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How Does Montag Change In Fahrenheit 451

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A fire starts out as a small match, and it moves to a roaring flame. Guy Montag is also a simple match when he is introduced in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. He starts out as a casual fireman, and he is hypnotized by society. Montag’s life sees a spark of change as the story begins. Many events influence his characteristics. When he is filling a house with kerosene and the lady inside voluntarily remains inside to burn. When the house is finally ignited, Montag suddenly ponders why a person would die over books. He fights to find a clear answer and discovers that only books can restore thought to society. Montag is a changing character throughout the novel. Like a match held to a newspaper, Montag’s mind starts searing away in thought. …show more content…

The second stage of transformation occurs when Montag spreads his flame to Faber. Faber is like a dry log sitting in the hearth. Montag is the match to release Faber’s energy and spread the heat. When Faber does not agree to join the movement, “His (Montag’s) hands, by themselves, like two men working together, began to rip the pages from the book. The hands tore the flyleaf and then the first and then the second page.” (84) Ripping these pages shows his decision to strengthen a movement or destroy society. He rips pages out of the Bible because he knows it will earn Faber’s attention and effort. After he agrees, Montag and Faber plan to print books and implant them in firemen’s houses. By joining with Faber, Montag turns his feelings of being lost and ignorant into actions to change society. He is becoming a more independent character as the effects of the dystopia disintegrate and rush away from him like smoke. As the flames grow, Beatty, the captain of Montag’s fire station, is water. Beatty knows what Montag is doing. Montag counters this resistance as he says, “You always said, don't face a problem, burn it. Well, now I've done both. Good-bye, Captain.” (115) Montag means that Beatty never actually solved problems, he just burns them and hopes they go away, so he kills his captain with the wrath of his flamethrower. These actions show Montag’s determination to do what is right. By this stage, Montag has changed from a …show more content…

“There was a silly bird called a Phoenix back before Christ, every few hundred years he built a pyre and burned himself up. He must have been first cousin to Man. But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again.” (156) The Phoenix is now a massive symbol in the book. As Montag walks away from his past, he has more of a purpose and sense of happiness then he ever had before in the city, just like when a Phoenix rises from its own ashes more beautiful than before. Granger mentions looking back on his past as he says, “Come on now, we’re going to go build a mirror factory first and put out nothing but mirrors for the next year and take a long look in them.” (157) Granger means that humanity should take a long look at itself and what is behind it. This will help it not repeat what happened in the past. Montag learns that he is only a small part of the larger picture from

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