Novel: Fahrenheit 451
(By R. Liu, Mr. De Kever class)
Everyone goes through some sort of change or development throughout his or her life. It is an inevitable aspect of life. Even people from books, movies, and television are prime examples of this. ...
In the novel Fahrenheit 451, the author Ray Bradbury demonstrates how much a leading character can actually evolve. The character of Montag transforms from a self-centered fireman to a perceptive man who tries to change the world’s outlook. For the first part of his life, Montag was a stereotypical fireman. His passion was burning books, no matter what the consequences. He was completely assured that this was his calling in life and that he was making the most out of his life. As the story progresses, however, Montag slowly evolves. He begins doubting his life, followed by quietly rebelling within the comforts of his own house until he finally publicizes his new intents. Bradbury uses Montag to show that even the most rigid people can change. Sometimes it merely takes a simple conversation or comment to spark a change. Bradbury displays the gaping adjustment using many examples and stylistic devices.
In the novel Fahrenheit 451, the author Ray Bradbury demonstrates how much a leading character can actually evolve. The character of Montag transforms from a self-centered fireman to a perceptive man who tries to change the world’s outlook. For the first part of his life, Montag was a stereotypical fireman. His passion was burning books, no matter what the consequences. He was completely assured that this was his calling in life and that he was making the most out of his life. As the story progresses, however, Montag slowly evolves. He begins doubting his life, followed by quietly rebelling within the comforts of his own house until he finally publicizes his new intents. Bradbury uses Montag to show that even the most rigid people can change. Sometimes it merely takes a simple conversation or comment to spark a change. Bradbury displays the gaping adjustment using many examples and stylistic devices.
At the start of Fahrenheit 451, Montag is initially portrayed as a rugged fireman. Instead of extinguishing fires, the firemen in this society focus on destroying books with fire. It is illegal to own and read books, and it is up to the firemen to annihilate these books. Montag is completely attached and committed to his job, never misses a day of work, and has devoted his life to being a fireman. Montag cannot picture his life as any different. Montag thinks, “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (7). These lines start off the book and give the reader a sense of Montag’s favorable attitude towards his job. Montag also “grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame…It never went away, that smile, it never ever went away, as long as he remembered” (8). It is evident from these quotes that Montag feels as though he is part of a fantastic life. Both Montag’s father and his grandfather were firemen, and Montag is continuing the tradition; at this point in the story, it seems as though Montag is happiest when he is working as a fireman and burning books. It appears as though it will be difficult to change his mind. In the second quotation, Bradbury uses repetition, by repeating the phrase “it never went away.” In this sense, the repetition promotes feelings of determination and purpose; this repetition reinforces Montag’s passion for his career.
The first signs of Montag’s evolution occur when he leaves the fire station one night and converses with his new neighbor, Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse seems to be from a society different than Montag’s. She is inquisitive, talkative, and amiable. She enjoys holding conversations, appreciates everything, and simply soaks in every little detail about life. She informs him of facts such as, “‘There’s dew on the grass in the morning’” (13). After hearing this fact, Montag could not remember if that was something he had already known or not; this leaves him feeling slightly annoyed. Montag has now started to pay attention to the smaller side notes of life, rather than just remaining absorbed with burning. A couple minutes later, Clarisse asks Montag, “‘Are you happy?’” (14). This question greatly disturbs him and he spends the night pondering whether or not he is. This is significant since just a couple hours ago, he was at the fire station, where he was feeling positive, upbeat, and completely sure about his job and life. It is crucial that Montag is letting this question disturb him. Bradbury uses the stylistic device of dialogue to emphasize Montag’s growth in this scene. From the conversation between Montag and Clarisse, one can learn a lot about Montag. She is a catalyst for his internal reflections. Clarisse has begun inspiring him and promoting feelings he has never considered before. This night is when Montag first began having some doubts about his career and the society he resides in.
Montag took a gigantic leap forward in his advancement when he visited the house of the old woman who spoke of the candle. Firemen in his society burn down libraries and houses. During one instance, the owner of the library, a woman, refused to leave her house and instead, she insisted on remaining with her books. As she was burned, she quoted a man named Latimer and said, “‘Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out’” (39). This phrase stuck in Montag’s head for a while and might have later motivated him while on the run from the Hound. While at the house, Montag repeatedly attempted to save the woman and protested, “‘You’re not leaving her here’” (42). Though Montag was not heartless to begin with, in this scene he is starting to wonder and realize that perhaps his job is not as fulfilling and worthwhile as he initially perceived it to be. At this time, it appears as though he is having doubts about the life he leads. Bradbury uses an allusion in this quote.
Through the old woman, Bradbury refers back to when Latimer and a man named Nicholas Ridley were burnt alive for heresy on October 16, 1555. Latimer said this to Ridley right before they were burned. When the old woman said this, she was trying to inspire someone else to stand up for their beliefs. Bradbury saw the importance of this quote and centers some of Montag’s future actions on it. This quote haunts Montag for some time afterwards. Later on, he emerges as that person that stands up for his beliefs. This woman indirectly encouraged Montag to challenge the social norms and fight for what was just. After this night, Montag comes to the realization that there must be something extremely powerful in books if this woman thought they were worth dying for. He becomes cognizant of the fact that books must be very special and powerful if so many people have been secretly harboring them. Montag starts to question all the hype there is surrounding books, which leads him to revealing his hidden stash of books.
Montag stresses his love of burning books in the very first sentence. However, when he begins reading some of these books that he previously took pleasure in burning, it is clear that his character has gone through significant change.
