The Ordinary World: The ordinary world in Fahrenheit 451 begins with Guy Montag, the protagonist, who is a “fireman” hired to burn the belongings of people who read books, which are prohibited in a futuristic dystopian American city. In this society, people do not read, enjoy nature, or form their own opinions or thoughts. Montag’s “ordinary world” is when he would spend his days in the firehouse gambling with other firemen until an alarm would sound indicating that someone possess books, which are illegal. After work, Montag goes home to his wife, Mildred. The Call to Adventure: One evening on the way home from work, Montag meets his new neighbor, a teenage girl named Clarisse McClellan, whose ideas about the world cause Montag to question his own happiness. She talks about how dangerous the world is and tells Montag to remain still and observe the world around him. He then becomes confused, frustrated, and overwhelmed and his belief in his profession and his society begin to fade. …show more content…
During an answer to an alarm, Montag witnesses a woman with a hidden collection of books choosing to be burned alive along with her house. A few days later, he discovers that Clarisse was killed by a speeding car and Montag becomes sorrowful. He begins to act upon Clarisse’s advice. When Montag fails to show up to work one day, Beatty, the fire chief, visits Montag and explains how it’s natural for firemen to become curious about books and what they have to offer. Beatty understands Montag’s situation and gives Montag twenty-four hours to determine if books are worthwhile and then turn them in once the day is up. Montag begins
As the story opens, what are the forces acting upon the protagonist, Montag, and what other forces help Montag in the recognition of his dilemma?
She sits home all day and watches her three walls in the living room, that they had equipped with giant TV’s. Mildred bugs Montag for a fourth TV wall. She thinks it would be necessary to achieve the full effect of her TV programs, but Montag refuses knowing that it is a useless and expensive investment. Montag finds Clarisse waiting at the bus stop the next day. She then informs him that she doesn’t go to school because she’s been labeled anti-social by her teachers. Montag and Clarisse continue to carry on a conversation for a while before he eventually had to go and head off to work. Once he arrives at the fire station an alarm sounds to notify the firemen that someone is in the procession of books and that it is time to perform their duty of burning the house of books. Before the firemen begin to incinerate the house, Montag snatches two of the criminal’s books, and when the old lady who owns the houses refuses to leave her personal possessions to be burned the fireman are ordered to burn the house and its books along with her. This act dwells on Montag to the point where is makes him feel sick and very depressed about the inhumane actions he had performed.
Montag is now at the point where his views are being tested and new beliefs of life are being created. “Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in each trembling finger, had turned thief” (35). Here Montag sees a plethora of books inside of Mrs. Blake’s house and seemingly of its own accord Montag’s hand takes a book. He has now broken a rule that everyone in Montag’s society knows, never to take or read books. Mrs. Blakes, instead of coming with the firemen out of the house decides to burn with the books. This confuses Montag and piques his curiosity to figure out what inside the book could drive someone to die with
Montag's thoughts are the first sign of his change. His original train of thought involved order and repetition. After Montag meets certain people, his thoughts turn towards rebellion. This was due to the hivemind way of living he experienced. But after he meets a young girl, his view completely changes.
This change is dangerous for Montag, because being a fireman got him closer to books. Books were illegal, possessing them, reading them, even remembering them made other people think they were crazy. The closer he got to books, the more curious he became of them. Two things pushed him over the edge, deaths, the death of Clarisse and a random old woman who burned in her home with her books. This strengthened his curiosity and he started to steal books from the houses he burned.
Montag thinks more about it as he walks home. It starts to change the way he thinks about everything.
