Examples Of Guy Montag's Personality In Fahrenheit 451

Dynamic characters undergo inner change. In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag, a fireman, whose job involves finding “forbidden” books and burning them, along with the house, and residents if necessary. This futuristic society has given way to ignorance and hatred of literature. They freely gave it up for the quick fix of simpler technological entertainment. Through Montag’s interactions with other characters, he learns and grows from a close minded worker who enjoys burning books, into an open minded intellectual. Clarisse, an old woman, and Faber help Montag’s character change over the course of this novel. Montag's personal growth as a dynamic character comes in the form of an awakening.While walking to work, Montag meets Clarisse, a nature loving, seventeen year old.

The novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury presents a futuristic American city where books are banned and firemen burn any that are found. Guy Montag is featured in the opening lines of Fahrenheit 451, he is a firefighter who burns books simply because that it is his job and that a fireman's duty to destroy knowledge and encourage ignorance in order to equalize the population. In the first part of the novel Guy Montag is aligned with bad guys, but as the novel progresses Guy Montag transforms into a different person and at the end he attempts to reclaim lost pieces of the human civilization.

His personality is different from other firefighters. He isn’t intimidating and doesn’t necessarily think that burning books is good. I do like Montag, but I’m waiting for him to make up his mind about whose side he’s on.

In Montag 's case, he understands that he is unhappy with the way he is living, and he begins to rethink his ways of destruction. In like manner, a literary criticist, Rafeeq McGiveron, gives a good analysis of the character of Montag when he says that Montag has a “blithely clear and pathetically blank conscience” towards burning books until he relives his childhood through walks with Clarisse (p.6). Clearly, Clarisse tugged and Montag 's heart and helped him understand the heartlessness of burning books. Most definitely, it was Montag 's hand and not his brain or mind that was the true monster. In another example, the reader sees Montag 's private life during a conversation between he and Mildred, his wife, when she says, “when can we have a fourth wall television put in? It 's only two thousand dollars” and Montag responds by saying that two thousand dollars is one-third of his yearly pay (Bradbury 33). The example presented adds more depth to the grim life of the main character because Montag is married to a woman that is selfish and has no interest for any part of Montag 's life. Similarly, because Montag is faced with unhappiness in both his professional and private life, he is quick to accept the words of Clarisse that there is a better and brighter life possible for him. Overall, Bradbury successfully acomplishes a sense of sympathy for Guy Montag by revealing the

While questioning the situation he is in, Montag`s sudden interest in books has increased and he asks Beatty ``Was-was it always like this? The firehouse, our work? `` showing his curiosity. Montag`s curiosity is the main reason why he wants to know as much as possible about society, books and the way everything used to be in the past. Being a fireman it is only natural for Montag to question everything since he does burn books for a living and not once has he ever been told why books need to be burned. Obviously Montag wants to know why books need to be burned because has been destroying an object everyday but the only thing he has been told is how important his job is not why it is mandatory to burn books. Beatty tells Montag not to be too curious because that is not good ``A natural error, curiosity alone`` Beatty also says to Montag ``Listen to me, Montag. Once to each fireman, at least once in his career, he just itches to know what these books are all about. He just aches to know. Isn`t that so? `` Beatty tries to explain everything to Montag, he says that curiosity is a natural emotion that is embedded within us all. Beatty even takes it a step further

The first character in the novel Fahrenheit 451 who influences Guy Montag is seventeen year-old Clarisse McClellan. The first time Guy and Clarisse cross paths occurs when Guy is walking home from work close to midnight. They meet on an empty sidewalk and quickly begin conversation. As they continue talking, Guy notices that Clarisse is not an average teenager because of the deep questions and thoughts she has. Clarisse questions Guy’s contentment and makes him realize the absence of love and pleasure in his life. Clarisse acts as a goad to push Guy towards a much needed self-examination that later helps him overcome his fear of bringing out the books he has collected over the years and start to look for the meaning in them. Because of Clarisse, Guy is able to transform into a more self-aware man who can now decode his feelings and realize what he needs to have a flourishing life. The second character I chose who impacts Guy Montag is Professor Faber. Guy met Faber in a park a year before this novel takes place when Guy suspected Faber of having a book. When Guy finally builds up his interest in wanting to know more about his secret books, he calls Faber for aid. With Faber’s knowledge, Guy is able to understand viewpoints from different authors and eventually escape the city after he is reported for having books. Alongside Clarisse, Faber is able to help Montag from being completely molded into an average city citizen who is isolated from the knowledge that books are,

Guy Montag is the protagonist and central character of the book, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury that transforms from a conformist in a totalitarian society to rebuilding a society that reads books. Montag fits the cliché description of a good-looking male with “black hair, black brows…fiery face, and…blue-steel shaved but unshaved look.” (Bradbury, 33)  For the past eight years he has burned books. He is a 3rd generation firefighter, who in the beginning of the story, loves his job, which consists of burning the homes of people who perform criminal acts of reading and keeping books in their homes. By understanding Montag’s relationships, discontentment, and future, one can begin to understand the complexities of Guy Montag.

