The conflict dealt with in Fahrenheit 451 revolves around Guy Montag no longer being happy
with life as it is. He feels like he is
missing something big, and the only reason he can think of is that there is
something in books to help him. This
conflict is originally caused by Clarisse, a neighbor girl who talked to Guy as
he went off to work. “Darkness. He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of
affairs. He wore his happiness like a
mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no
way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back” (Bradbury 10). When Clarisse caused Montag to realize that he
was not happy, things just went downhill from there. He began to wonder what was in books and if
they held the answers to his problems.
This idea became more obsessive to him after a women chose to die with
her books rather that live without them while Montag stood and watched her burn
to death. Through the conflict Montag
gained the understanding of how brainwashed his society was. He learned from the traveling scholars, that
at some point in the future literature might be needed again, so they must
preserve it until that time. Montag also
gained some true friends throughout his ordeal.
Faber could be considered the first friend that actually cared about
Montag. So through all his trials,
Montag gained many things that cannot be lost.
Guy Montag also lost much on his quest for literature. He was ostracized by his own people and was
hunted down by the hound for the public’s entertainment. Besides losing his home, wife, and everything
he once knew, Montag lost his ignorance of life. This is what grew him the most. Even when the city was bombed to ashes, good
would be made out of it. This would give
Montag the chance to use his new found knowledge for the good of others.
Fahrenheit, 451. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.
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