I think that the use of the word “odor” shows that Montag has become disgusted with his job and the things that he has done. The day after Montag and his crew had burned the house of books with the old woman inside it, he is mentally and emotionally distraught. Because of this experience, Montag is brought to the realization that maybe what he does for his job is wrong. We see Montag at the beginning of the book as a character that goes along with what everyone else believes. He enjoys his job and does not give a second thought about what he does. “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 1). The tone from this remark seems joyful and fulfilling, it definitely shows that at this point Montag enjoys what he does. As the plot progresses we can start to see Bradbury introduce the beginning of his change in character. After the traumatic experience of watching another human die in a fire that he helped to start, Montag makes a remark to his wife Millie, “’You weren’t there, you didn’t see,’ he said. ‘There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing’” (Bradbury 48). From this experience we notice through a distressed and disturbed tone that Montag’s character changes rapidly from a person who once rejected books and destroyed them for a living, to someone who really appreciates them and would risk his life to save them and show everyone how great books really are.
I agree with Andrea in the sense that the word odor shows how Montag does not enjoy his job like he used to. The definition of odor is “a distinctive smell, especially an unpleasant one”. With this being said, it is clear that Montag is viewing kerosene, and the burning of books in general, in a negative manner. The first sentence of the entire book shows how Montag felt about his job as a fireman before meeting Clarisse. According to the narration, “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 3). The transition of Montag enjoying being a fireman into clearly disliking it shows a lot about his character. Montag knew all along that something did not seem right about the exclusion of books, and it only took one girl to help him realize his feelings. This was proven when Montag visited Faber for one final time before escaping from the Hound. According to the narration, “It saved itself up to happen. I could feel it for a long time, I was saving something up, I went around doing one thing and feeling another. God, it was all there. It’s a wonder it didn’t show on me, like fat” (Bradbury 131). Because of this, it can be concluded that Montag has always known deep down that something was wrong, but his character developed throughout the book into someone who came into contact with his feelings rather than hiding them. Overall, the author’s choice of using the word odor when describing Montag’s feelings towards the kerosene implies that he has dramatically developed from being a man who loves to burn books into one who despises it.
Andrea and Amanda- I absolutely agree with both of you. Montag’s change in character is extreme. In the beginning, Montag described Clarisse as “…the eager watcher of a marionette show” (Bradbury 9). A marionette show is when puppets are worked from above by strings attached to its limbs. Clarisse is very observant and Guy is not. This implies that she was watching him and the people around her being “controlled” by the government. Guy was a follower. It seemed as if he did not have a mind of his own until he met Clarisse. She pealed open the curtains that had shrouded Guy from seeing the wrongdoings in their society; she helped him see the unreality. Clarisse played a major part in Montag’s transformation. The novel started off with Montag thinking that “‘Kerosene…is nothing but perfume’” (Bradbury 4). To describe something with the word perfume means that one considers it to be pleasant to smell. Kerosene is flammable oil that has a burning sensation when smelled for too long. I don’t imagine a feeling of burning in your mid-chest to be enjoyable; however, we see that Montag is fine with this. This scent is acceptable to him because of what he thought of society. Montag thought that his world was perfect and that everything fell into place. It is a psychological matter. Once Montag saw his world in a different light, the smell of kerosene became intolerable. Along with describing the smell that kerosene emits as odor, he also vomited. Not only did Montag finally mentally change, but he also physically detested the stench of his society.
I think that the use of the word “odor” shows that Montag has become disgusted with his job and the things that he has done. The day after Montag and his crew had burned the house of books with the old woman inside it, he is mentally and emotionally distraught. Because of this experience, Montag is brought to the realization that maybe what he does for his job is wrong. We see Montag at the beginning of the book as a character that goes along with what everyone else believes. He enjoys his job and does not give a second thought about what he does. “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 1). The tone from this remark seems joyful and fulfilling, it definitely shows that at this point Montag enjoys what he does. As the plot progresses we can start to see Bradbury introduce the beginning of his change in character. After the traumatic experience of watching another human die in a fire that he helped to start, Montag makes a remark to his wife Millie, “’You weren’t there, you didn’t see,’ he said. ‘There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing’” (Bradbury 48). From this experience we notice through a distressed and disturbed tone that Montag’s character changes rapidly from a person who once rejected books and destroyed them for a living, to someone who really appreciates them and would risk his life to save them and show everyone how great books really are.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrea in the sense that the word odor shows how Montag does not enjoy his job like he used to. The definition of odor is “a distinctive smell, especially an unpleasant one”. With this being said, it is clear that Montag is viewing kerosene, and the burning of books in general, in a negative manner. The first sentence of the entire book shows how Montag felt about his job as a fireman before meeting Clarisse. According to the narration, “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 3). The transition of Montag enjoying being a fireman into clearly disliking it shows a lot about his character. Montag knew all along that something did not seem right about the exclusion of books, and it only took one girl to help him realize his feelings. This was proven when Montag visited Faber for one final time before escaping from the Hound. According to the narration, “It saved itself up to happen. I could feel it for a long time, I was saving something up, I went around doing one thing and feeling another. God, it was all there. It’s a wonder it didn’t show on me, like fat” (Bradbury 131). Because of this, it can be concluded that Montag has always known deep down that something was wrong, but his character developed throughout the book into someone who came into contact with his feelings rather than hiding them. Overall, the author’s choice of using the word odor when describing Montag’s feelings towards the kerosene implies that he has dramatically developed from being a man who loves to burn books into one who despises it.
ReplyDeleteAndrea and Amanda- I absolutely agree with both of you.
ReplyDeleteMontag’s change in character is extreme. In the beginning, Montag described Clarisse as “…the eager watcher of a marionette show” (Bradbury 9). A marionette show is when puppets are worked from above by strings attached to its limbs. Clarisse is very observant and Guy is not. This implies that she was watching him and the people around her being “controlled” by the government. Guy was a follower. It seemed as if he did not have a mind of his own until he met Clarisse. She pealed open the curtains that had shrouded Guy from seeing the wrongdoings in their society; she helped him see the unreality. Clarisse played a major part in Montag’s transformation. The novel started off with Montag thinking that “‘Kerosene…is nothing but perfume’” (Bradbury 4). To describe something with the word perfume means that one considers it to be pleasant to smell. Kerosene is flammable oil that has a burning sensation when smelled for too long. I don’t imagine a feeling of burning in your mid-chest to be enjoyable; however, we see that Montag is fine with this. This scent is acceptable to him because of what he thought of society. Montag thought that his world was perfect and that everything fell into place. It is a psychological matter. Once Montag saw his world in a different light, the smell of kerosene became intolerable. Along with describing the smell that kerosene emits as odor, he also vomited. Not only did Montag finally mentally change, but he also physically detested the stench of his society.