Fahrenheit 451 Analysis

A Study on Montag’s Ideological Progression In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, the main character, Guy Montag, has many different shifts in attitude and thinking. Montag goes from being a mindless, government-operated drone, to a self-sustaining, enlightened thinker. In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, we are introduced to Montag, a fireman who makes fires instead of putting them out. He sees burning as a pleasure, and he hates books. However, once he meets Clarisse McClellan, his mind begins to blossom like a flower. Therefore, Montag’s ideological progression truly started when he met Clarisse.
At the end of Montag’s first meeting with Clarisse, Clarisse asks him, “Are you happy?” Montag then spends the entire night thinking about Clarisse and her question, even though his wife had just overdosed on sleeping pills. Next, when Clarisse rubs a dandelion on her chin, she claims that if it rubs off her chin, then she is in love. However, when Montag tries it, the dandelion does not rub off his chin, which, according to Clarisse, signifies that he is not in love. This prompts him to cry out in outrage, and claim that he is, in fact, in love. However, as the story progresses,
During this meeting, Faber and Montag formulate plans to take down the entire fireman system. They plan to hide books in the houses of firemen and in firehouses all across the country, and therefore cause all of the firehouses to be burned. While Montag is at Faber’s house, Montag threatens to rip apart a Bible, which could very possibly be one of the last Bibles in existence. Montag does this to force Faber to agree to teaching Montag how to be a critical thinker. This signifies that Montag’s ideas are shifting from a more peaceful outlook to a more violent and destructive one. Therefore, Montag’s meeting with Professor Faber is a big step in Montag’s ideological