Guy Montag's Character Development
By: Lillian Wheeler
Beginning
At the beginning of "Farhenheit 451Guy is juat like everyone, brainwashed, and clueless about media. He does not think about the consequences of his actions or the rightness or wrongness of his actions. Guy Montag is a very apathetic character at the beginning just like everyone else in the book is.
"It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed."(pg. 3)
Quote from Text
This shows that Guy was just like everyone because the flams entertained him and wanted to continue to watch them
Quote analysis
Change In Views
After meeting Clarisse, Guy starts to hear different ideas about life. At first he is hesitent to listen but after a couple days with Clarisse he starts to question society and his own beliefs.
" Bet I know something else you don't. There's dew on the grass in the morning. He suddenly couldn't remeber if he had know this or mnot , aned it made him quite irritable. And if you look, she nodded at the sky, there's a man on the moon. He hadn't looked for a long time."(pg.9)
Quote
Analysis
This shows that Guy is starting to change his views because he is starting to look closer at the world around him, at the grass, and the moon. He starts looking at things that he wouldn't have before
New Found Understanding
At this point Montag is now starting to find himself spiritually. he is starting to understand why Clarisse would look at the world differently from everyone else. He starts to understand after he watches the woman burn with her books.
"There must be something in books, things we can't imagine, to make a women stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You wouldn't stay for nothing."(pg.48)
Quote
Analysis
This quote shos that guy is in a state of questioning. It shows that he is finally understanding that there is something wrong and that he needs to take action soon.
Guy Takes Action
Guy realizes that he needs to make a change in both himself and society. He decides to take action. He turns to a scholar named, Faber and asks for his help. Faber helps Montag take the action necessary.
"Nobody listens anymore, I can't talk to the walls because they are yelling, and I can't talk to my wife because she is listening to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough it'll make sense. And I just want you to teach me to understand what I read."(pg. 82)
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Analysis
This shows that Guy is ready to take action because he is so tired of nobody listening to him anymore. It shows that guy is ready for Faber's help and is ready to break even the law to understand
At the end of the book Guy is an entirely new person with and entirely new perspective. He over came all of the obstacles in his way. In his quest to find himself he finds a hideout away from town with a group of scholars, that is where he reflects on who he is and who he want to become
Guy Is a New Person
"And one day I would look back upon the fool and know the fool. Even now he could feel the start of the long journey, the leave taking, the going away from the self he had been."(pg.99)
Quote
This quote shows that Montag was finally realizing what a fool he had been before, and never wanted to be a fool again. Montag realizes that he is a changed man with new found knowledge and wants to use that knowledge to change the world.
Analysis