Farenheit 451: Guy Montag

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I. List the main characters we have seen so far and what we know about them
1. Guy Montag:
Appearing from the first pages of novel, Guy Montag is the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451. However, he is not described like a hero. The reader can understand his task, but the way he chase the goal often seem awkward and spontaneous. Montag’s belief in his job and his society starts to decrease when he meet his “strange” neighborhood in the novel’s opening express. In front of the myriad and complication of book for the first time, he is confused and overwhelmed. So, he makes hard decision what he gonna do independently of Beatty, Mildred, or Faber. Therefore, he is rash, voiceless and too easy to change. Sometimes, he even does not know why he acts like that, feeling his hands are moving without manipulation. These subconscious actions can shock him, such as he realize his most insight desires is fighting against the present condition and discovering the meaningful way to live while he is getting fire. Anyway, he attempts to reform his own human being and stop the firemen.
2. Mildred Montag
Looking at her name clarifies her role in this novel: Montag’s wife. This character is a symbol of impasse and disappointment: no hope of resolving the conflicts within herself. Her suicide try just shows that she is in huge pain and her attention is avoiding confront her life. But she hides her true feelings very deep. As a protagonist’s wife, she is supposed to be warm and sensitive, but in fact, she definitely cold, faraway and confusing. Bradbury portrays Mildred as a model of that social: free from all mental substances. Her only task is “the family” on TV walls.
3. Captain Beatty
Beatty is a complicated character with a full bag of controversy. He ...

... middle of paper ...

... because Montag is already disturbed that time after coming back from Faber’s house “Who can stop me? I’m a fireman. I can burn you!” (page 84) and he also knows how strong Beatty criticize the books “Without even glancing at the title, Beatty tossed the book in the trash basket and lit a cigarette” (page 101). Anyway, I hope that no one will be hurt by this burning fire.
- I think the book will have an open-ended. Depend on what Faber said “We might start a few books, and wait on the war to break the pattern and give us the push we need. A few bombs and the ‘families’ in the walls of all the houses, like harlequin rats, will shut up!” (page 85), maybe there will have an explosion to burn all the city as well as all people there. The new life will starts in more meaningful way.

Works Cited

Bradbury, R. (2013). Fahrenheit 451 (60th Anniversaryth ed., pp. 67-106).

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