What Is Montag's Attitude Towards Life

In the world of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the society of the twenty-fourth century is brainwashed by mindless television programming and other leisure activities. Original ideas, risk taking or reasoning alone is considered a threat to everyday society. Mostly everyone in this bleak and lifeless society lives by “the norm,” but there are certain individuals who live life with a purpose, for example Clairece.

If Clarisse were to live in the twenty- first century, she would be like any other normal human, but since this is the twenty- fourth century, where television and conformity are the laws of the land, she is considered to be an oddball. Clarisse is a person willing to take risks and surpass the boundaries of normality in this bleak

and grey society. Clarisse is a person who just wants to go out and smell the roses. She tells Montag that she likes to, “Smell things and look at things and sometimes,stay up all night, walking, and watch the sunrise,”(Bradbury 7). Clarisse enjoys the beauty and nature in the world as opposed the characters on the television.

Speaking of TV, Montag’s wife, Mildred, is the ideal citizen of the world of tomorrow. She is isolated, lifeless and rather selfish. Mildred is brainwashed by the society around her, she does not seek adventure, she does not like to exceed the boundaries, and she believes that the characters on the television are her family. When Montag tells Mildred to turn off the parlor, Mildred tells Montag, “That’s my Family.” (Bradbury 46). Mildred also tells Montag that "Books aren't people. You read and I look around, but there isn't anybody!"(Bradbury 34). In the end, Mildred calls the firemen to her house and as Montag arrives Mildred left the scene of the crime. This shows that Mildred is more concerned about herself as opposed to her husband.

On the other hand Mildred’s husband, Montag has a much different mindset.

Montag’s attitude towards life at the beginning of the book resembles the average citizen, but when he meets Clarisse, Clarisse plants a seed in Montag’s mind. The seed starts to grow when the firemen have to burn the old lady with the books, when Montag returns to his home he feels guilty and sick about burning the woman. Kerosene turns from a perfume to a toxic gas. “Suddenly the odor of Kerosene made him vomit,” (Bradbury 47). As Montag meets more characters throughout the story, Montag yearns for more knowledge and a better understanding of life. As the story progresses, Montag really isn’t a paradox, but more of a person coming out of their shell. He realizes not only what is ethical, but also that there is more to life than just television and Sunday joyrides.

In any society, there are people who want to live by their rules, and often they tend the push the boundaries of those said rules. Clarisse, Faber, Granger, even Montag understand a much greater meaning to life. These people want to challenge conformity, they want to challenge people to think about the why and how as opposed to going through the motions. They want a new order in this broken and corrupt world. The bombs have cleaned the slate, and Montag and Granger can rebuild a new and better

world.