Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 :: Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451

"Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years and he had never questioned the joy of the midnight runs, nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames†¦never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid. Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think†¦and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do! (Ray Bradbury-Fahrenheit 451)". Was Guy Montag the same person at both the beginning and end of Fahrenheit 451? The answer to this question is a definite no. Montag transformed dramatically throughout the story. He started as a person of ignorance, but ended a man of enlightenment and intelligence. Montag embarked on his journey as a fireman who lived to burn and destroy books, but returned a crusader who lived to save them. "It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spouting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of an amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters of history. With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. (Ray Bradbury-Fahrenheit 451, page 3)". In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag was happy on the outside. He enjoyed burning books for a living, and believed that his marriage and all-around life fulfilled him. However, deep within, Montag really wasn't happy. His marriage was far from perfect. He and Mildred seldom spoke of subjects which h eld any meaning. They showed little or no love for each other. Seemingly, they had little in common. Deep within himself, Montag knew something was wrong. What sparked Montag to change was Clarisse, who was the catalyst of Montag's huge transformation. Clarisse brought questions and emotions into Montag's life that he had never experienced or seen in anyone before. She questioned things such as society, the world, other people, and everything around her. She thought about life, looking for real answers and meanings.