Influences in Farenheit 451 Essay Sample

Imagine a world where everything revolves around technology, and conversations are a sentence or two, at max. Because people are so obsessed with technology, there are very few interactions and opinions formed by people. This might cause problems within communities because nobody is forming any thoughts, or ideas that would benefit the society. In the book, Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury, one result of a tyrannical government is making everyone equal, meaning everyone has to be similar intellectually, physically, and emotionally. This is like a mold for people to fit into that makes everyone the same. However, there are a few people that do not really follow the guidelines and begin to think. Montag, the main character in the book, was a normal citizen, but changed as the book continued. Two characters in the book, Clarisse McClellan and the old lady that burned inside a house have obviously impacted Montag the most throughout the story.

One character that really stands out in the society within Fahrenheit 451 is Clarisse McClellan. She is a teenager that Montag meets earlier in the book. She is known in this community to be a very odd girl, who is thought of as anti-social and crazy. Even Clarisse says to herself, “I’m seventeen and I’m crazy” (Bradbury 5). One reason why she has had one of the biggest influences on Montag is that she makes him realize if he really is happy. After meeting Clarisse, he starts to talk and discuss with Clarisse while walking to their homes. She soon questions Montag whether he is happy or not. He quickly blurts that he is happy, without a doubt in his mind. Once he arrives at his house, he ponders about the question again. This time however, Montag realizes that he is not happy like he said was. Bradbury used repetition to convey this emotion to the readers, saying, “He was not happy. He was not happy . . . He wore his happiness like a mask” (Bradbury 9). That being said, the readers are able to understand where Montag is emotionally and within his thoughts. Another reason why Clarisse strongly impacts Montag’s change or development throughout the book was her questioning his love for his wife. Later on in the book, they are walking again and are on the topic of his marriage and love life. A significant part of the discussion was a “dandelion test”. According to Clarisse, this would determine if he is in love with anybody. Similar to the happiness discussion, he quickly said that he was in love with his wife without a doubt in his mind. Contrary to Montag's confidence, the dandelion results said otherwise. Montag was in disbelief, slightly upset, and confused at first. He even blamed the dandelion itself for being wrong. As the book progressed, Montag thought to himself about whether he really loved his wife or not. As Montag glances over to Mildred, his wife, he questions his feelings. He thinks, “suddenly she was so strange he could not believe he knew her at all . . . entering a wrong room, and bedding with a stranger” (Bradbury 39, 40). Clarisse is definitely impacting Montag in some shape or form. One other person that has impacted Montag was a lady he encountered during one of his operations. 

The lady he met was an elderly woman that possessed books within her home. An alarm was set off for the firefighters to come to burn down everything, including both her house and the books. The firefighters instructed her to leave the area, but she refused and remained in the house while it was burning down. Just meeting the lady and seeing what happened undeniably impacted Montag. One way the lady immensely impacted Montag was her experience with books and literature. Montag was trying to get her to leave the building with the firemen. She kept refusing but Montag was pleading, not far from begging. After pondering about the lady for some time, he realized how important the books must have been for the woman to stay and burn alive along with the books. He tries to explain and convince Mildred saying, “There must be something in the books, we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. . . She was rational as you and I, more so perhaps” (Bradbury 48). From then on, Montag's curiosity has been amplified and his mind begins to expand for books. So much so, he would be willing to steal and smuggle books within a house of his own, despite being a fireman and how unlawful it was. Another way the woman has impacted Montag was his outlook on life. Not only was Montag affected in the long run, but affected instantly. There is clear evidence that Montag, as well as the other firemen, were sort of appalled by what happened right after the incident. Bradbury describes the men's behavior by saying, “They said nothing on their way back to the firehouse. Nobody looked at anyone else. . . They did not even smoke their pipes” (Bradbury 37). This quote further proves how altered Montag was, even how quickly he was impacted. Throughout the book, Fahrenheit 451, Montag continues to question, think, and talk about the woman though the event had passed days back. 

Two prominent characters in Fahrenheit 451 that have undoubtedly paved some sort of direction in the main character, Montag’s behavior the most are Clarisse McClellan and an elderly woman that burned inside her house. These two are obvious choices for many reasons. The two have impacted the core developments of Montag, being his interest in books and outlook on life overall. The readers themselves may see his choices, emotions, and thoughts gradually evolve into the person he ends up being in the finale of the book. It is really bizarre though, both these two and other characters who affected him the most end up leaving him.