Fahrenheit 451 Notes | Major Characters

Guy Montag: Montag is the protagonist of the story. He is a fireman who realizes that the world is wasting away because people live only to be entertained. They no longer interact with one another in meaningful ways, and they have done away with anything that suggests experience and feeling outside of their wall televisions and seashell radios.

Clarisse McClellan: Clarisse is an unusual young girl who lives next door to Montag. She refuses the entertainment that society offers and prefers to enjoy the outdoors and conversations with her family. Before her death, she awakens Montag to the idea that there is more to life than burning books and watching television.

Mildred Montag: Mildred is Guy Montag's wife whose only purpose in life is sitting in the parlor and watching television. She is intensely unhappy, so much so that she attempts suicide, but she doesn't realize that she is so miserable.

Captain Beatty: Captain Beatty is the fire chief for whom Montag works. Beatty is knowledgeable about books, and he is the one who knows that Montag's allegiances are shifting when Montag becomes interested in saving books.

Faber: Faber is a retired English professor whom Montag met in a park long ago. When Montag needs help understanding what he reads in the contraband books, he turns to Faber.