In stories, a character can be influenced by many things. In Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451, Montag meets new people, and finds out new things about people whom he already knows. Along the way, the people he interacts with influences his choices and actions; including Clarisse, Mildred, and Faber. Frequently, Clarisse influences Montag’s choices and actions. In the beginning of the book, she influences Montag by making him realize that he is not happy with his life, by asking him the simple question, “Are you happy?” (pg. 8). Montag does not respond, but it does make him think. After hearing this question Montag goes home, greeted by his cold, sterile home, questioning his life and whether he is happy or not. Later, Montag is influenced
Social justice is often strived for by society. It is a necessary force in allowing humankind to coexist. However, the individual also has to play a role in maintaining social justice. The role of the individual is stated in the texts Fahrenheit 451 and “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury and “Letter From Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. by illustrating the consequences of not participating in the monitoring of justice. The stories show how much each individual fights for equality and justice, no matter the situation. Fahrenheit 451 describes a society where reading books are illegal. “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is a letter from MLK Jr. to some of his fellow clergymen discussing what he is doing in Birmingham and why he’s doing
Is ignorance bliss? Or can true happiness come only from knowledge? In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist, Guy Montag, lives in a futuristic, dystopian version of the United States in which knowledge is frowned upon, ignorance runs rampant, and uniformity is imperative. To fit in with the societal assumption that sameness equates to happiness, Guy feels he must conform and play the part of a contented citizen. However, Guy frequently finds himself questioning the validity of his society’s mindless, materialistic approach to life. This disharmony between inward thought and outward action catalyzes Montag’s desire for change, leads him to deeper introspection, and contributes to the novel’s central message that if one remains
In Fahrenheit 451, depression caused Guy Montag to become irrational. Ray Bradbury who is the author of Fahrenheit 451 simulated a world, where depression causes Guy Montag to choose irrational actions. Ray Bradbury shows the reader the importance of depression by creating a character named Guy Montag, who begins to question everything he has ever known, and slowly sinks into a depression.
She is the first person who challenges Montag and gets him to truly think. She triggers Montag’s questioning of life, what he is doing, and his relationship with his wife Mildred. Upon their first encounter Clarisse begins asking Montag questions, questions about a time when firefighters put out flames not started them, a time when life was a bit slower. She asks, “Are you happy?” once Clarisse is home Montag responds, “Of course I’m happy. What does she think? I’m not” (pg 10). This quote supports my claim that she is challenging him to think. You can sense his uncertainty in his defensive response, it is as if he is almost infuriated at the thought. He has begun questioning his life. Is he happy burning books instead of reading them? Is he happy speeding through life? Is he happy with his wife? On their next encounter, she tells him that he isn’t like the other firefighters. That he looks at her when she speaks, that he puts up with her when the others don’t. 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.
Montag tells Clarisse that he has been a fireman for ten years, and never put much thought into his job. Starting fires appeared to be his passion. However, as he considers Clarisse’s question, “Are you happy?” (Bradbury 10), his views being to change and Montag wonder if he truly is. From this point on, Montag’s life tears at the seams. Guy begins to doubt his actions as a fireman, he begins to doubt his marriage, and even who he can trust.
Throughout the book, Montag changes and becomes a better person. He is nicer at the end and learns to love books and nature because of his friends he had, Clarisse and Faber. Montag changes a lot and believes he has changed in a good way and he is happy the way he has turned out. Montag realizes all his bad mistakes and wants to fix them and make them better. He tries to start a new life after he has got away from the police and leaves the city. Clearly, Montag has changed a lot and is proud of the new decisions he has made in his
(MIP-2) From certain experiences, Montag comes to realize that he’s not actually happy with his life because he discovers that it lacks genuine, valuable, or humane relationships, eventually driving him to find the truth about his society by making him think about and question it. (SIP-A) Montag realizes from his experiences with Clarisse that his relationships in his life lack genuity, value, or humanity. (STEWE-1) From one of his first experiences with Clarisse, Montag feels something that he realizes he never felt before in his daily life. He ponders to himself, "How rarely did other people's faces take of you and throw back to your own expression, your own innermost trembling thought?" (Bradbury 8). What Montag is pondering about is how she behaved so attentive and natural towards
Fahrenheit 451 is a novel written by Ray Bradbury. It is considered to be dystopian fiction which is used to display different social structures throughout the book. Published in 1953, this story takes place in a futuristic city in the United States of America. Books are illegal to own and anyone in possession of them will have to get them burnt. That is the job a the firefighters.
