fahrenheit 451 letters part one

Salutations Hannah,

            At this point in the book, I am most intrigued by Guy’s relationships with Clarisse, Milly, and himself. Montag’s relationship with his wife appears to be a caricature of the path that relationships today have begun to follow. It is so impersonal that it can hardly be defined as a relationship as they rarely (if ever) touch and barely talk about issues deeper than the day to day logistics of living together. I am very interested to see if Milly can be jolted out of this mindset that society has indoctrinated into her. Meanwhile, Clarisse is causing Guy to question more aspects of his life, and I am concerned that this hyper-watchful society will not allow this to continue for long without somehow harming Clarisse. However, I believe the most important part of the novel lies in Montag’s perspective on himself and the world around him. As the novel progresses, Montag becomes more doubtful that he is doing the right thing in conforming to the lifestyle bred into him through generations of firemen. This culminates in his theft of a book from one of the houses that he is supposed to be burning one night during his shift. His growing discomfort can also be seen in his interactions with his coworkers as he begins to see that what he is doing is keeping people from living lives of substance, and this compounds with his own desire for a life of more substance than the one his society allows him to live. The ultimate battle so far takes place between Guy and the society in which he lives. What do you think will come of this conflict? Do you think there will come a point where Guy snaps and acts out dramatically? What do you think will happen in his relationships with Clarisse and Milly?