Dialectical Journal For Fahrenheit 451

Derek Martin
Mrs.Stewart
English 1 Honors
February 3rd, 2016
Fahrenheit 451
Characters
1. Montag: Montag lives in a relatively futuristic time period where firemen burn books with kerosene rather than stopping the fire. In the beginning of the book, the reader sees him coming back from the firehouse when he meets a girl named Clarisse McClellan. She opens his eyes to how boring his life really is. Montag begins to question his happiness and life. Montag also starts to take books home from his job and reading them. Eventually, Montag meets an old english professor who is hesitant to talk to Montag but eventually helps Montag understand the books he reads. Montag is feed up with Captain Beatty and he kills him with a flamethrower after being

At the last fire, a book of fairy tales, he'd glanced at a single line. ‘I mean,’ he said, ‘in the old days, before homes were completely fireproofed–’ Suddenly it seemed a much younger voice was speaking for him. He opened his mouth and it was Clarisse McClellan saying, ‘Didn't firemen prevent fires rather than stoke them up and get them going?’”(pg 31)
2. Clarisse: Clarisse played a big role in Fahrenheit 451 because she is why Montag changes and rids of his ignorance. She meets Montag when he is coming back from the firehouse. Clarisse is recognized by Montag because she is his new neighbor. She begins to spit out the oddest thoughts to Montag who believes she is crazy. However, she begins to change the way Montag thinks and opens his eyes to the dullness of his life. One day Montag notices he does not see Clarisse on his way home from work anymore. He soon realized Clarisse either has disappeared or been killed.
"I'm antisocial, they say. I don't mix. It's so strange. I'm very social indeed. It all depends on what you mean by social, doesn't it? Social to me means talking to you about things like this."(pg

Faber: Faber, an old ex-english professor, is introduced into the story when Montag meets up with him to discuss the books he is trying to understand. At first, Faber is hesitant, but eventually opens up to Montag and helps him. Faber reads to Montag and even reads some of the bible.
“‘I don’t talk things, sir’ said Faber. ‘I talk the meaning of things.’”(pg 71)
Conflict
1. The major conflict in this book is whether books should or should not be burned. From the beginning of the book, Montag struggles with how society works and what to do. Montag feels that life is dull and boring because everyone relies on technology for everything they do and they do not appreciate the simple things of life. He gained this idea from Clarisse. He wants to find happiness and eventually does. This comes after he starts reading and understanding books when he goes to the old english professor. All those around him think he is insane causing him to flee after killing Captain Beatty.
2.“He would be Montag-plus-Faber, fire plus water, and then, one day, after everything had mixed and simmered and worked away in silence, there would be neither fire nor water, but wine.”(pg 103)