Character Relationships in Fahrenheit 451 | Albert Resources (2024)

One of the things that makes the themes ofFahrenheit 451so powerful is seeing how Bradbury develops the characters around its themes. For Bradbury, the society inFahrenheit 451is one he feared could one day become a reality in our world. The novel has characters that show various extremes:

• The free-thinking, open-minded Clarisse, an anomaly in the society of the novel
• The self-absorbed, empty shell of a person, Mildred, completely conformed to the norms of society
• The ruthless and contradictory Captain Beatty, who both defies the laws against reading and knowledge and asserts his power over others in the destruction of books and knowledge

In the midst of all of these characters is the protagonist, Montag, a man who has come to question everything he thought he knew about his life and seeks to change his world without knowledge.

Primary Characters:

Guy Montag

The protagonist ofFahrenheit 451is 30-year-old Guy Montag. As a fireman, Montag is tasked with burning down people’s homes when they are found to be hiding books. The story opens at the fiery scene of a house burning and Montag appearing to relish his role as the bearer of the torch, spraying the fire that consumes everything around him.

The opening line, “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 3), matches Montag’s excitement as he compares himself to a conductor playing a symphony. However, this image of a carefree man who finds excitement in the destructive nature of his work does not last much more than the first few pages of the text.

Montag’s introduction to a young and thoughtful new neighbor, Clarrise, is a transformative experience and a catalyst for Montag’s search for meaning and happiness. Like the majority of his society, Montag has a seemingly normal and worry-free life. He has lived his life woefully ignorant of the reality of the world around him, without any true connection to other people, including his wife, Mildred. Though he only knows her for a week, Clarrise opens Montag’s eyes to many of the things he has been missing, planting a seed of curiosity that drives Montag’s hurried and often reckless behaviors as he attempts to bring meaning to his life.

As Montag begins to question society and his role in the destruction of knowledge, his firehouse is called to the home of an older woman who has been hiding a large cache of books. This is not the type of call that Montag is used to. The woman, unwilling to leave her books, lights the match that consumes not only her books but her life. Montag’s shock over the woman’s choice to die rather than live without her books further compels his desire to understand what is contained in the pages of these books he has spent so long destroying. During this event, it is revealed that Montag has stolen one of the books from the woman’s home. It is soon learned that this is not the first book that Montag has stolen. Much of the uncertainty and paranoia that Montag has displayed stems from the guilt and nervousness he feels in knowing he has secretly been hiding books for some time. When Montag returns home that night, he learns that Clarrise had been killed by a speeding car a few days earlier. Collectively, these events serve as a turning point for Montag, and he now turns to the books for the first time to find answers.

While Montag knows he needs to change his life to find happiness, he lacks the skills and ability to make this change on his own due to a lifetime of passive acceptance. He wildly attempts to save Mildred, forcing her to read the books with him. However, she lacks the emotional capacity to comprehend the depth of knowledge contained in the books. Her resistance motivates Montag to seek the help of Faber, a former professor who agrees to teach Montag how to understand books. Throughout these encounters, Montag grows increasingly cynical and aggressive, lashing out at those around him even when he is desperately appealing for help. Montag’s superior at the firehouse, Captain Beatty, in his role as the primary antagonist, brings Montag’s growing hatred for the life he has been living to a boiling point. It is through Beatty’s destruction that Montag is reborn.

Captain Beatty

The antagonist ofFahrenheit 451is Montag’s superior at the firehouse, Captain Beatty. Beatty is as complex as he is commanding – his long, cynical, yet oddly intellectual monologues dominate nearly every moment he is present in the story. He uses an authoritarian power to control the firemen, the firehouse, and the community. The character of Captain Beatty represents the ultimate paradox in the novel. While he is outspoken in his condemnation of books and the ideas they contain, it is clear early on in the story that Beatty is very well-read. His arguments against books are often filled with quotes and references from the very books he is required to burn.

