In the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Montag reflects on the life he was falsely living and this shows how people can turn their life around just by thinking about it a little. When Montag meets Clarisse, she asks him, “Are you happy?” And, while Montag did respond by saying, “Of course,” he keeps thinking about it, almost as if doubting his own words. After Clarisse leaves, Montag discusses the idea of his self-happiness with the walls of his house, showing that he is doing is self-assuring his “happiness”. This also made Montag remember the encounter with the old man in the park (later named Faber) and according to this event, which is later recalled in the story, the conversation between them was how the world they lived in was corrupted with the loss of books. You can question Montag’s happiness with the last two encounters with Clarisse and Faber. Another example of Montag reflecting on the choices he made in life was when Clarisse showed him to be curious and adventurous, and taste the rain. The statement that had the most effect on Montag was, “Sometimes I forget you’re even a fireman,” (Bradbury 23) in the book, firemen are talked about being hated and hating, yet Clarisse denies Montag from it. While Montag did make bad choices in his life and maybe in some way, was “oblivious” to his life, he did try to turn things around for himself. This is shown when he tries to cooperate with Faber and make a plan, involving framing the other firemen to get the rest of the people in the city to hate the firemen for HAVING books. His plan backfire swhen Beatty discovers that Montag has kept more books in his house. Trying to reflect upon yourself will leave you trying to answer questions, but in the end, will leave you with even more questions. People questioned on their life ask themselves, “Am I truly happy?” Sometimes you’re faced with intriguing choices to make on whether to keep living the way you are, or to try something new. Yet…
