The Changes of Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451 Essay Example

Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader, stated, “it is about collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live. The word solitary can be defined as “being, living, or going alone or without companions”, whereas collective is when an individual is acting together in a group. The novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury takes place in 2049 and depicts the troubles that Guy Montag faces in a dystopic society. Ray Bradbury imagines a world in which technology is all-powerful and anything or anyone who challenges it is ostracized. It is a totalitarian society that does not allow books and uses fear to maintain control. Ray Bradbury demonstrates the use of fear through a character named, Guy Montag, who is a fireman who starts fires by burning books rather than extinguishing them. Montag gradually develops from a man that has no worries or concerns in the world to someone who demands action and pushes for change resulting in him becoming wiser, imaginative, more intelligent, and collective.

In Part I “The Hearth and the Salamander” Montag enjoys his job as a fireman who burns illegally owned books and the homes of their owners. However, Montag promptly begins to doubt the worth of his profession, and thus his life. Montag meets a unique and new neighbor named Clarisse McClellan, a 17-year-old. Since Montag is a fireman, she is instantly drawn to him and his uniform. Clarisse informs Montag that she is "crazy," then goes on to say that she believes the initial mission of firemen was to extinguish flames rather than commencing them. Clarrise promptly begins to ask Montag questions and wants to know about his personal life. Montag is surprised and curious why Clarrise is not like the rest of their technologically driven society. Clarisse changes Montag's perception of why they are extinguishing books. Later that week, the firemen's alarm was sounded, and they went to an old lady's home who possessed many books. When the firemen were burning the books, the elderly lady jumped into the fire and commits suicide. During that period Montag steals a book from the old lady's home and brings it back to his house and shows Mildred. In the text, it states, “He kept moving his hand and dropping books, small ones, fairly large ones, yellow, red, green ones. When he was done, he looked down upon some twenty books lying at his wife’s feet. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t really think. But now it looks as if we’re in this together.” (Bradbury 63) Montag stole the books by himself and then included his wife Mildred. He is on his own rebellion against the government and questions if books will provide the cure to happiness. Mildred tries to burn the books in a panic but Montag stops her and has a conversation. Montag informs Mildred “there must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”(Bradbury 48) He is attempting to persuade her that there must be something meaningful in books for a woman to lay down her life for them. Montag continues to wonder why the firemen burn books and realize that they are significant, though he doesn't perceive why.

In Part II “The Sieve and the Sand” Montag meets an English professor named Faber. Faber reads from the Book of Job, a section of the Bible in which God and Satan wager on Job's ability to remain faithful to God in the face of adversity. Faber encourages Montag to persevere despite the difficulties of his task, although Montag is becoming tired of mindlessly following orders from others and becoming suspicious of Faber's orders. Faber, in turn, praises him for developing independent thought. When Montag speaks to Faber, he states “we have everything we need to be happy, but we aren't happy. Something's missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I'd burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help."(Bradbury 82)  He says this when he goes to Faber's house and asks him why no one listens to him. Montag believes that the books themselves are what he requires but, Faber instructs him that it is the knowledge contained within the books that he requires. Montag and Faber discuss an attack on the firemen.

In Part III “Burning Bright” Mildred caused the fire alarm to report the books in the house. While Captin Beatty appears to regret what he has to do to Montag, he taunts him and tells him that he has given him numerous warnings about what might happen. Finally, during Beatty's meeting with Montag, Montag is forced to set fire to his own home. Fueled with anger and hatred Montag directs his flamethrower at Captian Beatty and sets him on fire. Montag runs away and grabs some books that he hid inside of his backyard. While Montag was on the run, he noticed he had wanted around the city. Montag felt that he must frame other firemen who burned homes so he hid books in each one of their houses. He ran over to Faber's house, and they made a plan on how they would escape. When Montag has a departure with Faber, Faber says "I'll tend to it. Good luck. If we're both in good health, next week, the week after, get in touch. General Delivery, St. Louis. I'm sorry there's no way I can go with you this time, by earphones. (Bradbury 139). It demonstrates that Montag has evolved from a character who had a mission by himself into having other people involved in his goal of giving people the freedom to read books.

Montag and Faber are acting as a group and not individuals separated by a cold empty society.

Montag changed drastically throughout Farenheight 451, he began from a lost and empty person in their society into a revolutionary who is pushing for change. Through the help of Clarrise and Faber, they worked collectively to make a change in their society. There is a saying from a British writer named C.S Lewis, who stated that “two heads are better than one.” Meaning that if one person works alone they will not get to their goal as quickly as the two people working together can come up with a better and more efficient solution. When a group of people helps one another the person will be more attentive and mindful of their surroundings, just like the protagonist, Guy Montag.