Guy Montag in “Fahrenheit 451”

In this futuristic world Guy Montag is a firemen and as long as anyone can remember they've been starting fires instead of preventing and putting them out. They burn books based on one reason, they're trying to keep the peace. Books provide knowledge to these people who read them which makes them more superior almost to others. As the firemen and the government put it these authors don't know what they're talking about. They talk about fictional characters and disturbing topics, insane things that wouldn't happen everyday and people don't like that. They burn these books because they believe they're keeping the peace. But a select few who hide these books but unfortunately get caught think other wise.

The conflict is that Guy Montag meets Clarisse Mcclellan, a young seventeen year old girl. She makes him question anything he ever thought and loved (referring to his wife). One day she asks him Are you happy? and it just hits him. He gets more shaken up when he steals a book from an old lady's house him and his firemen burned down, burning the old lady down with it. He wonders why the books are so special that an old lady risked her life and died for them. Then he starts to steal books. He's fighting society to gain the right to read books.

The resolution is when he finds individualism against his oppressive government. Guy Montag has some struggles. His house gets burned down, his wife betrayed him, and he was almost killed multiple times. Guy Montag enters a new society. One where books are allowed. Each member of the community commits a book to memory and passes it down from generation to generation. When the real society is ready for books again, Guy and his companions will be ready and waiting. If he had not run away he would have lived a miserable life with his wife, who doesn't even care about him. Even though Guy Montag is different, there is a place where he finally fits in which is with his companions who enjoy books.

The setting impacts the plot. The setting is a futuristic world filled with technology, violence, and mind control. If he weren't in a futuristic society books would still be allowed. They wouldn't be burned but treasured. Firemen would be putting out fires instead of starting them. All would be well with the world. He wouldn't have become a fugitive and have to live a dead man to the world. Everyone would have a right to read books so he wouldn't have to fight the government.

The protagonist is Guy Montag. He is intelligent and brave. He is brave to go up against such a manipulative and strong government. He is most brave when he shot Beatty to run away a fugitive to preserve books for when people are ready for them. He is intelligent for seeing past the governments excuses and using his own mind to think. Instead of being like others , absorbed into the world of television he wants to see past that and be able to read books and spread the knowledge it gives them. He wants to see change and is a dynamic character. He believed the principles of the government but now is using his own mind to think. But for now he's doing all he can to preserve it with other people like him where he belongs.

A quote that I thought was interesting in the book was He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back. Although it was a simple question it held so much meaning within Guy Montag. He starts to realized all's not well with the world and later on he realizes he's happy with books. He realized his government can't make everyone happy like they want to.

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