A Few Main Characters

     Wow, in the first few pages of Fahrenheit 451, I have already learned so much.  I have been introduced to three characters, two more specifically than the last.  The main character, Guy Montag, when first introduced, seemed a little cocky to me when the author wrote, “He knew that when he returned to the firehouse, he might wink at himself… in the mirror” (p. 4).  I have learned that Montag is a 30-year-old firefighter – which has a completely different definition in the book than what I know a firefighter to be.  The firefighters in this book actually start fires to burn books and it is against the law for them to read any of the books they burn, which is information that is pointed out by the second character, Clarisse McClellan.  Clarisse is a 17-year-old girl who seems to have many questions.  To me, her questions seem valid, perhaps because I think of the world that I live in today.  To Montag, her questions seem ridiculous and unfounded, since the world he knows is so different.  One question she asks Montag is, “Are you happy?” and this question seems to haunt him.  Later in the section, as he dwells upon this question, it is revealed that his smile that, “never went away, as long as he remembered” (p.4), has finally left his face.  I felt I got a little more insight to Montag when the author writes, “He wore his happiness like a mask” (p. 12).  Finally, the section ends with Montag coming home to his wife, Mildred, the third character introduced to me.  Just by the description of her, I immediately felt like something was wrong.  The author describes Montag picturing what his wife would look like if he turned on the light, “like a body displayed on the lid of a tomb” (p. 12).  It also describes “little Seashells” in her ears that seem to be transmitting ocean sounds, music, and words… I’m still unclear about what these Seashells are and I am hoping to learn more.  Montag then trips over an empty medicine bottle that he knew was full that morning, and he realizes that his wife has taken all of the pills, and this section ends with him calling the “Emergency hospital.”            

     Questions I have after reading this section are:  Why do firefighters burn books and why is it illegal to read them?  Why does Montag hide his emotions?  What will be the significance of the mysterious Clarisse character?  Why is Montag’s wife so depressed she is trying to kill herself?