In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the fake and moronic society is given “happiness” which is really television walls, drugs, illiteracy, and money. This “happiness” substitutes for the community members’ attitudes, appearance, health, and feelings. This “happiness” is like a mask because masks are worn and their happiness is worn but not attached also. They are masking their personalities and their original thoughts and ideas. Montag’s happiness was also like a mask because it is fake and is able to be taken off or destroyed. The society is also so caught up in the television walls and having fun, that they do what they are told to do even if they do not know they are. They are also dull and stupid but told that they are awesome, when they
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Early in the story, when Montag is walking home from work one day when he pauses because he has super powers and feels the presence of someone. That someone turns out to be a girl named Clarisse McClellan, who has an oddball family. Clarisse asks Montag too many questions and is also very curious. At the end of their long conversation, as they walk home, Clarisse asks Montag if he is happy. This question leads him to realizing that he is not happy thereby stealing the ‘mask’ which was his dull fake happiness of a life. “He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back” (9). This means that a girl (Clarisse McClellan), by asking him if he were happy, made him fight with himself if he were really happy or not which lead him to know that all happiness he ever knew was really fake. This also means that he cannot go back in time an hour to tell her to never ask him if he were happy so things would go back to the horrible fake way they were. This is the reason why Guy Montag realizes he is not happy for the very first time. Ray Bradbury even repeats, “He was not happy. He was not happy.” (9). Montag’s unhappiness is shown by his smile, fake, unneeded, and sadly
Early in the story, when Montag is walking home from work one day when he pauses because he has super powers and feels the presence of someone. That someone turns out to be a girl named Clarisse McClellan, who has an oddball family. Clarisse asks Montag too many questions and is also very curious. At the end of their long conversation, as they walk home, Clarisse asks Montag if he is happy. This question leads him to realizing that he is not happy thereby stealing the ‘mask’ which was his dull fake happiness of a life. “He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back” (9). This means that a girl (Clarisse McClellan), by asking him if he were happy, made him fight with himself if he were really happy or not which lead him to know that all happiness he ever knew was really fake. This also means that he cannot go back in time an hour to tell her to never ask him if he were happy so things would go back to the horrible fake way they were. This is the reason why Guy Montag realizes he is not happy for the very first time. Ray Bradbury even repeats, “He was not happy. He was not happy.” (9). Montag’s unhappiness is shown by his smile, fake, unneeded, and sadly