Granger is Montag’s final mentor in Fahrenheit 451. He, like
Faber is an intellectual scholar who is living his life now in secret. Granger is part of a traveling band of hobos
who hold on to the belief that humankind will need their wisdom of literature
sometime in the future. He and his band
are committed to memorizing works of literature and preserving them until the end
of their current dark age. Granger is
patient, calm, and confident in the goodness and strength of the human
spirit. He believes that one day
literature will be used again because it is the cycle of life. “It is Granger who
divulges the novel’s Big Important Lesson about life being cyclic. Mankind
builds up a body of knowledge, explains Granger, and then he destroys it and
falls into a dark age….Granger gets to set the final tone for the novel. Is the
reader going to come away dismally depressed, or cheerfully optimistic? For one
reason or another, Grander remains hopeful.” (Shmoop 1). In the end of the novel Granger states a very
important quote. “But that’s the
wonderful thing about man; he never gets so discouraged or disgusted that he
gives up doing it all over again, because he knows very well it is important
and worth the doing.” (Bradbury 146).
Granger understands that life is a cycle and things will come back to
the way they once were. This deep
understanding of life and nature makes Granger more of a symbol than a
character. He is the symbol of hope for
a generation that is drowning in their self-inflicted problems. Granger is not alone is this movement
either. He states that there are
thousands of others like him around the country that are waiting for the moment
when they can help the rest of the world.
Until that time comes, they will continue to search for more lost
knowledge and recruit more people to aid them in their search.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.
"Fahrenheit 451." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2012. <http://www.shmoop.com/fahrenheit-451/>.
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