Who Is Guy Montag In Fahrenheit 451

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.

Guy Montag a firefighter but instead he starts the fires. In the book Fahrenheit 451, Montag Mildred, and Beatty are impacted by the alienation. By looking at Montag, one can see he is lost which is important because he has to go to other people for help. Everyone around him was alienated from the real world and believe everything they hear.

In today’s society, it is truly amazing how easily we can access information from all over the world. By using the internet or reading a book one can find answers to any question one may have. If for some reason access to all that information is restricted or taken away, that would be censorship. Many science fiction writers are concerned with the idea of censorship and how it could show up in a futuristic society. This is exactly what the legendary author, Ray Bradbury did in 1953 when he published a novel called “Fahrenheit 451”. It is written in the third person limited point of view and the genre of this novel is science fiction. In the 1950’s, the United States was dealing with the McCarthy hearings and the aftermath of World War II, which Bradbury used to incorporate in his novel. The central theme in this novel is censorship, so by Bradbury using metaphors and symbols he is able to show the dangers of the government having too much control. Without people in this society communicating with one another and the overabundance of technology it destroys the society of this futuristic U.S. town. In “Fahrenheit 451” the government censorship, causes the people of the society to believe that what is said and done by the government is the only way to be happy and

As the books went up in flames, Montag became enraged by society and how the world was becoming. Mildred, Clarisse, and Captain Beatty influenced Montag the most throughout the book to rebel against the government.

The quote " Character is what you are in the dark" by Dwight Lyman Moody means that we show who we truly are when we face dramatic events. Sometimes, there are events that makes us discover a little bit more about ourselves, perhaps our full potential, our stands on certain topics, etc. The majority of people have certain characteristics that they don't show to everyone, things that they prefer to keep secret. I think this quote is very accurate because we often have to face difficulties to demonstrate who we really are and discover our true potential. Our character is a reflection of the moral and mental qualities that make us distinctive to everybody else. In the book Fahrenheit 405 the main character Montag has to face many obscure

Books are an essential way to gain knowledge whether they are controversial or not. Thousands of books have been banned from public libraries and schools due to being deemed ‘inappropriate’ by parents, administrators, or religious leaders. Whether Americans should ban books in public libraries and schools is an often debated topic. This censorship of books is dangerous, as it restricts the American people's’ ability to access information, leaving Americans ignorant.

“Its heartbreaking to see so many people trapped in a web of enforced idleness, deep debt, and gnawing self-doubt” (William J. Clinton). Propaganda forces people to remain in an unfulfilling life that does not value the importance of knowledge. In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Montag is a fireman who never finishes his journey home to happiness. Montag runs from conflicts instead of facing them, but he is still a hero. Montag is happy with his life but soon feels different about himself and the dystopian society he lives in, which does not provide him the knowledge he seeks.

Neil Gaiman once wrote, “some books exist between covers that are perfectly people-shaped” (Gaiman xvi). The idea that books can be defined as the sharing of thoughts and information between people reveals a deeper meaning in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. In Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist faces a society in which books are censored and, thus, burned. This, according to his definition, means that if books become banned, certain connections between people will, too, be destroyed. Ray Bradbury reveals the theme (the importance of books) through the protagonist’s dynamic character, which comes as a result from his conflicts with society.

She inspires and causes Montag to read book and influences Montag to become like herself. As the story begins it is assumed Montag has books in his house but does not read them. When Clarisse asks Montag, “Are you happy?” (7) He soon realizes he is not happy. This sets off a chain reaction whiten Montag as he begins to search for meaning in life. Montag’s search for answers end up leading him to read books. Evidence that Clarisse inspires Montag to read is seen in the quote, “These men have been dead a long time but I know some way or the other their words point to Clarisse.” (68) This quote proves even though Clarisse disappears her knowledge is so important to Montag He attempts to search for it in books. In this sense, Clarisse is the reason Montag reads, without her Montag may never been inspired to read. Lastly, Montag confirms Clarisse as a role model in the quote, “He was surprised to learn how certain he suddenly was on a single fact he could not prove… Clarisse had walked here, where he was walking now.” (138). This quote symbolically shows how Montag has seen Clarisse as a role model. It is seen here Montag was following Clarisse’s footsteps and that throughout this novel he was trying to follow what Clarisse stood for. This is accomplished when Montag begins reading and vacates his job. Looking back, it can be seen Montag had an appreciation for Clarisse like a mentor. Clarisse influenced Montag to read books and therefore eventually act

(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

“Are you happy?” (Bradbury 10). This quotes is taken from the science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, which is written by Ray Bradbury. It encompasses the struggle that society faces as characters such as Montag -the confused fireman,- Clarisse -the only person who appears to be alive;- and Faber -the owner of knowledge unused,- share their thoughts and feelings about how to find true meaning in life. Throughout the novel, Guy Montag appears as a dynamic, three dimensional character, because he illustrates the changes that come about through acquiring knowledge; he undergoes dramatic internal changes while presenting himself as a relatable human who struggles against his own flaws.

One example on why Montag is an anti- hero is because he soon starts to realize that it’s time to change his society, but when his anger comes in play he realizes that he the best changes he made aren’t the best changes(page 71 ) “ They read the long afternoon through while the cold November rain fell from the sky upon the quiet house” The quote provides proof that Montag is starting to want to change his society because he is doing something that is illegal he is reading. In the beginning Montag was against reading books he was a member of the fire company that burned them. now he reading a book with millie and he is now starting to enjoy the books.Page 81) ‘Someone who may have been a friend was burned less than Twenty-four hours ago” This is making him change the society because he doesn’t think people should be burned for reading book.

Wayne Dyer once said, “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don 't know anything about.” In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, ignorance is a common theme portrayed throughout the novel. It sets the impression of how all of the characters feel due to a society that has outlawed books. Guy Montag is a firefighter, whose job is to burn the books. Yet, he often steals them without the chief firefighter, or anyone else knowing. This is until the day he meets Clarisse, who looks at the world in a different way than anyone else. Then, shortly after, he has to burn down a house full of books and burn the woman inside also because she refuses to leave. This causes Montag to realize that books should not be burned and have great significance in the world. He then shows his wife the abundance of books that he has collected from his job, and his wife, Mildred, becomes concerned. This later causes her to make up lies to cover the fact that Montag is breaking the law of owning books. The ignorance shown in the novel is greatly illustrated on page ninety-five, due to the encounter of the

Guy Montag was fireman and his job was to destroy books. That’s why he states this, “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 3). This quote explains that he likes burning books; and he has been burning books for 20 years, and his Dad and Grandpa were also fireman. So it’s tradition to be a fireman. However Guy’s attitude changes when a woman burns herself to death because she loved her books. Guy’s firemens group receives a call from a person that is turning their neighbor in for having books. When the firemen arrive the house is on fire already because she lit her house on fire to make sure she does it herself. Then Guy thought, “A man had to think them up. A man had to take a long time to put them down on paper. And I never thought that before.” This quote explains that he realized there is something more in books than letters. So he tried to read some books he stole.

The novel, Fahrenheit 451, presents a future society where books are prohibited and the firemen burn any that are. The title is the temperature at which books burn. It was written by Ray Bradbury and first published in October 1953. In this novel, protagonist Montag changes his understanding in various aspects such as love or his human relationship throughout the book. However, among all of these, fire – the main theme of this novel – has the most significance as it also changes his understanding of knowledge from books. Bradbury portrays how Montag’s perception of fire and burning books with his personal development changes by the different choices he makes throughout the novel.