Fahrenheit 451 Blog 11

Faber is the second mentor that Montag had through the course of Fahrenheit 451.  He had considerable influence over him, yet he was not forceful like Beatty.  Faber was a confused character though.  At times he would try to dominate Montag and control him, but other times he would help Montag think independently.  “Faber competes with Beatty in the struggle for Montag’s mind. His control over Montag may not be as complete and menacing as Beatty’s, but he does manipulate Montag via his two-way radio to accomplish the things his cowardice has prevented him from doing himself, acting as the brain directing Montag’s body.” (Sparknotes 1).  Faber does teach Montag one very important lesson though.  Life is not about the books, it is about the process.  “It’s not books you need, it’s some of the things that once were in books.  The same things could be in the ‘parlor families’ today.  The same infinite detail and awareness could be projected through radios and televisors, but are not.  No, no, it’s not books at all you’re looking for!  Take it where you can find it, in old phonograph records, old motion pictures, and in old friends; look for it in nature and look for it in yourself.  Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget.  There is nothing magical in them, at all.  The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.  Of course you couldn’t know this, of course you still can’t understand what I mean when I say all this.  You are intuitively right that’s what counts.”  (Bradbury 79).  Faber demonstrates his great understanding of literature in this quote.  He knows that fighting for literature will not accomplish much if people are not willing to hear them out.  He struggles with his own motives at times, whether he wants to be a coward or a hero. 

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.

"Fahrenheit 451." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2012. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451>.