“Part of it is living in Tennessee. I'm so out of the loop. And as a person, I'm out of the loop. I'm oblivious by nature”, said Ann Patchett. This dilemma is faced by many in the book Fahrenheit 451. This book, written by Ray Bradbury in 1953 depicts a disturbing future backed by a culture of obliviousness and the principle ‘ignorance is bliss’. In this society the public servant known today as a Fireman has the exact opposite purpose he does now-- to start fires and burn books. Montag is a fireman, and the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451. Montag’s positive perception of fire changes as he starts to discover more about the world around him through books and experiences, which in turn triggers the development of a moral compass and paradigm shift
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When Clarisse is introduced into the life of Montag, he instantly feels unnerved and frustrated. When he thought about her after their initial meeting, he described her qualities: “How like a mirror, too, her face. Impossible; for how many people did you know that refracted your own light to you? How rarely did other people’s faces take of you and throw back to you your own expression, your own innermost thought?” (Bradbury 8). He tried to describe her visage, and thought about how, basically, she was able to read him and know so much about him. According to Bradbury, this deep thought on a topic is very new to Montag, and his reflection on this is new to him, indicating a paradigm shift in his approach to life.Clarisse abases his reality and way of life in a few short moments. She asks him if he was happy, and he later comes to the startling realization that “he was not happy” (Bradbury 9). Before the meeting, Montag “[thought] little at all about nothing in particular” and now the happiness and completion he thought he felt was erased (Bradbury 2). This particular change is a paradigm shift, the reality he lived and the happiness he thought he felt is changed and erased due to Clarisse’s presence. These realizations and seemingly forced shifts are changing as his perception of his reality and fire
When Clarisse is introduced into the life of Montag, he instantly feels unnerved and frustrated. When he thought about her after their initial meeting, he described her qualities: “How like a mirror, too, her face. Impossible; for how many people did you know that refracted your own light to you? How rarely did other people’s faces take of you and throw back to you your own expression, your own innermost thought?” (Bradbury 8). He tried to describe her visage, and thought about how, basically, she was able to read him and know so much about him. According to Bradbury, this deep thought on a topic is very new to Montag, and his reflection on this is new to him, indicating a paradigm shift in his approach to life.Clarisse abases his reality and way of life in a few short moments. She asks him if he was happy, and he later comes to the startling realization that “he was not happy” (Bradbury 9). Before the meeting, Montag “[thought] little at all about nothing in particular” and now the happiness and completion he thought he felt was erased (Bradbury 2). This particular change is a paradigm shift, the reality he lived and the happiness he thought he felt is changed and erased due to Clarisse’s presence. These realizations and seemingly forced shifts are changing as his perception of his reality and fire