In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Guy
Montag is the main character in which the novel is all about. He is a firefighter in a town that is not
named. Instead of putting out fires, he
creates them. At this time in history,
which is in the twenty-fourth century, books are illegal to own. If you are caught hiding books, the house
that they are in is soaked with kerosene and lit with fire. You had better hope you did not have anything
special in your house at that time.
The first
sentence in the novel is, “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 3). It is stating that Guy Montag enjoys the
sounds and smells of books being burned.
“’Kerosene is nothing but perfume to me’” (Bradbury 6). Right now he finds comfort in setting books
ablaze, but that all changes when he meets a seventeen year old. Her name is Clarisse. “Her face was slender and milk-white, and in
it was a kind of gentle hunger that touched over everything with tireless
curiosity. It was a look, almost, of pale surprise; the dark eyes were so fixed
to the world that no move escaped them. Her dress was white and it whispered” (Bradbury
5). They meet each other after guy gets
off work and is heading home. As soon as
they start talking, they hit it off.
Something about Clarisse, makes Guy
Montag feel like he is doing the wrong job.
He feels this way even more after he is called to an elderly woman’s
house. At her home she had books in
hiding. Firefighters soaked her whole
house in gasoline and told her to get out.
Instead, she pulled out a match and lit the fire with her still in the
house. This image was permanently etched
into Guy’s brain. He decided that he
wanted to take some time off of his job.
“’Mildred, how would it be if, well, maybe, I quit my job awhile?’”
(Bradbury 51)
Guy Montag now wants to put a stop
to burning books. We will see how that
turns out..
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York : Del
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