Montag’s Transformation As people mature and get to better know the world around them, they then to truly develop their own ideas and opinions of the world and how it works. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the protagonist Guy Montag undergoes such a transformation, in that he starts as a mindless citizen of the government, to becoming a rebellious individual who defies and opposes the government. An astoundingly significant part of his transformations are the interactions that he has with the new characters that he meets throughout the novel. Montag, in the beginning of the book, is a destroyer of books, taking pride in his role in society. However, as a result of his changes, he becomes a protector of the very knowledge
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It was through these conversations that first began his transformation. “’Kerosene,’ he said, because the silence had lengthened, ‘is nothing but perfume to me’” (Bradbury 6). This quote, stated by Montag in dialogue with Clarisse, shows the arrogance and misconceptions he had, about his job. He was so prideful of his role that he did not once stop to think, that he could be hated in society by others. Later, Clarisse questioned Montag, “Are you happy?...Happy! Of all the nonsense” (Bradbury 10). The significance of this quote, was that is showed the single most important component of Montag’s transformation. It is through this question, that Montag began to transform. The night after this question was asked, Montag realized several things about himself: he was not happy, his life was a lie, and he had more questions about society and the …show more content…
After growing restless and angry about the conversation he had heard, Montag burst out, “Oh God, the way they jabber about people and their own children and themselves and the way they talk about their husbands and the way they talk about war, dammit, I stand here and I can’t believe it!” (Bradbury 98). In other words, Montag was expressing his outrage and frustration at the content of the women’s conversation, due to the triviality and lack of actual meaning of the words that he had heard. He was knowingly breaking the law, risking everything he had, just to make those women see what he saw as the truth, that books contained meaning instead of being lifeless, and that it was the discussions the women held that lacked meaning. Montag also says to the women, “Go home and think how it all happened and what did you ever do to stop it? Go home, go home!” (Bradbury 101). In this quote, Montag is further expressing his outrage. He yells at the women complaining about their problems, who do not take their problems seriously and never try to do anything about them. For the Montag before the change, this action would have been unthinkable and unimaginable, for he would have never become angry at the meaning of the conversation, because he would not have truly thought about it. But now, because he is capable of thinking, and
It was through these conversations that first began his transformation. “’Kerosene,’ he said, because the silence had lengthened, ‘is nothing but perfume to me’” (Bradbury 6). This quote, stated by Montag in dialogue with Clarisse, shows the arrogance and misconceptions he had, about his job. He was so prideful of his role that he did not once stop to think, that he could be hated in society by others. Later, Clarisse questioned Montag, “Are you happy?...Happy! Of all the nonsense” (Bradbury 10). The significance of this quote, was that is showed the single most important component of Montag’s transformation. It is through this question, that Montag began to transform. The night after this question was asked, Montag realized several things about himself: he was not happy, his life was a lie, and he had more questions about society and the …show more content…
After growing restless and angry about the conversation he had heard, Montag burst out, “Oh God, the way they jabber about people and their own children and themselves and the way they talk about their husbands and the way they talk about war, dammit, I stand here and I can’t believe it!” (Bradbury 98). In other words, Montag was expressing his outrage and frustration at the content of the women’s conversation, due to the triviality and lack of actual meaning of the words that he had heard. He was knowingly breaking the law, risking everything he had, just to make those women see what he saw as the truth, that books contained meaning instead of being lifeless, and that it was the discussions the women held that lacked meaning. Montag also says to the women, “Go home and think how it all happened and what did you ever do to stop it? Go home, go home!” (Bradbury 101). In this quote, Montag is further expressing his outrage. He yells at the women complaining about their problems, who do not take their problems seriously and never try to do anything about them. For the Montag before the change, this action would have been unthinkable and unimaginable, for he would have never become angry at the meaning of the conversation, because he would not have truly thought about it. But now, because he is capable of thinking, and