Farenheit 451: Guy Montag

1087 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Fahrenheit 451 dystopian characteristics essay

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).

Show More
Related

  • Changes In Fahrenheit 451

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    In every book, characters go through times where they challenge themselves. In Fahrenheit 451, a book written by Ray Bradbury in October 1953 Guy Montag faces several challenges throughout the book, just like any other character, but every event he faces changes him, his way of thinking, how he sees his surroundings, and even starts to doubt if the people closest to him are actually good people. Montag changes a lot, and his experiences and events faced lead to a new person.

    Read More

  • The Transformation of Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is just an average citizen. He is a fireman who loves his job. Guy loved to burn books. He even states "It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things bl...

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Dichotomy

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    Guy Montag, the main character of "Fahrenheit 451," resembles Jon Anderton, a fictional character from "Minority Report." The two protagonists coincide with each other due to the vast roles they play as dichotomic symbols. A dichotomy is a division into two diverse groups. In the novel, Montag encounters a young girl named Clarisse, who invokes the change in him, setting up the transition for the entire novel. "Are you happy?" Clarisse asks Montag shortly after meeting him (Bradbury 7). This question allows him to think for himself and causes him to rebel and go

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by author Ray Bradbury we are taken into a place of the future where books have become outlawed, technology is at its prime, life is fast, and human interaction is scarce. The novel is seen through the eyes of middle aged man Guy Montag. A firefighter, Ray Bradbury portrays the common firefighter as a personal who creates the fire rather than extinguishing them in order to accomplish the complete annihilation of books. Throughout the book we get to understand that Montag is a fire hungry man that takes pleasure in the destruction of books. It’s not until interacting with three individuals that open Montag’s eyes helping him realize the errors of his ways. Leading Montag to change his opinion about books, and more over to a new direction in life with a mission to preserve and bring back the life once sought out in books. These three individual characters Clarisse McClellan, Faber, and Granger transformed Montag through the methods of questioning, revealing, and teaching.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451

    515 Words  | 2 Pages

    Montag, a fireman who ignites books into glowing embers that fall into ashes as black as night. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury expresses a message in which society has opened their doors to mass devastation. Guy Montag, a “fireman”, burns houses that have anything to do with books instead putting fires out like the job of a real firemen. In Montag’s society, books are considered taboo, and owning books can lead to dire consequences. Ray Bradbury portrays a society in which humans have suffered a loss of self, humanity, and a powerful control from the government resulting in a fraudulent society.

    Read More

  • Farhenheit 451 Guy Montag

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the main reasons that Montag changed so drastically over the course of the book was his curiosity. Montag spent a lot of time thinking about his job and started questioning everything he was doing. He starts wondering why books need to be burned and why things are the way that they are. Montag takes up a special interest in book and why things are this way. “Was-was it always like this? The firehouse, our work?” Montag asks Beatty showing his curiosity. Montag’s curiosity is what drives him to find out everything he can about books, society and the way that things used to be. It is only natural for him to begin to question everything especially because his job involves burning hundreds of books a day yet he was never told why these books need to burned. Imagine destroying an object everyday, and being told how important your job is. Naturally you would want to know why you are destroying these objects. This is what happened to Montag and Beatty tried to explain it to him and tells him he shouldn’t be too curious about it “A natural error, curiosity alone,” Beatty also asks 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?” Curiosity is a very natural emotion and even Beatty, who tries to explain things to Montag and discourages books, even admits to looking a few books but says “I've had to read a few in my time, to know what I was about, and the books say nothing!” I believe that this would make Montag even more curious.

    Read More

  • The Transformation of Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    “One person’s craziness is another person’s reality”- Tim Burton. In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the protagonist Guy Montag learns this as the book progresses. In the beginning of the book, he comes across situations that he finds preposterous, like the suggestion of reading books. In the end of the book, those unhinged ideas become his reality. As the book advances, we get glimpses of how Montag’s thoughts of society change. Guy Montag goes through a special character transformation throughout the book, starting as a loyal fireman and ending up as a book-reading rebel.

    Read More

  • Mildred Is A Bad Wife In Fahrenheit 451

    405 Words  | 1 Pages

    The third reason why Mildred is a bad wife if because she doesn’t have a heart. Everyone feels the lost if someone you know died. Montag just realized that he’s been killing people for the wrong reason. People whose only offense is reading books, and killing an innocent soul is no different than being a murderer. She doesn’t care that people died. She doesn’t give a crap that her husband is a murderer. “She means nothing to me!” are the exact words that she used because she only cares about herself.

