Montag began his life's work of censorship blindly. His
father had been a fireman (one who burns books, not necessarily saves lives), and so had
his grandfather. Being a censor was just what Montags did. However, he did not realize
what they were actually doing until the night when he saw a woman willing to die with
her books. In that moment he must have come to understand that there is something
valuable in books if not having them was worse than
death.
Viewing this type of suicide brought out a piece of
humanity in Montag that he may not have known that he had. From this point on, Montag
begins a process that moves him from not just believing that censoring is wrong, but it
is worth fighting against. Upon meeting Faber, Montag began to learn what books
contained - thought, power, encouragements to act, and leisure. These were qualities he
had never really valued before, but they began to become human attributes worth
obtaining. He therefore begins a quest to frame the other firemen and overthrow the
establishment, but this never really happens. By the end of the book, Montag maintains
his belief that censorship has robbed the society of human emotion and joins a band of
vagabonds who share similar beliefs.
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