Montag is going through the motions of life. He sees people die but never really understands what that means, the consequences and irreversibility of death. Montag sees people burn and sees them die but he doesn’t process what is happening. As he becomes more aware of what is happening he begins to gain a better understanding of death. Bradbury uses the immolation of characters to demonstrate the evolution of Montag’s understanding of death. The first death that Montag witnesses is the woman who burns with her books. The last is Beatty. One by a team and one on his own. In between these two deaths Montag begins to read and he begins to think more and more. Montag’s mentality shifts and he perceives the world differently, causing him to think about death in a completely new way. The first woman was never given a name. She was nameless and faceless and was just another obstacle in the society’s way. She was a stranger. Beatty on the other …show more content…
Through the eyes of Montag it was not very violent, almost peaceful. She had made her choice. She simply, “ struck the kitchen match against the railing (40).” He even directly used the word “contempt”saying how she “reached out with contempt for them (40).” Montag uses a word like that one to rationalize the idea of the carnage he causes. An idea of contempt implies that she was okay with it. It isn’t his fault in the slightest because she wanted it.It is his way of washing the blood off his hands. He also doesn’t really react. Montag watches as he, “back[ed] away and away out of the door, after Beatty, down the steps, across the lawn (39).” He just walked away. A woman was burning and he walked away. It is not that he doesn’t care but that he doesn’t fully comprehend what is happening. The use of the word “away” shows how he is distancing himself from the issue. He distances himself from the burning of the woman. He distances himself from the consequences of his actions and what death really
Ray Bradbury’s novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’ warns of the dangers of technology and blind obedience through the character of Mildred Montag amongst others. Although Mildred is a minor character throughout the text, her image as the poster girl of the dystopian vision of the future Bradbury had created highlights that in a society where technology is all-powerful and all-consuming, true happiness is seldom found. Bradbury depicts characters who have an awareness of life outside of technology to be genuinely happier and more sincere, whereas those who have conformed to mores of society are consequently dissatisfied with life. Ultimately, it is Montag’s realisation that there is more to life than shallow conversations and parlour walls, and the happiness
In this part of the book, all of the firemen including Montag received a call to burn a house with the books in there. Here became the turning point for Montag as he saw the woman, who already had made her decision to die rather than live in a world of oppression and restricted freedom of thought which books symbolize in this part, burns with the illegal books in the burning house, refusing to go out without the assurance of the safety of the books. We can suppose that his perception is gradually changing through the phrase showing that Montag felt a huge guilt over this, unlike the other firemen or Beatty. Furthermore, during the conversation with his wife, Mildred, Montag says, “We burn a thousand books. We burnt a woman.
The first time the motif of death shows up, Mildred has just come face to face to death which leaves Montag questioning his life. By Bradbury allowing Montag to see Mildred almost die, he lets Montag stumble upon a situation that he has not encountered before. In doing so, Bradbury makes Montag question his own life and forces him to adapt to the new circumstances he faces. Montag begins to question if the person in front of him is his wife as, “The bloodstream in this woman was new and it seemed to have done a new thing to her. Her cheeks were very pink and her lips were very fresh and full of color and they looked soft and relaxed.
However, he was forced to continue his task as he was in the company of other firemen. Despite this, he mindlessly smuggles a book out of the burning home before leaving. That night, Montag begins to realize that his marriage has completely fallen apart, and both he and his wife were empty, lonely people. He remembers the night she had overdosed, and that “he was certain he wouldn’t cry” if she were to have died then (41). These overwhelming discoveries are, of course, prompted by everything Clarisse had previously told him.
Montag realized the situation he was in and does something unthinkable… and he kills Beatty. He goes on the run from the law and is now a criminal for the rest of his life. Montag started off as an ignorant fireman who blindly followed society like everyone else. Because of his internal and external conflicts throughout the story, he begins to be more knowledgeable about what is really going on in society and his
A significant scene of death in Fahrenheit 451 is when the city is bombed. The city was bombed, because the nation that Guy Montag lived in was at war with another. Even though the government had tried to brainwash everyone to create a “perfect” society, but the society was far from perfect as there was still war. No matter what humanity will never be perfect. While everything may not ever be completely perfect things can always be perfected and made better.
Bradbury justifies to warn us that isolation from others lead to suicide because of all the influence of technology that was brought into their dark, dystopian, book-despising world. Technology took over everyone from their new “Wall-TV’s” to the “seashell,” being what they spend all their time on everyday, cutting off most interaction with other humans, leading to the thoughts of suicide. Early in the book, readers notice several attempts of people trying to kill themselves as well as each other; because the audience notices that they know they are not in a content state with all the things going on around them, especially the lack of socializing. There are many situations where Montag sees and realizes that a lot of people are losing their
(AGG) Imagine a world where people are lied to, no one knows true happiness and everyone is concealed from the truth, now try living in it. (BS-1) Montag was like any other person in his society who didn’t think much about the things around him. (BS-2) Soon after meeting the chatty stranger alongside the street, Montag starts to question everything he has ever known, and starts to wonder if he is truly happy.
One time Montag walked into the ‘parlor’ and saw unknown people saying words that held no depth or meaning. He asked, “What was it all about? Mildred couldn’t say. Who was mad at whom? Mildred didn’t quite know.
Fahrenheit 451 Do books really harm the world or does the government dislike the idea of society turning knowledge into power? Montag was a heroic character, he did what he thought was best, despite what the laws said. Montag went against the law and sought knowledge. Despite his flaws, Montag can be considered a heroic figure.
By examining that Montag now regrets the bad decisions he made in the past, tries to make people realize there is a big problem the world has to face, and since other people are willing to help him correct the world even if they’re put in danger, it is clear that Montag is a hero. Montag has realized that his past is filled with bad decisions and he finally chooses to fix his mistakes. An example of his regretful decision is when he burned down his house and Montag turned to face Beatty. As he was arguing with Beatty, Montag’s fingers touched, “the safety catch on the flame thrower. Beatty glanced instantly at Montag's fingers and his eyes widened the faintest bit …
Montag, a weak human easily influenced by others until he meets Clarissa, who questions what he does and asks him why. Troubled by all the questions from Clarissa he begins to look deeper into his life with [her name] his wife and begins to wonder if he is pleased. In a fury, he thinks by
She tells him that firefighting doesn’t seem right for him. This comment causes a reaction in Montag, “He felt his body divide itself into a hotness and a coldness, a softness and a hardness, a trembling and a not trembling, the two halves grinding one upon the other” (pg 24). His reaction shows a conflict, that is causing emotion and thought. He begins to wonder why he isn’t happy.
Throughout the story, Clarisse makes Montag question his surroundings; she makes Montag rethink his marriage, society and job. Clarisse’s claims eventually cause Montag to read books and rebel. Clarisse causes Montag to question his marriage when she claims, “You’re not in love with anyone.” (19). This realization allows Montag not to be dragged in Mildred’s world of drugs and
Ray Bradbury 's novel Fahrenheit 451 delineates a society where books and quality information are censored while useless media is consumed daily by the citizens. Through the use of the character Mildred as a foil to contrast the distinct coming of age journey of the protagonist Guy Montag, Bradbury highlights the dangers of ignorance in a totalitarian society as well as the importance of critical thinking. From the beginning of the story, the author automatically epitomizes Mildred as a direct embodiment of the rest of the society: she overdoses, consumes a vast amount of mindless television, and is oblivious to the despotic and manipulative government. Bradbury utilizes Mildred as a symbol of ignorance to emphasize how a population will be devoid of the ability to think critically while living in a totalitarian society. Before Montag meets Clarisse, he is