Fahrenheit 451 Quote Analysis

Imagine a society where books are illegal, and being caught with them could cost people their lives. In the book, “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, the hero, Guy Montag, a fireman himself, changes several times throughout the story, mainly in part to the various conflicts apparent in the story. Montag, being a fireman, is in charge of seeking out people who own books, and burning their homes, and sometimes the people inside. Montag changes primarily because of his conflicts with his dystopian society, which has a unique view on the censorship of items such as books, which connects to the theme of censorship because his view on that topic changes.
To begin, the first conflict in the story appears when Montag and Clarisse McClellan, his next door neighbor, walk back from the fire station, speaking openly about topics such as the reading of books and even their personal emotions and lives. Before Montag enters his home, Clarisse asks a controversial question, “Are you happy?” (Bradbury 7)

When Montag meets with Granger, who is moving to the new city, they all stop to make a fire, where Bradbury states, “The men, all moving their hands, putting out the fire together. (Bradbury 147) This conflict affects Montag because he feels included into a group that is not focused around burning or limitations. Here, he is free to be who he wants to be. Also, he is working with others to do exactly the opposite of what he was doing his entire life- burning. Instead, he is working with others to put out fires. This affects the theme because censorship is no longer an issue amongst the readers, who strive to recall the books that they had read, and distribute the knowledge by word of