In part one of the novel, “The Hearth and the Salamander,” following the critical event where an old woman chose to die with her books, Captain Beatty provides the history that led to the current state of society. This is a key moment for analyzing the character of Captain Beatty. His words carry a tone of disgust as he describes to Montag how the expansion of mass media led to a desire for easier, faster consumption of information. He speaks with resentment when describing the simplification of Hamlet:

“But many were those whose sole knowledge of Hamlet (you know the title certainly, Montag; it is probably only a faint rumor of title to you Mrs. Montag) whose sole knowledge, as I say, of Hamlet was a one-page digest in a book that claimed: now at last you can read all the classics; keep up with your neighbors. Do you see? Out of the nursery into the college and back to the nursery; there’s your intellectual pattern for the past five centuries or more.” (Bradbury 54-55)

Despite his clear contempt for the ignorance that drove society to reject books, Beatty is just as outspoken and certain when describing the insidious nature of books and the need to dispose of them:

“We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind. Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man? Me? I won’t stomach them for a minute.” (Bradbury 58)

Beatty’s internal conflict fuels his aggressive behavior, making him a threat for Montag throughout the text. He seems to have an omniscient presence, always aware of Montag’s interactions, behaviors, and even his thoughts. As Montag’s greatest obstacle, Beatty must be overcome for Montag to achieve his goal of finding happiness and knowledge.

Mildred Montag

Mildred Montag is Guy Montag’s wife and the source of a number of his conflicts. Mildred is shallow, unable to think for herself, addicted to the conveniences of the technology that surrounds her every hour of the day, and incapable of having authentic relationships. While her actions directly impact Montag, she also serves as a representation of what society has become.

The reader is first introduced to Mildred after Montag comes home and discovers she has attempted to take her own life by overdosing on pills. The men that come to save her life are not much more than repairmen coming to fix an appliance, showing how Mildren’s actions have become commonplace in this society. The depth of Mildred’s disconnect from anything real either prevents her from or makes her unwilling to remember her attempt to take her own life. She uses entertainment to avoid having to think or talk about her feelings. She only seems to care about her “family,” the pretend characters of the show she regularly engages with in her television room, where three of the four walls are interactive screens.

While Montag attempts to engage with Mildred and find substance to their marriage, Mildred is far too lost in the simplicity of her life and her self-serving nature. She is unmoved when Montag is ill and making a desperate plea for her to understand his struggles. In addition to her disregard for her own life, Mildred has little regard for any life in general, informing Montag of Clarrise’s death as an afterthought only when Montag asks about her.

After Montag forces Mildred to spend an afternoon reading with him, it is clear that Mildred is beyond saving. It comes as little surprise when Montag discovers that Mildred has reported him for the books he has been hiding. When the firemen arrive at Montag’s home, she quickly leaves in a taxi without speaking a word to Montag.

Faber

The elderly Faber is a former English professor who serves as a counter-figure to Captain Beatty in the novel. Faber is first introduced in the story after Montag’s failed attempt to get Mildred interested in reading the books he had hidden in his home. Montag first remembers meeting Faber in a park. At first wary that Montag had caught him with a book, Faber is guarded; however, when he realizes that Montag is only interested in talking, they spend an hour conversing, with Faber even reciting poetry. At the end of their conversation, Faber is clear about the type of person he is: “I don’t talkthingssir… I talk themeaningof things. I sit here andknowI’m alive” (Bradbury 75). He leaves after sharing his address with Montag. This conversation happened a year before the rest of the story takes place, showing that Montag’s discontent has been growing for some time.

When Montag contacts Faber, he begins questioning him about how many copies of the bible are left, worried that the one he has been reading from is the last, and trying to decide which book to turn in to Beatty to be destroyed. Concerned about Montag’s questioning, Faber quickly hangs up the phone. Frustrated that Mildred cares about the characters on the television, Montag goes to Faber for help.

Faber believes three things are needed to change society: quality of information, leisure to digest it, and the right to carry out actions on what is learned. While Montag wants to make this happen, Faber worries that society is too far gone to create the change needed, believing that the impending war will cause the final breakdown in civilization. It isn’t until Montag threatens Faber and begins tearing apart what could be the last copy of the Bible that Faber agrees to help.

