F451 CHARACTER NOTES

MONTAG
→ capable of change
→ his metamorphosis
→ keywords: transforms, evolves

Thematic Statement Evidence

Montag is a twisted and “It was a pleasure to burn” (HS)

sadistic as he indulges in - he found contentment and gratification from the destruction of knowledge, reveled in bliss as
destruction. adrenaline coursed
(before change)
- “pleasure “ → finds joy in violence → sadist
“Spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world” (HS)
“Hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies ...bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of
history” (HS)
- cacophonous, creation vs destruction (heinous crime against humanity, atrocious, hazardous)
“It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.” (HS)
- “blackened” → reflection of himself/society→ sense of thrill
“Fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles… never went away, that smile, it never ever went away, as long
as he remembered.”
- smile etched mindlessly
- sadistic as he finds pleasure and satisfaction in burning things
- he would be proud of himself after burning
“Gripped in gentling paws while a four-inch hollow steel needle plunged down… inject massive jolts of
morphine or procaine.” (HS)

Proud, arrogant, cocky “He strode in a swarm of fireflies.” (HS)

(before change) “Kerosene... is nothing but perfume to me." (HS)
"Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame." (HS)
“Hung his black beetle-coloured helmet and shined it… hung his flameproof jacket neatly; … showered
luxuriously.” (HS)

