Saturday, August 21, 2010

Fahrenheit 451: Society's Effects on Montag

There are a couple of reasons why Guy is losing his mind. The first reason is because of Clarisse. She sees the world from a totally radical viewpoint. She sees the hidden beauties in everything like the clouds and the fresh air and even the actions of her fellow human beings, being good actions or actions that are potentially harmful, or even fatal, like what inevitably happens to her because of her love. Her world is full of love for everything, especially her family and the way she holds herself. She is excited to ask questions and expects to receive answers. These odd ways of life inspire Montag to think about what he is doing with his life. He realizes that there is really no meaning to why he is even a member of society. Montag is also confused by why the books are illegal. He is not entirely sure why his job is necessary, and since Clarisse inspired him to think about what he is doing, he is also inspired to think about what the firemen in general are doing. He wonders why the books are so "bad," and he even creates a stash of them for his own enjowment. Unfortunately, this interest in the books becomes too great to keep hidden, and he shows the stash to his wife, Mildred. Together, the blunder through the twenty or so books he has hidden as fast as possible because Beatty is right outside, and he will burn the books and their house if he finds them. Honestly, society puts all this pressure on Montag to find out what is inside the books because they are against the law. The human mind is amazing: as soon as something becomes different, it asks why it is now different. As soon as Montag finds out books had not always been illegal, he instantly wants to find out why they are now illegal. And what is the better place to start his search than at the source of the hostility? So, like a true idiot, Montag steals his first book and is sucked into the story of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 to await inevitable doom in the sands of time.

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