Guy Montag is a fireman who lives with his wife Mildred. Every day he gets up, sees Mildred watching the parlor walls, goes to work, burns books, comes home and sees Mildred watching the parlor walls, and goes to bed. His life is almost always like this until he experiences an awakening. Montag now sees the sad, empty, and censored lives him and everyone he knows is living. This awakening is influenced by Clarisse, Mildred, and Faber. Witnessing the contrasting ways in how Clarisse and Mildred carried themselves through life showed Montag the difference between actually living life, rather than just existing. Faber, using his extensive literary knowledge and knowledge of the previous world, teaches Montag the true importance of reading. Montag was awakened to his true self, the true state of the people around him, and the true power of books.
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She is different from everyone else because she actually watches the world around her: “‘I like to smell things and look at things, and sometimes, stay up all night, walking, and watch the sunrise’” (5). Clarisse’s behaviors begin to rub off on Montag. He starts asking more questions about the world, and himself. She is like a mirror that Montag sees his true self in: “Impossible: for how many people did you know that refracted your own light to you?” (8). When Clarisse asks if Montag is happy, it triggers a crucial moment of self-reflection. He realizes he is not happy and knows Clarisse brought on this moment: “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). There is no way for Montag to return to his prior state of blissful ignorance after Clarisse opened his eyes to the emptiness of his life. This was the self-discovery part of Montag’s
She is different from everyone else because she actually watches the world around her: “‘I like to smell things and look at things, and sometimes, stay up all night, walking, and watch the sunrise’” (5). Clarisse’s behaviors begin to rub off on Montag. He starts asking more questions about the world, and himself. She is like a mirror that Montag sees his true self in: “Impossible: for how many people did you know that refracted your own light to you?” (8). When Clarisse asks if Montag is happy, it triggers a crucial moment of self-reflection. He realizes he is not happy and knows Clarisse brought on this moment: “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). There is no way for Montag to return to his prior state of blissful ignorance after Clarisse opened his eyes to the emptiness of his life. This was the self-discovery part of Montag’s