Wilful, reckless “What — was it always like this? The firehouse, our work? I mean, well, once upon a time… “ (HS)
Susceptible to change,
undergo metamorphosis.
Admirable as he dares to be
defiant and breaks free from
conformity in a dystopian
society despite knowing the
consequences.
Heroic through his bold
actions in which he risks his
entire life, sacrificing his
lifestyle in order to save books
and preserve knowledge.
Before:
- Fireman who was blindly “Was I given a choice? My grandfather and father were firemen. In my sleep, I ran after them.” (HS)
following orders
- Sadistic, cruel, cocky,
conformist
After:
- Non-conformist
- Brave, courageous
Turning points:
- Clarisse
- Old woman incident
Start of change (internal turmoil) → Clarisse
“Are you happy?” (HS)
“He was not happy” (HS)
- self-denial and self-realisation
“He wore his happiness like a mask… girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of
going to knock on her door and ask for it back.” (HS)
- the facade of false happiness cultivated
“The odour of kerosene made him vomit” (HS)
- juxtaposed to “kerosene… is nothing but perfume to me.”
Old woman incident
"So it was the hand that started it all." (SS)
"His hands had been infected. "poison" "His hands were ravenous." (SS)
“Montag placed his hand on the woman’s elbow. “You can come with me.”” (HS)
“He had chills and fever in the morning.” (HS)
- rhetorical question
- hyperbole
““Last night I thought about all that kerosene I’ve used in the past ten years… And for the first time I realised
that a man was behind each one of the books. A man had to think them up. And I’d never even thought that
thought before.”” (HS)
“It took some man a lifetime maybe to put some of his thoughts down, looking around at the world and life and
then I come along in two minutes and boom! It’s all over.” (HS)
The change:
“Is it because we’re having so much fun at home we’ve forgotten the world?” (SS)
→ questioning, curious
"Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. They just might stop us from making the same damn insane
mistakes! ... God, Millie, don't you see? An hour, a day, two hours, with these books, and maybe..." (SS)
“I’ve got to have a duplicate made.” (SS)
“Consider the lilies of the field, shut up, shut up.” (SS)
→ montag desperately trying to memorise verses from the bible
“Tapping their feet to the rhythm of Denham’s Dentifrice” (SS)
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” (SS)
→ what the masses were doing VS montag → further corroborates that he does not conform to societal norms
“I stole it.” (SS)
“Something’s missing.” (SS)
→ clarisse and the old woman had such a great impact on him, they opened his eyes and showed him how
unhappy he is (self-realisation)
“That’s the good part of dying; when you’ve got nothing to lose, you run any risk you want.” (SS)
"I'm not thinking. I'm just doing like I'm told, like always. You said get the money and I got it. I didn't really
think of it myself. When do I start working things out on my own?" (SS)
“Pulled the main switch” (SS
“Go home, go home! He yelled. “Before I knock you down and kick you out of the door!” (SS)
“... house was empty… Montag stood alone in the winter weather, with the parlour walls the colour of the dirty
snow.” (SS)
“But, Montag, you musn’t go back to being a fireman. All isn’t well with the world.” (SS)
→ faber was a mentor to montag, he played a prominent role in changing montag (advised him, encourged
him)
“Montag felt the guilt of his hands. His fingers were like ferrets that had done some evil.” (SS)
“For these hands were the hands that had acted on their own, no part of him… these hands seemed gloved
with blood” (SS)
→ manifests in guilt, self-denial
→ “blood” → negative connotation, violent image, crime or muder (he realised the severity of his actions)
Process of Growth : Conflicted and Confused
"Montag's head whirled sickeningly. He felt beaten unmercilessly..." (SS)
→ panics as he thinks he believes in B's twisted quotes from literature, bombarded with information
→ he is confused an unsure which path to take and who to trust (faber? or should he return to being a
fireman? note: hwo beatty tries to get into montag’s head)
Catharisis:
“This is happening to me.” (BB)
“The emptiness made an even emptier whistle, a senseless scream.” (BB)
→ motif
→ onomatopoeia effect
→ personification
“Huge bright yellow flower of burning” (BB)
→ cleansing his old life
“The house began to shudder in flame.” (BB)
→ releasing himself from the intrusive pieces of technology and all things artificial
→ providing psycolgical release
The murder of Beatty:
“He twitched the safety catch on the flame thrower” (BB)
“We never burned right…” (BB)
“A shrieking blaze, a jumping, sprawling mainkin… hiss like a great mouthful of spittle banging a red-hot stove,
a bubbling and frothing… monstrous black snail… terrible liquefaction… charred wax doll and lay silent.” (BB)
“”Turn around! They fell and lay without moving.” (BB)
→ exemplifies the extent that montag went
→ he didn’t just stop after one fire, but he continued to fire at beatty with the intention of killing him for good
→ this further proves that montag has changed from someone who blindly follows orders to someone who
stands up for his own beliefs
→ he not only brutally murdered beatty, but also his fellow colleagues → this was montag’s way of releasing all
his pent up anger
“If we have to burn, let’s take a few more with us. Here!” (BB)
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, oh God, sorry…” (BB)
→ montag is now someone who has empathy even for the person who ‘tortured him’
→ feels remorseful (the old woman incident left a significant impact on him
“... washed up and combed his hair… where am I running?” (BB)
→ he has to adapt to the situation/circumstance → existential crisis
→ he is thinking → where is his life heading?
“He was a phosphorescent target.” (BB)
“... its movable headlights jerked back and forth suddenly, and caught at Montag. Keep going. Montag
faltered, got a grip on the books, and forced himself not to freeze.” (BB)
→ the advancement of technology, how powerful it is → nearly impossible to escape alive
→ yet, montag persisted and had a strong determination not to give up as his passion for books was so strong
→ even when his life was in danger, the books were still his no. 1 priority (gripped)
→ predator (technology beetle) VS prey (montag) → man vs machine (montag was the target)
“He was going to trace it. I killed him with the flame thrower.” (BB)
→ theme of friendship
→ montag would sacrifice leaps and bounds to save faber
→ sacrificial (put his life on the line)
“... Millie’s gone, … and the house all burnt. And my job gone and myself on the run.” (BB)
“Burn the chair… wipe down… burn the throw-rug… kill the trail in here, anyway.” (BB)
→ advised faber to do this to get rid of his ‘smell’ → confused MH
→ evolution of montag (he now takes initiative)
→ irony because faber used to be the one that would always give montag instructions (the roles are reversed)
“The river was very real; it held him comfortably and gave him the time at last, the leisure, to consider this
month, this year, and a lifetime of years.” (BB)
 → water juxtaposed to fire
→ water is an allusion to Christian baptism → regeneration and renewable
→ “river” → womb (mother) → rebirth → safety and security
“One of them had to stop burning… had to do the saving and keeping.” (BB)
“He stood breathing, and the more he breathed the land in, the more he was filled up with all the details of the
land. He was not empty… there would always be more than enough to.” (BB)
→ smell of nature VS smell of kerosene→ peace, rejuvenation
→ reconnection to nature (last time was with clarisse and the dandelions and rain)
→ a shock to his senses → great impact on him
“It was not burning, it was warming.” (BB)
→ XR to “it was a pleasure to burn.”
“Montag cried out in the silence and turned away… trembling” (BB)
“... Montag helped… putting out the fire together.” (BB)
“... you are the book of Ecclesiastes. See how important you’ve become in the last minute!” (BB)
“All we want to do is keep the knowledge we think we will need, intact and safe.” (BB)
“Montag began walking… found that the others had fallen in behind him… moved aside to let Granger pass…
looked at him and nodded him on. Montag went ahead.” (BB)
“When we reach the city.” (BB)