    Read More

  • Guy Montag in Farenheit 451

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the main character of Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is obviously an important character. Although his physical characteristics are not described in detail, his emotional, social, and intellectual characteristics are well-defined. Throughout the story, Guy Montag undergoes many hardships, which shapes a completely new personality. By the end of the story, he has a new point of view that allows him to think and feel differently.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Conformity Essay

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    She does not express her views of the world since she spends her days watching and “communicating” with the parlor walls. Because of this, she is very forgetful of personal events and careless of others. Bradbury 40, Montag thinks back to when he and Mildred first met. “The first time we met, where was it and when?” “Why it was at-” She stopped. “I don't know,” she said. Also in Bradbury 49, Mildred states, “..let me alone. I didn't do anything,” as Montag shares his book conflict. This shows how Mildred lacks in thinking and considering the feelings of others. Therefore, she is the opposing side of the theme of the

    Read More

  • Symbolism and Characters in Fahrenheit 451

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Guy Montag is the main character in the story; he is the pillar on which all other characters rest, and the character which all other characters revolve around. The effect Bradbury creates of him is that he is an ignorant, naïve person. His faith in all humanity is crippled from the first page, it seems, and is further strained by Clarisse McClellan. Montag's actions are most often rash, with little or no thought attached to them ,which is implemented by Bradbury as a metaphor to Montag's socialization: acting for the moment on impulse, rather then thinking deeply before acting. This is illustrated on page 70, when he makes books out to be some sort of godly invention; something that would give sense and reason to the world, a problem solver, if you will. He also forms deep attachments to people who seem willing to be his allies, which further illustrates Bradbury pouring in a sense of incompleteness in the development of Montag, the person. In addition to this, Montag is constantly compelled to resist society, and resist the status quo. Upon his reading of the first book, the immensity and complexity thereof, he has a frustrated air throughout the book, as well as one who is confused, trying to find deeper understanding of the world and not coming to terms with reality at some points. Again this is illustrated not only on page 70 (see above) but also in the later sections of the book where he seeks out Faber's help in understanding. Deeper yet is his willingness to be swayed. Once told to do something he most often does it, which can be described on page 38, when he is told by one of his fellow firefighters "Don't just stand there idiot…..Kerosene". Immediately his body seems to become controlled by some outside force that forces him into a craze to burn books.

    Read More

  • Happiness Explored in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    Of all characters, Bradbury uses Mildred Montag to effectively portray the idea that the majority of society has taken happiness as a refuge in nothing but passive, addictive entertainment. She immediately reveals her character early in the book, by saying, “My family is people. They tell me things: I laugh. They laugh! And the colors!” (73). Mildred is describing her parlors, or gigantic wall televisions, in this quote. Visual technological entertainment is so important in her life that she refers them to as “family,” implying the television characters as her loved ones. By immersing herself in an imaginary world, Mildred finds herself able to relate to fake characters and plots, giving her a phony sense of security. This is necessary for her to achieve her shallow happiness, or senseless plain fun, as she lifelessly watches other people in her walls with a senseless mind. Her family in real life only consists of Guy Montag, her husband, whom she has no fond feelings about. Montag is so frustrated with Mildred because of her inability to express feelings for ...

    Read More

  • Montag's Role In Fahrenheit 451

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    The role played by an individual in a community highly depends on their character and this goes hand in hand with the individual's beliefs. Most people are happy for doing what they believe is best for the wellbeing of the community they live in. What kind of personality would a person who takes pleasure in doing his job develop after discovering that he is not joyous of the role played by his position in the society? It is precisely such a person, Guy Montag, a fireman, who Ray Bradbury portrays in his book "Fahrenheit 451." The story is set to resemble a future city where books are considered to be contraband. The events in the story unfold when the protagonist, Montag, starts to question his happiness with the status quo of the society.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Ignorance Vs Knowledge Essay

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fahrenheit 451 is a best-selling American novel written by Ray Bradbury. The novel is about firemen Guy Montag and his journey on discovering the importance of knowledge in an ignorant society. There are many important themes present throughout the novel. One of the most distinct and reoccurring themes is ignorance vs knowledge. Bradbury subtly reveals the advantage and disadvantages of knowledge and ignorance by the contrasting characters Montag and his wife Mildred. Montag symbolizes knowledge while Mildred on the other hand symbolizes ignorance.

    Read More

  • How Clarice Influenced Montag in Fahrenheit 451

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Guy Montag is a fireman who is greatly influenced in Ray Bradbury's novel, Fahrenheit 451. The job of a fireman in this futuristic society is to burn down houses with books in them. Montag has always enjoyed his job, that is until Clarisse McClellan comes along. Clarisse is seventeen and crazy. At least, this is what her uncle, whom she gets many of her ideas about the world from, describes her as. Clarisse and Montag befriend each other quickly, and Clarisse's impact on Montag is enormous. Clarisse comes into Montag's life, and immediately begins to question his relationship with his wife, his career, and his happiness. Also, Clarisse shows Montag how to appreciate the simple things in life. She teaches him to care about other people and their feelings. By the end of the novel, we can see that Montag is forever changed by Clarisse.

    Read More

More about Farenheit 451: Guy Montag

Open Document