Guy Montag:
Guy was the main character in the story, and right from the beginning it was obvious that he was different from the other people in the society. He knew that he wasn't happy with his life, but he really wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because of his job, he did steal books from the fires, or maybe it was his relationship with his wife, but his unhappiness needed to be filled. He filled that hole with curiosity. That craving for learning put him in motion and led him to his fugitive life. Once Guy was opened up to the ideas of the revolution, he realizes that the burning of the books was not about destroying them, but about recreating them in the minds of the intellectuals. He couldn't learn that from the Bible, he had to experience it himself.
Captain Beatty:
Beatty is very similar to Guy. He is a little bit of an oxymoron because while he is the head fireman, he knows so much about books. He even quotes from them, including the bible. Beatty has so many questions and just isn't happy with his life, just like Guy, but there is a difference. Beatty provides a very strong anti-book argument. He says that books are treacherous. Books are confusing and contradictory. The character really helps bring out Bradbury's theme. It's not about what the books are about, its about the ability to think and ask question for yourself while reading them.
Clarisse McClellan:
Clarisse is one of the most important characters in the novel. She really gets the ball rolling for Guy and without her, Guy would have just kept on living his empty life. Clarisse is a contradiction in the society. She really wasn't into the violence on t.v. Actually, she really didn't even enjoy watching t.v. She was drawn to Guy because he was so weird; a fireman who didn't even know why he was a fireman. Then she disappeared. She was so much of a contradiction that she just couldn't exist in the society at all. Lame.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1953. Print.
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