Ambitions Conflicting with Society

A characters goals and ambitions often come into conflict with those around him/her. In the story Fahrenheit 451, Montags goals definitely come into conflict with those around him. Montag is a fireman (which in the future means a book-burner), who burns books because the government tells the citizens they are not allowed to read books. In the story, many events happen that changed Montags opinion on the book-banning and he had a change of heart. The government did not approve of his views, which caused many terrible problems for Montag. The government wants the firemen to burn all books, and Montag thinks nothing of this until he meets a girl names Clarisse. This girls free-thinking ideas and liberating spirit force Montag to ask himself questions about his own life and ideas, and his own happiness. Montags ideas come into conflict with Clarisse’s ideas, because Montag went by the government’s rules until he heard about Clarisse’s ideas. Montag was so moved by how she would not ask how things were done, but why these things were done. This shows also, that Montags ideas come into conflict with Clarisse’s because Montag had always just believed in doing everything the same every day, and not asking questions, just doing what he was supposed to do like the rest of the society. Montag, while at work with the other firemen proceed to ransack a book-filled home of a woman, who refused to let her books be burned and procceded to light a match when the firemen weren’t looking and light the flammable kerosene the firemen had sprayed in the house, and burns herself alive. Montag does not understand why a woman would die for her books. This is an example of how Montags beliefs come into conflict with someone elses belifs because he does not agree with the decision that the woman has made for herself. Beatty, Montags boss, knows all about Montag and his book obsession. Beatty leads Montag and the crew on an emergency dispatch, and to Montags surprise, they lead him to his own home, ordering Montag to burn the house immediately. This shows that Montags beliefs come into conflict with beattys belifs, and Montag gets in trouble because of this. After the house is burned, Beatty proceeds to smack Montag in the head. This causes Montags earpiece to fall out. Beatty threatens to track down Faber. Montag then turns the flamethrower to Beatty, killing him. Again, Montags belifs get him in trouble with his boss, and this time, with the law. Montag never gets a break in this novel. His beliefs get come into conflict with society, no matter what they are. The government says that books are banned, but Montag finds books very educational, so he chooses to read them anyways. Clarisse, Beatty, and Faber are the main characters who influence Montags choices in this book. If it were not for them, Montag would have just continued on with his life and none of the choices he made would have come into conflict with society in any way.