As a man much older than Montag, Faber suffers guilt from having seen the way society was changing and not speaking up before it was too late. He regularly calls himself a coward for not standing up in the past and being too afraid to stand up now. Even in risking his life to help Montag, Faber believes he is helping in a cowardly way – using a two-way seashell radio to listen to what Montag is hearing while advising him on what to say. However, with Faber’s guidance, Montag feels empowered to act on his desire to gain knowledge from books and fight against the status quo. Faber’s voice in Montag’s ear provides a contrast to the rambling cynical monologues of Beatty, and he readily recognizes the threat that Beatty presents. After Montag has destroyed his own home and killed Beatty, Faber is rejuvenated and ready to act on the things he wished he had acted on so many years before. He helps Montag plan his escape from the city and to meet him in a few weeks in St. Louis.

Clarisse McClellen

Clarisse is Montag’s new young neighbor, and her character is a stimulus to Montag’s awakening to the realities of the world around him. While she is only in the novel for a brief period, she is often in Montag’s thoughts as he compares her happiness and thoughtful disposition to the emptiness of the people around him, particularly his wife, Mildred.

Montag first meets Clarisse while he is walking home from work in the first chapter of the novel. Montag is intrigued by Clarisse’s curious nature, as it sets her apart from others in this society. She peppers Montag with questions and points out that he never thinks about the questions she asks and that he always responds with a laugh. Montag is confused by the way Clarisse’s family interacts, talking late into the night. His question, “But what do youtalkabout?” (Bradbury 10), makes Clarisse laugh before she asks him if he is happy. This question catches Montag off guard. His immediate thought, “Of course I’m happy,” is followed by his discovery of Mildred, unresponsive after her suicide attempt.

Through his conversations with Clarisse, the reader learns more about the acceptable norms for this society. Her defiance of the norms requires her to see a psychiatrist. She is considered antisocial even though she is more social than most. She finds little interest in school courses such as TV and sports classes where nobody asks any questions, and she is afraid of kids her age due to their violent tendencies.

While Montag struggles to understand the nature of a person like Clarisse, her questions and stories start making him think in ways he never has before. Her sudden disappearance, which is explained later when Mildred remembers that Clarisse had been killed by a speeding car, profoundly affects Montag. He has been awakened to thoughts he has never had before, questions he wants answers to. Learning of Clarisse’s death following the troubling fire where an older woman chose to die with her books sets Montag’s search for meaning in motion.

Secondary Characters:

Granger

Granger is introduced near the end of the novel after Montag has escaped from the city. He is a writer and the leader of a group of people who live outside the parameters of society. Granger explains that their group is made up of thousands of people all over the country. Each person has a book, or part of a book, memorized, with the plan to bring books back to society when it’s ready. Granger describes the group as book burners as they have found it more reliable to memorize the books they find and then burn them to prevent getting caught.

Granger’s role in the story is designed somewhat as a savior. He will bring enlightenment to the people after the dark ages have ended. Like Faber, Granger and his group are waiting for the war to bring its destruction so that society can be reborn. He gives Montag his purpose, accepting him into the group and helping him evade the Hound.

Mrs. Phelps & Mrs. Bowles

Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles are two of Mildred’s friends who visit the same evening that Montag has met with Faber. Like Mildred, they represent the empty, uncaring, and self-serving nature of most of society. Mrs. Bowles has had three husbands; the first husband divorced her, the second husband was killed in a jet, and the third husband took his own life. She describes having two children that she doesn’t care about, reproducing because the world needs to go on. She sends her children away to school and only needs to deal with them the three days of the month they are home. Her children have as little regard for her as she does for them. Mrs. Phelps is also on her third husband and does not seem to care that he has been sent off to war. She despises children, refusing to have any.

The ignorance of Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles is put on display when discussing a recent election, where they voted for the president because he was a nice-looking man, while his opponent was small, fat, and homely. What either man said was irrelevant, and they couldn’t understand what the opposing candidate was talking about most of the time.

