Fahrenheit 451

Bradbury wrote the conclusion of the novel to make the readers believe that Montag will be ultimately happy with the book people. I think that subconsciously Montag was always against society and that once he found the book the book people he finally felt that he had a place to belong. We see this through how courteous the book people are to him and how Montag is so accepting of their hospitality. When they give him coffee or help him to escape his old life by giving him a drink to change his scent, it shows their friendship starting to build. Bradbury ends the novel by Montag and the book people walking away from the destroyed city with high hopes that they will be able to rebuild a new civilization, which is what all of them wanted and if you get what you want, you should be happy. Montag will be much happier with the book people because for once he can finally have an intellectual conversation with someone and exchange knowledge. The end of the novel ends on a more optimistic vibe because it shows the heros walking away with good intentions of re building a better society. The knowledge these men keep alive will be able to re start society one day. If Bradbury somehow brought Clarisse back into the story and she asked for a second time if Montag happy, he would have an unhesitant answer and say “Yes”.

A. Mildred’s suicide attempt evoked indifference to the readers because Bradbury did not build up her character to make us feel attached to her. Mildreds attempted suicide did not make the reader feel sympathetic towards her, instead it made us better able to comprehend how pathetic of a lifestyle she is actually living. Although there is no sympathy for Mildred, there is an indirect sympathy for Montag through her suicide attempt because we see how much he cares by how upset he gets over this situation.

B. Clarisse’s disappearance didn’t make the reader feel sympathetic either because of her character being so minor in the novel we were not able to