Throughout the course of the book the author continuously used person vs. self-conflicts, how did this help to develop Montag as a character and therefore impact his actions?
The first significant person vs. self-conflict was when Montag realizes how wrong his job is and that people and the society are immensely affected by firemen burning books. For example, on page 60 Ray Bradbury describes how Montag is so disgusted by his job he is physically sick and in a state of morose: “I’ll never come in again, thought Montag” (Bradbury 60). This particular character vs. self-conflict causes Montag to become more aware of how the society he lives in is impacted by a lack of books and educated and that he needs to do something about it. Another significant person vs. self-conflict is on page 62 when Montag is conflicted about his state of happiness “…’I’m so damned unhappy, I’m so mad, and I don’t know why…I might even start reading books’…’Happiness is important. Fun is everything. And yet I kept sitting there saying to myself, I’m not happy, I’m not happy’” (Bradbury 62). These are both strong character vs. self-conflict in the book that makes Montag realize that he is not happy and he wants to find a way to become happy. Ultimately, this person vs. self-conflicts trigger his idea that in order to find happiness Montag needs to quit his job of being a fireman and find a way to fix the world and society he lives in. Additionally, this causes him to not only go against the firemen’s code of reading books, but also he starts planting books into firemen’s houses and eventually he burns down the whole city. Without these initiative thoughts and person vs. self-conflicts, Montag’s actions in the novel wouldn’t have occurred and the plot wouldn’t have been expressively impacted.
I completely agree with you Madison, I too believe that the conflicts you listed caused Montag to reflect on his life and then make changes according to those conflicts to ensure he was actually satisfied with everything in his life. If you recall earlier on in the book Montag was actually content with his job he saw no harm in it, “Later, going to sleep, he would feel the fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark. It never went away, that smile” (Bradbury 4). As the book began to develop and Montag realized the harm in his job, a burning passion to make change started to ignite in him. Everything he did had the same purpose behind it, to reveal the positive side of education and books. “There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine…You don’t stay for nothing.” (Bradbury 51). “For God’s sake, let me be!” (Bradbury 56). As the book progressed and the plot thickened, these small person vs. self-conflicts only caused Montag to be more obsessed with the idea of change. If it truly wasn’t for these small self-realizations Montag most likely wouldn’t have been able to reach the point he did. He probably wouldn’t have killed his friend, lost his family and be forced to hide out in the forest. To add on, as the book develops Montag begins to make these changes within himself, for example he forms a friend something he didn’t really have earlier, “There was nowhere to go, no friend to turn to, really. Except Faber” (Bradbury 124). He started to become more content with his life; he began to see a purpose, something he never really had seen before. Throughout the course of these conflicts Montag grew dramatically, Montag not only become more independent and fearless, but formed friendships and lifelong skills.
The first significant person vs. self-conflict was when Montag realizes how wrong his job is and that people and the society are immensely affected by firemen burning books. For example, on page 60 Ray Bradbury describes how Montag is so disgusted by his job he is physically sick and in a state of morose: “I’ll never come in again, thought Montag” (Bradbury 60). This particular character vs. self-conflict causes Montag to become more aware of how the society he lives in is impacted by a lack of books and educated and that he needs to do something about it. Another significant person vs. self-conflict is on page 62 when Montag is conflicted about his state of happiness “…’I’m so damned unhappy, I’m so mad, and I don’t know why…I might even start reading books’…’Happiness is important. Fun is everything. And yet I kept sitting there saying to myself, I’m not happy, I’m not happy’” (Bradbury 62). These are both strong character vs. self-conflict in the book that makes Montag realize that he is not happy and he wants to find a way to become happy. Ultimately, this person vs. self-conflicts trigger his idea that in order to find happiness Montag needs to quit his job of being a fireman and find a way to fix the world and society he lives in. Additionally, this causes him to not only go against the firemen’s code of reading books, but also he starts planting books into firemen’s houses and eventually he burns down the whole city. Without these initiative thoughts and person vs. self-conflicts, Montag’s actions in the novel wouldn’t have occurred and the plot wouldn’t have been expressively impacted.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Madison, I too believe that the conflicts you listed caused Montag to reflect on his life and then make changes according to those conflicts to ensure he was actually satisfied with everything in his life. If you recall earlier on in the book Montag was actually content with his job he saw no harm in it, “Later, going to sleep, he would feel the fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark. It never went away, that smile” (Bradbury 4). As the book began to develop and Montag realized the harm in his job, a burning passion to make change started to ignite in him. Everything he did had the same purpose behind it, to reveal the positive side of education and books. “There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine…You don’t stay for nothing.” (Bradbury 51). “For God’s sake, let me be!” (Bradbury 56). As the book progressed and the plot thickened, these small person vs. self-conflicts only caused Montag to be more obsessed with the idea of change. If it truly wasn’t for these small self-realizations Montag most likely wouldn’t have been able to reach the point he did. He probably wouldn’t have killed his friend, lost his family and be forced to hide out in the forest. To add on, as the book develops Montag begins to make these changes within himself, for example he forms a friend something he didn’t really have earlier, “There was nowhere to go, no friend to turn to, really. Except Faber” (Bradbury 124). He started to become more content with his life; he began to see a purpose, something he never really had seen before. Throughout the course of these conflicts Montag grew dramatically, Montag not only become more independent and fearless, but formed friendships and lifelong skills.
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