These characters also provide a further glimpse into society’s inability to comprehend and process the thoughts and ideas found in books. In a risky and not well thought out move, Montag unleashes a whirlwind of criticism at the women, pulling books out right in front of them until he is pushed into reading a very emotional poem called “Dover Beach.” Mrs. Phelps breaks down in tears, unable to deal with feelings that have long been suppressed, while Mrs. Bowles uses Mrs. Phelps’ reaction as proof that books hurt people.

The Mechanical Hound

While not a human character in the text, the Mechanical Hound is a constant lurking threat for Montag. Used as a tool for hunting fugitives, the Mechanical Hound can be programmed with an individual’s unique chemical makeup to follow the scent of the person being hunted more easily. Once caught, an injection will either sedate or kill the person at the source of the hunt.

Montag always feels the presence of the Hound, believing that the Hound does not like him – playing into the paradox of something that is both alive and not alive. Symbolically, the Hound represents both the control of government and technology’s destructive nature.

Relationships Between Characters in Fahrenheit 451

In a society devoid of thoughts and feelings, relationships are often defined by how one’s actions directly impact another’s. The characters inFahrenheit 451are all used, in some way, to create a path for the story’s protagonist, Montag. As a man without the skill or experience of thinking for himself, Montag is often teetering at the edge of self-destruction. His awakening into the world of knowledge and thought is developed through his experiences with others that have defied the norms of society and motivated by those who are unwilling to break from the conformity of the masses.

Montag’s catalyst for change stems from his experience as a witness to a woman who chooses to die rather than live without her books and the death of his young neighbor, Clarisse, who forced him to think beyond his narrow understanding of the world through her inquisitive nature and thought-provoking questions. Montag wants to understand what is so powerful about books that one would choose to die for them. He wants to understand where the happiness in Clarisse and her family comes from, and why, as he begins to realize it, he is not happy, despite having a job, a marriage, all the entertainment he could ask for, and the technology to take care of all of the menial tasks in life. These characters help to develop and propel his awakening to the real world.

In Montag’s quest for knowledge, Faber serves a vital role as someone who is both willing to teach him and help him achieve the change he desires. Faber provides Montag with the strength and guidance he will need to overcome the obstacles in his path.

Mildred is unwilling to break from the conformity of the masses, and this conformity is emphasized by her friends Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Phelps. Despite Montag’s attempts to awaken some form of thought and wonder, Mildred and her friends ultimately show Montag the hollowness of the life he knew. His disgust with the emptiness and ignorance he sees helps to motivate him to seek a better life.

Montag’s relationship with Captain Beatty is unique in that Beatty can show Montag how knowledge can be a destructive force when used for manipulation and power. While Montag is frightened by Beatty and nowhere near capable of fighting him on an intellectual level, Beatty’s use of knowledge to create terror provides Montag with the ultimate motivation he needs to overcome those that will corrupt knowledge for power.

Increasing Student Understanding of Characters in Fahrenheit 451

A number of activities can be used in the classroom to help increase student understanding of the characters inFahrenheit 451.

Developing a character map that students can expand as they read further into the novel can help them gain a visual perspective of the different characters and how they interact with Montag.

Fahrenheit 451contains many character parallels. As students keep track of characters throughout the novel, they should be able to start recognizing these character foils – a character that contrasts with another character. Clarisse and Mildred are easily recognized as character foils, and their characters are a good place to start. The character foil relationships between Montag and Beatty and Faber and Beatty are a little more complex, but breaking down the contrasting characteristics is a good way to help students better understand these characters.

Use Albert’s Chapter Quizzes to Check for Understanding

Each of our literature courses contains reading quizzes that you can use to track your students’ reading progress and comprehension before moving on to a new section of the text. You can find these reading quizzes in the Assessments tab of our subject guide.

Each chapter of Fahrenheit 451 has its own 10 question reading quiz, and each quiz is made up of the following:

Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. Simon and Schuster, 1950.