Is Montag Truly A Fearless Fir Essay, Research Paper

Is Montag Truly a Fearless Fireman?

Farenheit 451 is a futuristic novel that concentrates on the forbidden

act of reading, for this may encourage thinking. Guy Montag, the main

character, is a fireman. Today, we translate the word “fireman” as someone

who extinguishes fire, but in the setting and time of this novel, “fireman” has

a whole different meaning than what we are accustomed to. Instead of putting

out fires, Montag has the job of burning any books that can be found. His

character significantly changes throughout the novel, going from ruthless and

hated to sympathetic and trusted.

As the novel begins, Guy Montag is a fireman who enjoys his work,

which, unfortunately, is to find and burn books. He is extremely apathetic to

the people whom the books belong, but does not realize the impact that his

job may have on some people and the damage he is actually doing. Montag

seems to love destruction, for no given or noticeable reason. He even takes

on the appearance of a serpent in the line, “with this great python spitting

its venomous kerosene upon the world…” (p3). Even though Montag seems

to be tough, he is very kind to Clarisse, the girl who had recently become his

neighbor. Clarisse tells Montag that she is seventeen and crazy, but after

listening to her thoughts on nature, among other things, he comes to

appreciate her insight. This appreciation shows the softening of Montag’s

hard shell.

As Clarisse begins to walk with Montag daily, he grows fond of her

and starts to enjoy her company. He constantly remembers the question

she asked him in the beginning of the novel, “Are you happy?” (p10). After

several conversations with Clarisse, he realizes that he is not truly happy

with his marriage, his job, or his life in general. He admits to the readers that

he has married a selfish, lazy woman. Through this view into Montag’s

personal life, he becomes more human in the eyes of the reader.

Montag witnesses a horrible occurance. A woman remained in her

home while it was burned. He begins to see the wrongdoing in his work and

starts to rebel against his original belief system by stealing and reading books.

This act leads him to appreciate imagination and thoughtfulness. At this point

in the story, the reader no longer dislikes Montag, but is drawn to like him

after seeing his characteristic changes. By reading, Montag takes many risks,

and eventually becomes an outcast to his own town and home. In the end,

he saves the town that was against him, turning him into a hero, just like in

the books he has read.

Although Montag is originally portrayed to be a monster, the reader

learns that he is completely human. This character changes so signficantly

that it is nearly impossible to feel the same way about Montag in the end

as the beginning. He has been changed from a feared and ruthless fireman

to an admired and trusted hero.