Fahrenheit 451: Montag Character Description

Guy Montag is the protagonist in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.  In the beginning of the story he is a firefighter, and proud of it.  He felt like “It was a pleasure to burn.  It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.” (Bradbury 1)  His job made him happy and he was always smiling.  “It never went away, that smile, it never ever went away, as long as he remembered.” (Bradbury 1)  Just because he is a fireman in the story does not mean that he is a bad guy.  He befriended Clarisse McClellan when others thought that she was strange and did not want to be around her.  He later tells us that he did not feel like he had much of a choice in becoming a firefighter.  “‘Was I given a choice?’ he says, ‘My grandfather and father were firemen.  In my sleep, I ran after them.’" (Bradbury 24)  Montag never stopped to consider the impact of what he was doing by burning the books.  This is how he describes how he felt about his job, “You weren't hurting anyone, you were hurting only things! And since things really couldn't be hurt, since things felt nothing, and things don't scream or whimper, as this woman might begin to scream and cry out, there was nothing to tease your conscience later.  You were simply cleaning up. Janitorial work, essentially. Everything to its proper place. Quick with the kerosene! Who's got a match!” (Bradbury 17)  After meeting Clarisse McClellan, a teenage girl who is peculiar and always asks questions, Montag begins to question some things in his life for the first time such as if he is really in love.  Then witnessing the old woman die in the fire really gave him a wakeup call.  It is not as though Montag was insensitive, it just took him a long time to catch on to things.  When his friend Faber was in danger, he killed Captain Beatty to save him.  Throughout the book he is striving for something with quality.  He finally finds it in the books he reads, but mostly in his new friendships with Clarisse, Faber, Granger, Clement, Simmons, West, and Padover. 

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Viking, 1942. Print.