The word illicit sums up the confusion and weakness of the main character, Montag, a follower of the dystopian society, but introduced to a new way of thinking, but he is incapable of handling the contrast of reality and what life is really about. The oppression of dystopian society reveals when he is unsettled about his life due to several instances which make him begin to think beyond his ability and act irrationally rebelling to in an attempt to make changes in society. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury illicits a rebellion through the characterization of Guy Montag as he questions the direction of society in order to suggest the audience does the same thing.
In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Montag, the protagonist and book burner, battles between the light and dark sides of society, first with Beatty, his boss, and the government and then with Clarisse, a neighbor girl and Faber, an English professor. Montag is stuck in the dark burning books and is ignorant to the world around him. He moves towards greater awareness when he meets Clarisse and is awakened to the wonders of deep thought and books. Finally, he risks his life by trying to save the books.
Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a dystopian society where knowledge and critical thinking is considered to be different. The novel revolves around the main character, Guy Montag, referred to as Montag throughout the novel. Montag is a firemen, which means that in his society he starts fires rather than puting them out. A ban was put on books by society the people because they were seen to create a form of inequality, and contained controversial content. This was replaced by modernized technologies such as wall televisions. Montag questions his beliefs when he encounters his new teen neighbour Clarisse, who exposes him to what being social really means rather than society’s interpretation.
He is always following others' rules and he never has a chance to decide and act based on his own ideas and moral standards. In most occasions, Montag is just a reflection of people's expectations. Montag's job consisted of setting fires (which is very ironic) and burning books because knowledge was considered a threat to the higher authorities. In his community people never had time to appreciate the little things around them; their lives were driven by technology and entertainment. However, one day he met a girl named Clarisse, she made Montag realize that he was not happy and that things in his community were not right. Soon, he began to wonder why he was not satisfied with his life, he began to question why nobody had the time to sit back for a minute and reflect upon their lives. He discovered that nothing he had done through out his life defined his character; everything Montag had done was merely influenced by his community. He had adapted an image of someone that was not him. He had to met Clarisse in order to realize that his behavior and his way of living was not who he wanted to be. Subsequently, he began a desperate quest to find his true character and comprehend his purpose in
At first he was happy about how his life was going; Mildred sleeping in a different bed, burning books and houses, having the same routine everyday. Montag felt as if he was doing good for the city and himself. “It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.” This all changed when he met Clarisse. Clarisse was unique and different, she walked around paying attention to all of her surroundings, thinking about everything and anything. “You’re not like the other. I’ve seen a few; I know. When I talk, you look at me. When I said something about the moon, you looked at the moon.” Clarisse said to Montag while they were walking down the sidewalk in the rain. After that moment I feel that Montag felt as if he really were different, thats when he started to
Children are the most pure examples of the human race. They have not been flawed by societal norms; they are still purely themselves. The pure nature of children is miles away from the beaten down attitude of adults. Adults have seen the pain of reality, and it has caused them to stray from their original state. When the two groups meet, sometimes incredible things happen. In the case of the elderly, sometimes working with young children can bring them seemingly back to their younger selves. In worlds where interaction between people is bleak and often nonexistent, teenagers offer a contrast that can make adults curious again. And in a world so filled with meaningless pain that almost all lose hope, children are there to make them rethink