How Does Montag Change In Fahrenheit 451

Everyone has a purpose in life, whether it is fulfilled through themselves or accomplished in their legacy. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist, Guy Montag, is greatly impacted by his new neighbor Clarisse McClellan. She ignites his curiosities and pushes Montag to become a freethinker in their society where ideas are outlawed and nobody thinks for themselves. In the novel Clarisse vanishes and is said to be killed in a car accident, however her death is never confirmed. Clarisse’s departure was necessary in order for real change to occur, it became the point in which Montag realizes their society needed to be corrected and that he could be the one to help change it.

One will always be looked upon differently for straying away

Montag lived a routine life and like everyone else never bothered to stop or question anything. With the arrival of his new neighbor came the interruption of his schedule, Clarisse got him to consider how things work, how it affected people and life in general. Clarisse was able to get him thinking and through this he realized he was not happy, “He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back” (9). Through Clarisse Montag realizes the absence of love, pleasure, and satisfaction in his life. With this discovery, Montag began to view the world in a different light. He began to examine the ethics of his job and the meaning of his life. Montag wanted to find the type of joy Clarisse had, he wanted to be able to have conversations on a deeper level with people and appreciate the world around him. He turns to books in the hope that they can change his existence, but soon uncovers that people need to be open to accepting books and knowledge.People such as his wife, Mildred did not see the importance of books and agreed with the government of their disposal. In his search for happiness, Montag realizes Mildred is a perfect example of what type of person society wants them to be, where she is more loyal to society than her