Heera Ramaswamy Mrs.

Keating English I Honors Fahrenheit 451 Essay In the book Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury utilizes a dystopia in order to create a dull, mindless society from which the main character, Guy Montag, will stray after he evolves out of his old conformist ways. Unlike the other members of the society, who are blinded by the condescending actions of the government, Montag carries the ability to self reflect and truly see the sorrow, confusion, and emptiness within his soul. Montag eventually does possess the capability to think for himself and take responsibility for his actions, but there are many people who influence his personality, his thoughts, and his beliefs in order to create this overall transformation. Mildred, Clarisse, and Beatty have effective impacts on Montag. Montags wife, Mildred, has an unusual, special spot in his heart. Though he loves her very much, Montag knows that Millie is not aware of the terrors that are happening in society. Mildred is too caught up in the parlor walls, the metaphorical televisions, uses them as her escape from reality, and purposefully chooses to stay a conformist. Montag tries, several times, to force Mildred into seeing what she didnt want to, but she is too obliviously determined in staying within her strict boundaries of conformity. Mildred causes a realization in Montag when she invites her friends over to watch a program on the parlor walls. When the ladies arrive, Montag listens to their conversations to find that the ladies are straying far away from their full potential. Their conversations from that night consist of one lady complimenting another, and the receiver of the compliment repeating what the first had already said. After seeing Mildred being so soulless, Montag gains the ability to take a step back and analyze the situation as a whole. This positively affects Montag since he now knows that a vast amount of citizens in their city are being

intimidated into the fake happiness. Moreover, this night is the turning point in Montags mentality; after getting a first-hand experience, Montag becomes a non-conformist, unleashing his potential in making changes towards the better for his society. Clarisse is the catalyst of change in Montag. She ignites the spark that first opens Montags eyes to the terrible environment that surrounds him. Her observant, open-minded, and empathetic behavior makes his senses come alive and his mind goes through many unexpected twists and turns. During their very first conversation, she openly asks him, Are you happy? (Bradbury 10) and for the first time in his life, Montag falters, unable to answer a question automatically. Later that night, something unexpected happens to Montag; he remembers the exact conversation, her personality, and the way she looks, and these thoughts stay imprinted in his mind forever. More importantly though, Montag ponders upon this questions and becomes conscious of the fact that he wears happiness like a mask, a pretense that everyone else in society is also holding. Upon seeing that his answer to Clarisses question is an obvious no, Montag begins to notice other little details that all add up to his transformation into non-conformity. For example, he starts to see details in nature that he would have easily overlooked before, like the blurs of objects while he was driving on the highway. All of these elements add to the fact that Montag is not mindless anymore and that he can finally take responsibility over his own actions, while actually realizing what he is doing. Captain Beatty, the fire chief, has an ironically positive effect on Montag. He is the head fireman and believed deeply in the fact that fires should be exercised to purify the city by destroying books. Initially, Montag respects Beatty and looks up to him with much reverence, but within the first section of the book, Beatty begins to turn on Montag. He realizes that Beatty is actually never trying to do what is best for him. Though Beatty causes the harsh and cruel side of

Montag to come out, he also helps push Montag even further away from conformity. After an especially eye-opening day at work, Montag stays home in order to relax and have some time to analyze the situation that he has cornered himself into. However, Beatty decides to make a visit to Montags house and tries to enlighten him subliminally as to why Montag should either burn the book he stole or hand it in. Due to hearing the fast-paced, confusing mess of quotations, explanations, and anecdotes, Montag reaches the turning point in his life and decides to read the book he has stashed away. The ironically positive effect that rises from this is that Montag overcomes his fears, lets out his pent up anger, and seeks answers himself, even though Beatty is trying to intimidate Montag away from the knowledge confined in the books. Furthermore, Montags new attitude towards Beatty shows that he gains a newfound confidence in his actions and that he has the ability to stand up for his opinions, thoughts, and beliefs. Beattys speech is what causes him to bring books into society, once even publicly on the subway. From this point onwards, Montag openly declares himself as a non-conformist and starts breaking the rules of society, which Beatty is trying so hard to maintain. Overall, Montag needs the help of many people in his life to become the hero that the city is vying for. The journey from being one of the mindless to being one of the most insightful people revolves around the characters of Mildred, Clarisse, and Beatty. They all bring his attention to the fakeness of society and what Montag can do it make it better. Also, they teach him things like being empathetic, opening his eyes to the world, and how to get the answers that his mind is wishing for. Montag changes from thinking that It was a pleasure to burn. (Bradbury 3) to thinking that his previous city never burned right. Even though the characters themselves suffer from terrible endings, they eventually sway Montags future into a more positive and hopeful one.