Brave, courageous “... plunged the book back under his arm, pressed it tight to sweating armpit.” (HS)
“Consider the lilies of the field, shut up, shut up.” (SS)
“I stole it.” (SS)
“Then he began to read in a low, stumbling voice that grew firmer as he progressed from line to line.” (SS)
“He twitched the safety catch… gave him the final push toward murder.” (BB)
“”Turn around! … They fell and lay without moving.” (BB)
“... threw him ten feet back… seize his leg and stab the needle in… he had only one leg… Come on! Come on,
you, you can’t stay here!” (BB)
“... its movable headlights jerked back and forth suddenly, and caught at Montag. Keep going. Montag
faltered, got a grip on the books, and forced himself not to freeze.” (BB)

Compassionate in an
unfeeling society

MILDRED
Thematic Statement
Mildred has been desensitised
through the frivolous
technology, she is conformist
Mildred appears to be lifeless,
and dead on the inside
Appearance wise: Artificial,
superficial, lacks originality
Evidence
“I don’t know”
“Forgot.”
“I’m not happy… “I am.” Mildred’s mouth beamed. “And proud of it.””
“I’m tired of listening to this junk.”
“...ran forward, seized the book and ran toward the kitchen incinerator.”
“Her foot touched one and she saw this and pulled her foot away.”
“backed away as if she were suddenly confronted by a pack of mice”
“That’s my family.”
“When it comes time for the missing lines, they all look at me out of the three walls…”
“”Snap ending” Mildred nodded.”
“”my ‘family’ is people. They tell me things; I laugh, they laugh! And the colours!”
“... horrified. “He might come and burn… ‘family.’ That’s awful! Think of our investment.”
“”Ann! She laughed. “Yes, the White Clown’s on tonight!””
“Mildred shrieked with laughter in the hall.”
“They were like a monstrous crystal chandelier tinkling in a thousand chimes, he saw their Cheshire cat smiles
burning through the walls of the house… they were screaming at each other above the din.”
“... show his family how silly it all was, … how crazy… junk again.”
“... let’s be cheery, you turn the ‘family’ on, now… Let’s laugh and be happy, now, stop crying, we’ll have a
party!”
“
“His wife stretched on the bed, uncovered and cold, like a body displayed on the lid of a tomb, her eyes fixed
to the ceiling by invisible threads of steel, immovable.”
“... room was indeed empty”
“The room was cold”
“Her face was like a snow-covered island…”
“...singing of the thimble-wasps in her tamped-shut ears, and her eyes all glass…”
“Ran her fingers under a line on the script.”
“Movings shadows, but she felt no shadow.”
“Hair burnt by chemicals to a brittle straw”
“Eyes with a kind of cataract unseen”
“Reddened pouting lips”
“Body as thin as a praying mantis from dieting”

