The person that changed the most in the story of Fahrenheit
451 was Montag. In the beginning he
was a firefighter a greatly enjoyed being one.
He felt that “It was a pleasure to burn.
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened
and changed.” (Bradbury 1) This began to
change a little after meeting Clarisse McClellan. Montag had never met anyone like her
before. She did things so different from
what was typical of people to do. She
actually enjoyed walking, talking, and thinking. These were considered strange by others in
the book. She was the first person to
introduce him to a different way of life through questioning things. What really brought about his change of
character, however, was witnessing an old woman burn her house with her books
and herself in it rather than to go without the books (Bradbury 18). Montag could not think of another reason why
she would have done this rather than she felt so attached to her books that
life without them would be meaningless.
This conclusion made him think that if there is something about books
that is important enough that a person would die for them, then he wanted to
find out what it is. He had been feeling
as if something was missing from his life, and since books proved to
practically be the woman’s life he thought that he should find out what is
beneficial about them. Anyway, over time
he goes from being a full-hearted firefighter to a rebel who killed his
captain. Not every book has a character
turn around like this book does and it is amusing to read how Montag’s whole
life and ideals are changing.
The only
other person in this book that changes his character somewhat is Faber. Faber has always been against the outlawing
and burning of books, but he was too afraid to do anything. He still is partially anxious later on in the
story, but after meeting Montag he is willing to gather whatever courage he has
to try to make a difference.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster,
1967. Print.
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