ridley, as they were both about to be burned as heretics for their teachings and beliefs. After the firemen escort her out they start to soak the house and everything in kerosene. before they set everything ablaze they try get her to enter the fire truck and she refuses she then instead reaches a match out of her pocket and lights the house and herself on fire. Montag then watches her burn and die for what she believes in like latimer and ridley. This has a large impact on montag before as a fireman he was only hurting objects things that couldn't feel and now a woman was so passionate for her books she choose to burn with them. after this traumatic experience her bold actions are what change montag's beliefs and now a book from her own collection is grasped in montag's hand himself