Mildred is a slave to addiction
Mildred is a sadist who finds
joy in violence and bloodshed
Mildred has a strong sense of
self-preservation
Thematic Statement
Cruel
Authoritative
“Flesh like white bacon”
“A widely empty face”
“Starved and eating of itself”
“The images drained away, as if the water had been let from a gigantic crystal bowl of hysterical fish… turned
slowly and looked with unconcealed irritation and then dislike at Montag.”
“Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything, everything gone now…”
“... a woman smiled and drank orange juice simultaneously… same woman revealed the contracting journey of
the refreshing beverage on its way to her delighted stomach!”
“... plunged into a line-green sea where blue fish ate red and yellow fish.”
“Three White Cartoon Clowns chopped off each other’s limbs to the accompaniment of immense incoming
tides of laughter.”
“... the room whipped out of town to the jet cars wildly circling in an arena, bashing and backing up and
bashing each other again… saw a number of bodies fly in the air.”
“Millie, did you see that?... “I saw it, I saw it!””
“Wax doll melting in its own heat.”
“Some were missing and he knew that she had started on her own slow process of dispersing the dynamite in
her house.”
“Her face floured with powder, her mouth gone, without lipstick”
“Was it my wife turned in the alarm? Beatty nodded.” (she betrayed montag)
“Poor Millie… I think of her hands but I don’t see them doing anything at all. They just hang there at her sides
or they lie there on her lap or there’s a cigarette in them, but that’s all.”
“... saw her leaning toward the great shimmering walls of colour and motion where the family talked and talked
and talked to her… leaning into the wall as if all the hunger of looking would find the secret of her sleepless
unease there.”
BEATTY
Evidence
“He slapped her face with amazing objectivity.” (HS)
“Crashed the front door and grabbed at a woman.” (HS)
“Besides, these fanatics always try suicide; the pattern’s familiar” (HS)
“Shut the ‘relatives’ up” (HS)
“This time, Mildred ran. The yammering voices stopped yelling in the parlour.” (HS) VS “She went out of the

Knowledgeable (he abuses his
knowledge)
Beatty is a cunning and sly
Machiavellian → his scheming
tactics (manipulation)
1. Debasing learning and
knowledge
2. Weaponsises knowledge to
confuse Montag
3. Physical touch
4. Psychology
Beatty is extremely dedicated
to his job/conformist
Beatty is witty and sharp, able
to pick up the slight
discrepancies
Beatty is driven, he stops at
nothing to achieve his goals
room and did nothing to the parlour and came back.” (HS)
“Beatty never drove, but he was driving tonight”
"We must all be alike... everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy." (HS)
"People want to be happy... don't we give them fun? That's all we live for… for pleasure, for titillation?" (HS)
"Burn all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean." (HS)
"Cram them full of non-combustible data, chock them so damned full of 'facts' that they feel stuffed, but
absolutely 'brilliant' with information… feel they're thinking... they'll be happy.” (HS)
“A little learning is a dangerous thing. Drink deeps, or taste not the pierian spring; there
shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, drinking largely intoxicates the brain, and drinking
largely sobers us again.”
“ lets have your hand in sight, Montag not that we don’t trust you, understand but-”
“He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.’ ” Stick with the firemen, Montag. All else is
dreary chaos!”
“I had a dream an hour ago… in this dream, you and I, Montag, got into a furious debate on books, You
towered with rage, yelled quotes at me. I calmly parried every thrust.”
“knowledge is power!” (montag)
‘Beatty’s graceful fingers thrust out to seize his wrist. “God, what a pulse! I’ve got you going, have I, Montag?’
“Stick with the firemen, Montag. All else is dreary chaos!”
“Consider the lilies of the field, shut up, shut up”
“What traitors books can be!”
"A book is a loaded gun."
"Burn all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean."
"Authors, full of evil thoughts."
“We’re the Happiness Boys”
“We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and
thought.”
“the crisis is past and all is well, the sheep returns to the fold. We’re all sheep who have strayed at times”
“Once upon a time!..what kind of talk is that”
“He slapped her face with amazing objectivity”
““We’re due back at the House. Besides, these fanatics always try suicide; the pattern’s familiar.”
 CLARISSE
Thematic Statement Evidence

Clarrisse is a free spirited “Faintest breath of apricots and strawberries”

force of nature “Fragile milk crystal with a soft and constant light in it”
“Gentle hunger that touched over everything with tireless curiosity”
“Candle of illumination...rediscovery”
○ emblem of enlightenment
“I like to smell things and look at things”
○ immerses herself in nature, utilises sensory perceptions of sight and smell to engage with
environment
○ heightened awareness of surroundings, keen observations
○ “if you look, there’s a man on the moon”
■ contrasted against montag’s “hadn’t looked in a long time”

Clarisse is willing to break “Sitting around, talking”

societal normas and seperate ○ she engages in authentic conversations, relate to one another emotionally
herself from the masses ○ juxtaposed to what people in F451 do (XR to mildred and her parlour walls) → communication
→ non-conformist
is absent
“I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other.”
“I like to watch people… look at them and listen… want to figure out…”
"I'm anti-social, they say. I don't mix"

Clarisse is unafraid of “I’m not afraid of you at all.”

authority figures “You’re just a man, after all…”
(catalyst) “Are you happy?” → self-realisation
“Do you ever read any of the books you burn?”