The first main character of Fahrenheit 451 is Guy Montag. He is a 30 year old fireman, who has black hair and smelled of kerosene, and at first wasn’t an individual or a thinker, but developed into one as the story progressed. He is a dynamic character who was very angry and confused about his life, and the life his society tells him to live. Montag is the protagonist, and he goes against the government to change the society for the better. His goal is to preserve knowledge and literature for future generations. Montag said, “‘I realized that a man was behind each one of those books’” (49). This shows that he acknowledged that books were written by real people, with their real thoughts in them; that they had details and meaning to them. This was something most people in this society did not realize.

Guy Montag is a round character because he changes from a fireman who burns books to stopping others from burning books. He goes to Faber’s house so he can help him understand what’s in books. They talk about helping others understand books because they don’t like the society they live in. “I don’t know. We have everything we need but aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I’ve looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burn in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help” (78). This quote shows that Guy Montag wants to change and learn

As the plot of the novel progresses, it becomes clear that Montag does not fit into society. One way he is different is the fact that he likes real knowledge, as supposed to the artificial knowledge the rest of the characters know. An example of this is when Mildred and her friends start to talk about politics. Mrs. Bowles tells Montag that voting for Winston Noble was an easy choice because of the competition. His challenger was short and she tells Montag “You just don't go running a little short man like that against a tall man”(93), conveying the idea that Mrs. Bowles thought she cast an informed vote. However, Montag strongly disagrees with her reasoning, as he prefers real knowledge. He opposingly believes that political positions should be elected based on more than just superficial traits. Montag is furious and leaves the room, but then returns to combat the ignorance “with a book in his hand.”(94) Though this decision was senseless and ironic in that way, Montag shows himself to be different from Mrs. Bowles who “voted last election, same as everyone [else].”(93) Montag is also incomparable to society as a whole because of his animosity towards

Guy Montag lives a normal lifestyle in a futuristic world working as a fireman. However in this time period, books are burned and as a fireman, Montag contributes to that. One day, his new neighbor, Clarisse, a curious girl filled with wonder, opened his eyes. After their conversation, Montag determined that he is unsatisfied with his life. In search of happiness as well as curiosity, Montag, decides to read books, a practice tat is illegal in this corrupt society. When Montag cannot understand the information give in books, he turns to a friend/former professor, Faber. After meeting with Faber, Montag becomes a changed man. They devised a plan to stop the book-burning system, but things take a wrong turn when Montags fire-chief, gets a call

Another incident that stayed in Montag 's mind is the old women who set her self and her books on fire. However, Montag tried stopping her by telling her that the books were not worth her life. Before she burned herself, Montag took one of her books and kept it. At that time Montag did not think about what did the old lady burned herself with the books, he did not think about it might be the value and morals that books hold to teach is. The old lady knew the importance of these books and what do they have, so she preferred to burn herself with them, and not watch the firemen burn them, who do not even know the importance of books. But they do know that books are unreal and there is so importance of them, plus they are against the law!

Many people talk about how the world is slowly caving in as people are desensitized emotionally. Opposers suggest that it is technology’s fault for sucking a person’s mind into oblivion twenty four hours a day. However, it is the people themselves who are going to bring about their own destruction. In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the actions of the public perfectly exemplifies a worst-case scenario of the future coming to mayhem. In this world, books not accepted by the law are burned by “firefighters” so that everyone is taught the same information. Nobody strays from the “truth”, and this way, everyone is treated equally. There is no nerd and there is no bully. The public is encouraged to listen to live streams of people talking in headphone devices called seashells. Yet for one man in particular, Guy Montag, he struggled between fitting in with the public or pursuing an “itch” he has always had. These feelings started when he had a short talk with his neighbor, Clarisse McClellan. In school, Clarisse has always been seen as an outcast, yet by Montag, her strange facts of realization intrigued him. She knew curious information that he did not, and this made him angry. It was not until she mysteriously disappeared that he really started to understand the depth to her words. She knew more about life, and he was determined to find the same information in the forbidden books. Ironically, Montag was a firefighter, but he

One thing that is crucial to understanding the main character, Guy Montag, is that he doesn’t wish pain on those who don't deserve it. In this passage where Montag is talking about his wife he says that he won’t feel sad if she dies, but he still does not want her to die in the bombing. Even though she was an awful wife who put Guy through hell, he does not want her to be in pain. The fact that he was hurting a woman who had never done anything wrong but own a book is the turning point for Montag’s change of opinions about books. If this woman had not felt strongly enough about her books to die with them, then Montag wouldn’t have believed that they had valuable information in them.Without this quality, Montag would not have killed Beatty, and he would have died in the bombing. In summary, Guy Montag would not hurt anyone who he didn’t think deserved it. Because of this quality he is alive today.

Mildred is so brainwashed by their society that she prefers not to and even refuses to think about it. This fact is shown when Mildred simply tells him to go away: “Let me alone,’ said Mildred. “I didn’t do anything.” (BradBury, 49). This unnatural relationship begins to create a type of void between her and Montag.