Fahrenheit 451 Hound Analysis

I was confused when Mildred consumed all of the sleeping pills because the next morning she had no recognition about her suicide attempt. Wouldn’t someone remember taking thirty sleeping pills? Also, when Montag tells her about the night before, Mildred replies, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that.” (13). What’s even more disturbing is that the men who came to help her say that they often have these suicide “cases” (13). This leads me to believe that not everyone is as happy as they say they are. An example of this is when Montag realizes that he is not truly happy and that he “wore his happiness like a mask” (9). I think that the book takes place in a dystopian society.

I think the Hound symbolizes government control. Traditionally, dogs, or “hounds”, are used to help firefighters. In the novel however, the Hound is used for malicious purposes. In fact, almost every night the firefighters watch the Hound kill animals for entertainment (29). The Hound is also used for eliminating citizens who do not abide to the rules. For example, when Montag is talking to Beatty about Clarisse's

Throughout the book, Beatty is a malicious fireman authority and often has positive reactions to things such as Clarisse’s death (58). Why is he depressed? In the beginning of the novel, Montag thinks that he is happy with his job and life as a fireman (1-2). However, after talking to Clarisse, he realizes that he is not happy. I think that since Clarisse helped Montag to observe the world around him and see what was actually going on, Guy was “enlightened” by Clarisse. I think that since Beatty is in a role of authority, he knows about the dystopian society they live in and is already “enlightened”. This must mean that for a long time Beatty has felt the same way Montag has since talking to Clarisse. But instead of attempting to change things like Montag, Beatty chooses to play along and enforce the rules