FABER
Thematic Statement Evidence
Faber is a coward who hides
behind closed doors
Faber is a wise and
knowledgeable character who
is able to assist montag using
his wits (well-educated)
(mentor to montag)
Faber is a plot catalyst that
triggers the change in Montag
"This is some sort of trap! I can't talk to just anyone on the phone!" (SS)
○ Cautious and Paranoid
"So few want to be rebels... most, like myself, scare easily." (SS)
○ Faber decides to back down
"Montag, go home. Go to bed. (SS)
"I am a cowardly old fool." (SS)
"I would actually have let you walk right out of my house." (SS)
"If the drones die, I'm still safe at home." (SS)
"I’m one of the innocents who could have spoken up and out when no one would listen to the ‘guilty,’ but I did
not speak and thus became guilty myself" (SS)
"I don't talk things... I talk the meaning of things. I sit here and know I'm alive." (SS)
"They show the pores in the face of life." (SS)
○ books expose the reality of life → hated and feared
"Quality... texture... features" (SS)
"Telling detail, fresh detail." (SS)
"It grows you any shape it wishes! It is an environment as real as the world. It becomes and is the truth." (SS)
"two small rubber plugs... ride the subway jets." (SS)
"As you can see, my parlour is nothing but four plaster walls." (SS)
○ cannot be brainwashed by commercials
"All isn't well with the world." (SS)
“Not good night. I’ll be with you the rest of the night, a vinegar gnat tickling your ear when you need me. But
good night and good luck, anyway
“That day in the park when we sat together, I knew that some day you might drop by, with fire or friendship, it
was hard to guess. I’ve had this little item ready for months.”
“He’s trying to confuse. He’s slippery. Watch out!”
Quick-thinking:
"Play it as a joke, cover up, pretend you aren't mad at all..." (SS)
○ Since Montag is so stubborn, Faber comes up with a good excuse for Guy to expose his stolen
books
○ He is serious about the plan for the revolution
"Your blind raging invigorated me. God, how young I felt!" (SS)
"I want you to feel old, I want a little of my cowardice to be distilled in you." (SS)
○ more mature, less impulsive and rash
"Let me hear him for you, let me feel the situation out." (SS)
○ "me" → taking control over the situation
○ He is cautious and contained
○ He calmly explains to Guy Beatty's true intentions and warns him to be aware of his intentions

Faber is a non-conformist
Thematic Statement
Mrs phelps and bowles are
superficial and shallow,
unable to see below the
surface oif pressing issues
Mrs Phelps and bowles
represent the microcosm of
the macrocosm, a society of
brainwashed zombies
Mrs phelps and bowles are
distant and cold, lacking
human emotions
and not fall into his trap
“As you can see, my parlour is nothing but four plaster walls." (XR to Mildred)
MRS PHELPS AND MRS BOWLES
Evidence
“Why do people want to hurt people? Not enough hurt in the world, you got to tease people with stuff like
that!”
“I voted last election, same as everyone, and I laid it on the line for President Noble. I think he’s one of the
nicest looking men ever became president.” ←juxtapose the appearances and names of the two presidents
“Kind of small and homely and he didn’t shave too close or comb his hair very well.” ← referring to hubert
hoag (presidential candidate)
“They’d just as soon kick as kiss me. Thank God, I can kick back!”
“I’ve always said, poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings, poetry and sickness;
“he saw their Cheshire cat smiles burning through the walls of the house, and now they were screaming at
each other above the din.”
“Caesareans or not, children are ruinous; you’re out of your mind,”
“”no tears, nothing like that. It’s our third marriage each and we’re independent. Be independent, we always
said. He said, if I get killed off, you just go right ahead and don’t cry, but get married again, and don’t think of
me.”
“I plunk the children in school nine days out of ten. I put up with them when they come home three days a
month; it’s not bad at all. You heave them into the ‘parlor’ and turn the switch. It’s like washing clothes; stuff
laundry in and slam the lid.”