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Essay / Identity in Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury - 826
Is it honestly you yourself who decides to take the action you just did? The answer should be yes, however, the main character in the book titled “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury would answer no. This book is a science fiction set in an unnamed futuristic city. The main character named Montag begins to doubt society and tries to uncover the truth by reviewing many events and meeting key people. In this story, identity is one of the main themes, and Montag shows its importance through himself. As his journey of discovery continues, he gradually loses his own identity such as his mind, his body and even his existence, and causes an identity crisis as he takes into account the characteristics of the people he he meets. First, Montag loses control over his own mind. At the beginning of the story, he meets a beautiful girl called Clarisse. She is a special girl who questions society and the way people live there. She tells Montag about the beauty of nature and also questions him about his job and his life. Although he is proud to be a firefighter, Clarisse says, "I think it's so strange that you're a firefighter, somehow it doesn't seem right for you" (21). . Montag feels "his body split into heat and coldness, softness and hardness, trembling and non-trembling, the two halves rubbing against each other" (21) through his words. Everything Clarisse says is something new for him and he gradually lets himself be influenced by this mysterious girl. In fact, the girl's impact is too great for his mind to be taken over by her when he speaks with Beatty, the fire captain. “Suddenly it seemed like a much younger voice was speaking on his behalf. He opened his mouth and it was Clarisse McClellan saying, "Didn't the firefighters prevent the fires rather than fan them and start them?" » (31). His mind is not controlled by himself in this part. He takes Clarisse's mind and this causes confusion in her mind. We can say that this event is an introduction to the loss of one's entire identity. The next thing he loses is control of his own body. When he meets Faber, an old retired English teacher, he is given a tool called Green Bullet..