Fahrenheit 451 Guy Montag
by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is the protagonist of the story. He is a fireman in a future world where he starts fires rather than puts them out. After meeting Clarisse McClellan, however, he begins to examine his inner life and pay more attention to his relationships and environment—something he'd never thought to do. Montag is not alone in his lack of introspection, for that is the norm in this fictional society. Once he discovers how unhappy he is, and how unhappy everyone else is, he starts taking steps to defy the established system. He impulsively steals books, and just as impulsively commits murder, often blaming his hands for acting on their own accord. Though Montag is not born/raised an intellectual, he comes to appreciate literature and the lessons it can provide. Bradbury even suggests that Montag merges somewhat with Professor Faber because of Faber reading to him through a tiny, two-way radio. By the end of the novel, Montag not only "becomes" the Book of Ecclesiastes because of his attempts to memorize the text (and what Faber has read to him), but is accepted as the leader of the exiled intellectuals.