Bre Wade 1

Meyer

English I

17 May, 2017

Montag, Living with a Life Threatening Disorder

Montag seems to be trying to silence his signs of a life threatening mental

disorder. In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Montags character is more alive, he

expresses his love for his job, he seems more in touch with his feelings and hes willing

to openly express how he feels to others. There seems to be minimal to no confusion as

to how Montag feels. As we continue into the book Montag realizes more and more

about his job and begins to question his love for his job as a firefighter. Montag is

becoming deranged, unsure of how to effectively handle situations, feeling as though he

may be hallucinating. Because of symptoms expressed, Montag should be diagnosed

with schizoaffective disorder.

In the book, we are introduced to Clarisse McClellan, a character that Montag

becomes very formal with one night while he went for his usual stroll. Soon after

meeting Clarisse we are soon able to see some resemblance in her and Montags

character as she says Isnt this a nice time of night to walk? I like to smell things and

look at things, and sometimes stay up all night, walking (Bradbury, pg. 7), she too

enjoys these late night strolls. Because of the many similarities within the characters,

Montag and Clarisse, I feel this could be Montags way of expressing himself, through

Clarisse. Clarisse seems to be a made up character, kind of like Montags conscience.

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Montag may have made up Clarisse to make him feel better, to make him feel as

though he isnt alone. This misconception of characters is known as delusion which is

one of the various symptoms of schizoaffective Montag shows continuously throughout

Fahrenheit 451.

Montag also seems to have large mood changes throughout the book and a sign

of schizoaffective disorder includes symptoms of bipolar disorder. He seems conflicted

with whether or he agrees with the rules of his job and essentially his entire way of

living. Montag seems to go back and forth with his urges to read the books out of pure

curiosity and his urges of wanting to stop others from reading the books to prevent him

and other firemen from having to burn the books. This internal confusion Montag faces

persistently throughout Fahrenheit 451 is just another sign of schizoaffective disorder.

Some may say these are just Montags way of dealing with the stress that comes

along with working as a fireman. I disagree with this because he originally loved his job

as a fireman & didn't begin expressing these various emotions until he discovered the

fact that there could be some truth in the things hid behind the faces of the books.

Montags relationships with friends and coworkers also changed throughout the book,

these changes werent minor and they occurred in a short period of time, Montag should

be diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder for these reasons.