It is forbidden for anyone in Montag’s society to own any books at all. It is even worse for Montag, since he is a fireman. The fact he owns these books and has the urge to read them is a huge leap and part of the story. Montag decides that he “wants to look at them, at least look at them once” (70). This is important in Montag’s development. Though he has most likely owned these books for a while, the key fact to consider is that he has not taken any of these books out until this moment. Before, Montag ignored and almost pretended as though he did not own these books. Now, Montag is becoming increasingly curious and starting to embrace the art of literature. When Clarisse and Montag talked, Clarisse hinted that she read books. This is another factor in Montag’s reading. Bradbury takes advantage of polysyndeton in these couple of pages. Polysyndeton is the use of many conjunctions in order to achieve an overwhelming effect in a sentence or group of sentences. While Montag pulls out the books, the conjunction “and” is used repeatedly: “Without looking at it he dropped it to the floor. He put his hand back up and took out two books and moved his hand down and dropped the two books to the floor. He kept moving his hand and dropping books” (69). Polysyndeton smothers the reader and almost exaggerates the situation and intensity at which Montag is pulling out books. It adds drama to the scene.
Montag has continuously made progress as a character, but it is not until he legitimately stands up for his beliefs that his true character shows through. He does not do this until he is absolutely forced to. After Millie turns Montag in and his house burns down, Beatty gives Montag the opportunity to simply leave and surrender. Instead of doing so, Montag decides to continue on and fight for the literature he now believes in. After receiving multiple alarms concerning Montag and his house of books, Beatty decides to interfere. He drives the fire truck to Montag’s house and forces everyone to destroy the building. Once everything has gone up in flames, Montag and Beatty are standing together, and it is evident that they will face off. Beatty confronts Montag about all that has happened leading up to this point. Beatty notices Montag listening to something in his ear and strikes Montag. This causes the green bullet in which Faber’s voice could be heard to drop onto the sidewalk. When Beatty threatens to trace the bullet and make a house call to Faber, Montag snaps. He twitches the safety catch on the flame thrower, surprising Beatty. Then Montag “shot one continuous pulse of fire on [Beatty]” (121).
As gruesome as it sounds, this was a necessary step in Montag’s evolution. The former Montag would have obediently listened to Beatty and just gone to jail. However, Montag has found new sources of determination, from both Clarisse and the old woman with the candle. There are several metaphors present in this part. Beatty is compared to “a shrieking blaze, a jumping, sprawling gibbering mannikin, no longer human or know, all writhing flame” (121). These comparisons help the reader picture and understand the vividness of Beatty’s death. Metaphors help the reader imagine and see what exactly happened.
The last proof of Montag’s evolution occurs in the last few pages of the book. By this time, Montag has almost completely transformed: he realizes the importance of books, he sees what is really wrong with the world, and he understands how he should now go about fixing these problems. Aside from the previously mentioned characters and scenes, Faber and Granger both also played large roles in the reshaping of Montag. Faber told Montag the three things that are missing. He teaches Montag that the three things are, “‘Number one, as I said: quality of information. Number two: leisure to digest it. And number three: the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two’” (87). These three things are key and necessary in order to restore the hunger and usage of books. Without these three things, no one can nor wishes to read. In addition, Faber serves as a mentor for Montag and helps smooth out a majority of the roughness. Similarly, Granger finalizes Montag’s evolution. Granger informs Montag that while he had good intents, he went about solving the issues of books the wrong way. He says, “‘You did what you had to do… But our way is simpler and, we think, better. All we want to do is keep the knowledge we think we will need intact and safe. We’re not out to incite or anger anyone yet’” (154). Instead of framing other firemen, Montag should have approached the matter in a more subtle way. Granger demonstrated how he and the other hobos had each memorized portions of books. When the public was ready, these books could be reprinted, redistributed, and reread. Montag shows that he has comprehended a vast amount in a short amount of time when he quotes and alludes to the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible: “To everything there is a season. Yes. A time to break down, and a time to build up. Yes. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. Yes, all that” (167). He makes this allusion to demonstrate the wide spectrum of knowledge that he’s gained over these past couple days. This shows that Montag is coming to an understanding of most things that have occurred in the past couple of weeks. All of the chaos and madness were just a part of the breaking down and silence. The breaking down and the silence were necessary, because now the building up and the speaking can happen. Sometimes, in life, bad things have to happen, just so people can truly appreciate the good when it comes around. This is what is currently taking place in Montag’s life. At this moment, Montag has finally almost completely adjusted who he was compared to a mere few weeks ago. Bradbury takes advantage of imagery in this portion of the book. Before reciting the quote from Ecclesiastes, Montag “felt the slow stir of words, the slow simmer” (166). These words help the reader picture Montag and the hesitation, pauses, and gentle determination he had. The phrase also doubles as an example of alliteration by utilizing words all beginning with an S. This alliteration creates a consistent pattern that catches the reader’s eye and causes attention to the phrase. It also helps the sentence flow more easily.
Montag, the main character of Fahrenheit 451, is clearly shown to have experienced significant change. Though he started as a fireman absorbed in only his life, he finishes as someone more conscious of the world and its problems. Montag might have always had it in him to change the world and fight for what he believed. Perhaps it took something like the sheer madness to provoke the fighter within. It is possible that the hunger for literature was always within Montag; he just needed some help bringing it out. In the past, collecting and storing books at his house was his silent way of revolting. It is probable that Montag had had minute glimmers of doubts, only to be forgotten moments later while back at his glorious job. Though he had seemed self-assured when the book began, the opposite might have been true. His passion for his job might have just been a veneer. In the end, it is proven that it took more than just one instance to reveal Montag’s true personality. Bradbury utilizes Montag to exhibit that like an onion, just one inkling of ambiguity or the peeling away of one layer, is not enough to completely reinvent or reveal someone’s true character. It takes multiple tries, multiple attempts, multiple peelings, to finally discover what actually lies within a person.
