Winds of Change

Montag was in a state of distress; he felt no happiness, he felt no sadness, he loved no person. “One two three four five six seven days.” (pg. 28) Without any of these feelings, life is pointless; Montag felt he had no purpose in the world that he lived. Throughout the world, there was darkness – not one piece of hope in the whole world – until a mysterious light came along: Clarisse. He finally knew what it felt like to have friend, to talk and just think. She taught him how to feel emotions, how to have things you love and hate, how to actually live and not just go through the motions of life.

When Clarisse uses a dandelion to see if she and Montag were in love, it represents her as a hope figure since she is guiding him and teaching him about love. She wants him to understand, to know that there is more to life than burning books, and to do so, she must also teach him about love. Little by little, step-by-step, he begins to make immense changes; he understands that his marriage with his wife must be fixed and begins the long, tedious process of doing so. “ ‘Here now,’ said Montag. ‘We’ll start over again, at the beginning.’ ” (pg. 68) To be able to fix their relationship, they must start over, and write a new chapter in their book of life.