First of all, Montag faces government censorship over society’s citizens, which changes him to become a courageous character, and he learns that because the government has taught people to take what they have for
Our society that we live in at this moment may be headed for destruction. In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, the characters live in a society that is truly awful, but the author shows us that our society could be headed down that path. However, in the story, the beliefs of the main character Guy Montag change drastically, from beginning the novel as an oblivious citizen to ending it by trying to change his society for the better. Guy lives in a society in which the government outlaws books because they cause people to ponder ideas and develop new ones. The stories stripped from their lives as if they had never existed, the citizens of this society blindly follow their government. Throughout the novel, the main character Guy Montag
Captain Beatty arrives to speak with Montag, somehow knowing that he feels ill and would be taking the evening off. Before he leaves, Beatty makes mention of the fact that firemen are occasionally overcome by curiosity about the books that they burn and may steal one to satiate that curiosity. Even though when this happens, they are given a 24-hour respite to come to their senses and burn the book. If they do not follow this rule, then their coworkers
Montag grows consistently dissatisfied with his life and work the more he talks with Clarisse. He starts to ponder if perhaps books aren’t so bad, and even snatches one from one of his book burning missions. Meanwhile Clarisse disappears, which I assumed she was dead and his boss, Captain Beatty, is growing suspicious. He lectures Montag on the potential hazards of books and explains the origin and history of their profession. Far from rejuvenated, Montag feels blazing anger and becomes more dangerously rebellious than ever. He spends one afternoon with his wife reading his secret stash of books he’s been storing behind his ventilator grill and decides he needs a teacher. He takes a Christian Bible and tries to memorize some of it on his trip.
Set in an unspecified city during the twenty-fourth century, Fahrenheit 451 follows Guy Montag a fireman whose sole job is to burn illegally owned books and the houses that they reside in. Originally guy enjoys his job, noting that it even brings him extreme pleasure, however as the story progress Guy Montag begins to question why he does what he does, and begins to become rebellious. As he meets individuals along the way Montag learns that there’s more to life and society than the suppressive government has taught them.
When Montag failed to show up for work, his fire chief, Beatty, paid a visit to him. Beatty explained that "it's normal for a fireman to go through a phase of wondering what books have to offer," he also explained how books came to be banned in the first place. Beatty told Montag to take about twenty-four hours to see if his stolen books contained anything meaningful and then to turn them in for incineration. Montag began a lengthy and frantic night of reading.
Montag soon begins to enter the bonfire stage. Clarisse, is an observant, curious, open-minded and unique 17 year old girl. Montag, after meeting a couple times with Clarisse, is when his eyes truly open that his society is full of fake realities. He becomes observant and starts asking questions about his society. While being with Clarisse, Montag would smell the leaves and notice the small details; therefore, he was having a shift from being a prisoner to going up to the bonfire. On page #48 it says, “ You’re not sick,” said Mildred. Montag fell back in bed. He reached under the pillow. The hidden book was still there. “Mildred, how would it be if, well, maybe I quit my job awhile?” “You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, because, one night, some woman and her books-” “You should have seen her, Millie!”…. “You weren’t there, you didn’t see ,” he said. “ There must be something in the books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.” This is the event that changed Montags viewpoint on books
Clarisse tells Montag this, and it makes him wonder if anyone really does care. Montag realizes that he lives in a world of conceited people. He realizes that he does not really care about anyone, including his wife Mildred. People in his society don't think about others feelings when acting. From this, Montag learns the meaning of caring. He learns what a terrible place it is to live in, where no one cares about anyone but themselves. This only changes Montag for the better. At one point, Montag and the other firemen go to a house because a lady has books concealed in her home. The lady, not concerned about being burned to death, is determined to stay with her books. Montag is stunned by her decision, and cares very much about her safety. “Montag placed his hand on the woman's elbow. 'You can come with me'” (Bradbury 39) This is a turning point for Montag, in which he starts to care about everyone and their feelings.
Beatty uses his knowledge to attack Montag after the fireman has made the decision to join the radicals and to oppose the burning of books. Montag returns to the fire station in order to surrender a book, creating the illusion of conforming to Beatty’s expectations. Before Montag has an opportunity to speak Beatty begins to confound him with contradictory statements from