Upon hearing this news, Montag feels even more ill.

He even allows for the perversion of history as it appears in When Montag is called to an unidentified woman's house "in the ancient part of the city," he is amazed to find that the woman will not abandon her home or her books. (Beatty seems to know, miraculously, that Montag stole a book — or books.) All rights reserved. In the beginning of the book, Guy Montag loves to burn books.

When atomic bombs destroy the city, the men set out to sift through the rubble and begin anew. She neglects Montag and lavishes her attention instead upon her television relatives. Her stubborn dignity compels him to discover for himself what is in books.If Clarisse renews his interest in the sheer excitement of life and Mildred reveals to him the unhappiness of an individual's existence in his society, the martyred woman represents for Montag the power of ideas and, hence, the power of books that his society struggles to suppress.When Mildred tells Montag that the McClellans moved away because Clarisse died in an automobile accident, Montag's dissatisfaction with his wife, his marriage, his job, and his life intensifies. Fearing for her own safety, Millie declares that she is innocent of any wrongdoing, and she says that Montag must leave her alone.After this confrontation with Millie, Montag entertains the idea of quitting his job, but instead, he decides to feign illness and goes to bed. Beatty, therefore, introduces the idea that death isn't something that people mourn at this time. As he becomes more aware of his unhappiness, he feels even more forced to smile the fraudulent, tight-mouthed smile that he has been wearing. The first incident is one in which he is called to an unidentified woman's house to destroy her books. Indeed, she is partly responsible for Montag's change in attitude. Her neighbor discovered her cache of books, so they must be burned. Clarisse has no rigid daily schedule: Montag is a creature of habit. He falls asleep that night with his stolen book hidden underneath his pillow.The next day, Montag refuses to attend work, claiming that he is sick. Television screens take up entire parlor room walls and characters can speak directly to the listener, addressing him or her by name. The second incident, which occurs later the same evening, is when Millie tells Montag that the McClellans have moved away because Clarisse died in an automobile accident — she was "run over by a car. Guy Montag is a fireman in charge of burning books in a grim, futuristic United States. When Millie sees Montag's cache of books, she panics. "You think too many things," he tells her.Despite all these differences, the two are attracted to one another. At once, the Faber provides refuge for Montag, who is being hotly pursued by a second Mechanical Hound and the authorities. The smile, just like his "burnt-corked" face, is a mask.You discover almost immediately (when Montag meets Clarisse McClellan) that he is not happy. Moreover, Montag seems to find something in Clarisse that is a long-repressed part of himself: "How like a mirror, too, her face. Guy hat schwarze Haare, rußfarbene Augenbrauen und bläulich wirkende Haut an den Stellen, an denen der Bart abrasiert ist (S. 48).

By comparing and contrasting the two characters, you can see that Bradbury portrays Clarisse as spontaneous and naturally curious; Montag is insincere and jaded.

In effect, Clarisse, in a very few meetings, exerts a powerful influence on Montag, and he is never able to find happiness in his former life again.Yet, if the water imagery of this early scene implies rebirth or regeneration, this imagery is also associated with the artificiality of the peoples' lives in the futuristic dystopia of Although she would never — or could never — admit it, Millie Montag isn't happy either. Later, Montag, too, turns his head upward into the early November rain in order to catch a mouthful of the cool liquid.

He questions why this particular fire call was such a difficult one to make, and he wonders why his hands seem like separate entities, hiding one of the woman's books under his coat. Montag fears that the dog can sense his growing unhappiness. Guy Montag gains humanity because he wants to change his way of thinking as well as others. from your Reading List will also remove any The implications of both concepts — one, a simple fact, and the other, a challenge to authority — gain immense significance by the conclusion of the book.Later, as Montag goes to sleep, he realizes that his smile still grips his face muscles, even in the dark. By Ray Bradbury. Mildred's friends react emotionally to Montag's reading, crying and not understanding the source of their tears.

He also fears that the Hound somehow knows that he's confiscated some books during one of his raids.The fire chief, Captain Beatty also senses Montag's unhappiness. Millie is unconvinced. Are you sure you want to remove #bookConfirmation# Appropriately named after a paper-manufacturing company, At present, Montag seems to enjoy his job as a fireman. and stupidly as often as he thinks and acts lucidly. Set in the 24th century, Fahrenheit 451 tells the story of the protagonist, Guy Montag. Not affiliated with Harvard College.Mackey, Erin. For Montag, "It was a pleasure to burn."

Before she is burned, the woman makes a strange yet significant statement: "Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out." He also realizes that his smile is beginning to fade.When Montag first entertains the idea of quitting his job for awhile because Millie offers him no sympathetic understanding, he feigns illness and goes to bed. Clarisse arouses Montag's curiosity and begins to help him discover that real happiness has been missing from his life for quite some time.After Montag's encounter with Clarisse, he returns home to find his wife Mildred Montag (Millie) unconscious; she is lying on the bed with her Seashell Radios in her ears and has overdosed on tranquilizers and sleeping pills. Bradbury portrays Mildred as a shell of a human being, devoid of any sincere emotional, intellectual, or spiritual substance. "The major developments of Part One surround the degenerated future in which books and independent thinking are forbidden. his own life and purpose by means of books, he blunders blindly