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Introduction/Montag character development
In the beginning, Montag is a fireman whose job it is to burn books, and he is, at first, very pleased with this job. -
Montag meeting Clarisse
Montag meets a young girl named Clarisse McClellan and starts putting questions in his head about the way the world of Fahrenheit 451 works. They discuss a lack of fulfillment in Montag's life and establishes the beginning of a plot line surrounding Montag's decisions. -
Mildred's overdose
Montag returns home to find that Mildred has overdosed on pills. However, after she returns to health, she is unwilling to talk about her attempted suicide and becomes rather distant. -
The woman and her books
After days of questioning his situation, while at his job, Montag is called to a woman's house to burn her large stash of books. The woman stubbornly refuses to leave her house and chooses to burn with her books. -
Clarisse's death
After hearing of Clarisse's death, Montag goes into a depressed state and avoids going to his job at all costs. -
Beatty's visit to Montag
The fire chief, Captain Beatty, visits Montag and gives him a "pep talk" of sorts, letting him know that books are simply not valuable and contain worthless information, also alluding to the fact that he knows Montag has stolen books. -
Montag's meeting with Faber
Due to Montag's growing interest in intellect, Montag tries to contact an English professor by the name of Faber. Faber is a cowardly intellectual who lives in fear due to his library of books and love of learning. -
Montag confronts Mildred and her friends
While Mildred is discussing the television with her friends, Montag decides to unplug the TV and read them an excerpt of "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold. After berating Mildred's friends for their unfulfilling lives and upsetting Mildred, he hides his books and goes back to work, dissappointed. -
Beatty's death
Montag is again confronted by Beatty and is forced to burn his own house down. While Beatty taunts Montag, Montag has had enough and burns Beatty, killing him. -
Montag and Faber attempt to escape
Montag and Faber exact their escape plans and run away while the firemen look for a scapegoat to feign Montag's murder. -
Montag meets Granger
Granger is a former author and intellectual who greets Montag with a way to escape the mechanical hounds and introducing him to the commune, where people will memorize books in whole to pass them down through generations. -
The city's destruction
The city, now plagued by war, is entirely destroyed. Montag, Granger, and the rest of the commune attempt to return to the city to fix what has been broken.
