Happiness In Fahrenheit 451 Essay
Without happiness, sadness cannot exist. In today’s society, happiness and sadness coexist and form an unbreakable bond. In Ray Bradbury's book, Fahrenheit 451, that bond does not exist. In this book, the main character, Guy Montag, desperately wants to be happy; but society tells him to stay neutral. Montag realizes that he never really happily married his wife when he meets a clever girl named Clarisse McClellan. Montag breaks free of society’s expectations with the help of Clarisse, by learning about the past, and through his own, more literal, battles to finally achieve true happiness. “Are you happy?” Clarisse asks Montag (7). Such a simple question caused Montag to rethink everything he was comfortable with in his life. He realizes that his marriage
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to his wife, Mildred, has never been happy. In fact, he cannot even remember when and where they first met. In his defense, though, neither can Mildred; and frankly, she cannot care less. In the long run, it turns out Clarisse is actually a catalyst for Montag to take a stand against society and Captain Beatty alike. Montag realizes shortly after meeting Clarisse that she mostly talked about her uncle’s experiences. “...His grandfather remembered when children didn’t kill each other,” Clarisse tells Montag, “But that was a long time ago when they had things different.” (27). Clarisse wants him to realize as well that he is a remarkable man and for Montag to know that her uncle does, in fact, know a great deal about the past. Montag does not believe much of what Clarisse says about her uncle, but subconsciously starts to believe what Clarisse tells him. On one occasion, Montag has to go burn down an unnamed woman’s house because she has illegal books.
The woman ends up starting the fire and burning with her books, and when Montag sees what she does first hand, it begins to bother him. He brings this scene up to his wife in a way that seems like he wants to prove to everyone else in society that he is not the only person that feels this way. This is also the first time Montag goes to steal a book; coincidentally, the book is the last known remaining copy of the Bible. Another incident, was when Montag was on the subway, and an advertisement for Denham’s Dentifrice, a type of dental detergent, came on, causing Montag to stand up on the subway yelling “Shut up, shut up, shut up!” because he was trying to remember the lilies of the field from a part of the Bible (74-76). To conclude, in Bradbury’s book, happiness is an illusion to the majority of society and they never truly experience happiness or sadness. From Montag’s point of view, he goes against everything he has ever known to reach true happiness, whether he realizes it or not. Montag meets Clarisse, the curious neighbor, learns about the past, and struggles through first hand battles to attain
happiness.
to his wife, Mildred, has never been happy. In fact, he cannot even remember when and where they first met. In his defense, though, neither can Mildred; and frankly, she cannot care less. In the long run, it turns out Clarisse is actually a catalyst for Montag to take a stand against society and Captain Beatty alike. Montag realizes shortly after meeting Clarisse that she mostly talked about her uncle’s experiences. “...His grandfather remembered when children didn’t kill each other,” Clarisse tells Montag, “But that was a long time ago when they had things different.” (27). Clarisse wants him to realize as well that he is a remarkable man and for Montag to know that her uncle does, in fact, know a great deal about the past. Montag does not believe much of what Clarisse says about her uncle, but subconsciously starts to believe what Clarisse tells him. On one occasion, Montag has to go burn down an unnamed woman’s house because she has illegal books.
The woman ends up starting the fire and burning with her books, and when Montag sees what she does first hand, it begins to bother him. He brings this scene up to his wife in a way that seems like he wants to prove to everyone else in society that he is not the only person that feels this way. This is also the first time Montag goes to steal a book; coincidentally, the book is the last known remaining copy of the Bible. Another incident, was when Montag was on the subway, and an advertisement for Denham’s Dentifrice, a type of dental detergent, came on, causing Montag to stand up on the subway yelling “Shut up, shut up, shut up!” because he was trying to remember the lilies of the field from a part of the Bible (74-76). To conclude, in Bradbury’s book, happiness is an illusion to the majority of society and they never truly experience happiness or sadness. From Montag’s point of view, he goes against everything he has ever known to reach true happiness, whether he realizes it or not. Montag meets Clarisse, the curious neighbor, learns about the past, and struggles through first hand battles to attain
happiness.