Who Is Guy Montag Annotated In Fahrenheit 451

Interpretive Poem Analysis Clarisse from Fahrenheit 451 once said, “No one has time for anyone else anymore.” Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, takes place in the future; a time where life is very fast-paced, revolves around technology, and books are outlawed. The protagonist of this story, Guy Montag, is a fireman. In this society, firemen no longer put out fires, but instead, ignite them. They uphold the law, which forbids society from reading, by getting rid of all that information. The government deletes the information in books to prevent people from thinking and being individuals. In this time, no one really knows anyone. Not everyone cares about this, but Montag does. He has found himself deserted and therefore, feels lonely.

Montag realizes that the society does not allow its people to be happy but instead, makes the people think they are happy. It positions the people to rely on technology and not even communicate properly with one another because communication is considered to make people unhappy. Montag is finding himself terribly lonely, even at home with his wife. He starts thinking, “That if she died, he was certain he wouldn’t cry. For it would be the death of an unknown, a street face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong… Well, wasn’t there a wall between him and Mildred” (pg.41). The reader infers that if Montag and his wife do not have a good relationship then Montag must really be lonely. In life, the husband-wife relationship is extremely important, if that relationship falters who do you depend on? Montag’s relationship with his wife shows readers that no one cares about anyone, couples don’t even care much for one another. If couples don’t care for each other, then readers can interpret that this society has people caring only for themselves. Also, if you don’t know your own wife, how are you expected to know others well? Guy is one of the few that questions this dystopian society and is curious to see if books hold the answer to loneliness. He wants to figure his life out, “We’ve got to start somewhere here, figuring out why we’re in such a mess…

The speaker of the poem believed that “He fluttered pulses when he said ‘good-morning,’ and he glittered when he walked.” The reader understands that Richard Cory was greatly admired. The folks would stare at him and thought him to be charming. From this, one can infer that this man had everything going for him. Not only does Robinson illustrate Cory as a perfect man, but also paints the image that, “He was rich- yes richer than a king… in fine, we thought he was everything to make us wish that we were in his place.” Here, readers understand that yes many people may admire him but many others are very envious of him. The folks believe he is a perfect being and they wish to take his place. They want to be Richard Cory. All of this makes the reader believe that Cory is a happy, untroubled soul who enjoys life. However, the reader is quickly shot down by being told that, “Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head.” Basically, the reader is shown that although it may have seemed as if Cory was happy, he was horrendously lonely. This feeling affected him so bad that he ended up committing suicide. Loneliness drove him to take his life even though he had absolutely everything one could ask for. Likewise, Montag, from Fahrenheit 451, is very lonely and this feeling caused him to disobey the