Wednesday, October 21, 2015

When the story opens, what are the forces acting upon Montag in Fahrenheit 451?

Montag is besieged by several forces at the outset of the
novel.  A couple of them are external.  The most evident force is one where Montag's job
is a force acting upon him.  As a fireman, Montag feels pride in acting in the name of
the state and burning books, whose possession the state deems illegal.  In this, the
force that is acting against Montag is the suposedly illegal activities of citizens who
harbor books.  To a certain extent, Beatty is another force acting on Montag, ensuring
that he is diligent in his work and believing in its authenticity.  As the novel opens,
Montag finds himself subected to an internal force of wanting to do the best job he
can.  Montag takes pride in his work and this becomes a force to ensure that what he
does is done well.  Once Clarisse enters the narrative, she becomes another force that
instantly acts upon Montag's purpose and what he does.   Clarisse's presence also is one
where an internal force is activated in Montag, wondering if what he is doing is
actually right or just.  Finally, Millie is a force that acts upon Montag in terms of
being able to conform to the standards of society.  Her desire to assimilate into
society as opposed to being separate from it is another force that acts upon
Montag.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the meaning of the 4th stanza of Eliot's Preludes, especially the lines "I am moved by fancies...Infinitely suffering thing".

A century old this year, T.S. Eliot's Preludes raises the curtain on his great modernist masterpieces, The Love...