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In the novel Fahrenheit 451, readers can point out that there were two major contributions to how the story ended up playing out. From “false ideas” in the books to how Clarisse had an important impact on Guy Montag’s personality, these topics relate majorly to modern day society. Both of these topics have the same idea. No matter how you look at it, they both involve changing a state of mind; whether it be because of an accusation (“false idea”) or because of the people around you, they both play into mental health and how the brain works. One way peers can be an influence you is drug usage. If your peers are doing drugs, you are more likely to do them because it is “cool”. According to Holly Holloway, “Those living with people who are addicted to drugs that can lead to wildly volatile behavior are at severe risk for victimization, along with any other family members or children living in the home” (Holloway). The drugs not only affect the people using them, but  the people around them as well. Also, “Because addiction significantly alters a person’s personality, it can make them unrecognizable from the person they were pre-addiction” (Mountainside). Drugs can have the same affect on you as people can. “Peer influence is when you choose to do something you wouldn’t otherwise do, because you want to feel accepted and valued by your friends” (Peer). Drugs make you do things, not because you want to, but because you think you need to (Can). According to Soklaridis, it is a family illness (Soklaridis). It spreads quickly and isn’t easy to get rid of. “Drugs and a loving relationship mix about as well as dynamite and a match – the combination can be explosive. And the destruction can be widespread, reaching far beyond immediate family (How). Peer pressure can lead to drug usage, which affects your personality anyway, but when you get a family involved it turns into a rollercoaster with legs.

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Many times throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451, readers have a chance see how Clarisse is impacting Guy Montag’s mood and personality. Before Montag met Clarisse, his personality was totally different. He liked to burn books and didn’t see anything wrong with it. When he meets Clarisse he describes her as all white. “Her face was slender and a milk-white, and in it was a kind of gentle hunger that touched over everything with gentle curiosity” (Bradbury 3). He also writes, “Her dress was white and it whispered. He almost thought he heard the motion of her hands as she walked, and the infinitely small sound now, the white stir of her face turning when she discovered she was a moment away from a man who stood in the middle of the pavement waiting” (Bradbury). Clarisse, being described as white, shows her innocence and purity. This brings a balance to Montag’s life, mixing the symbols of anger and innocence. She changes Guy Montag’s personality right from the first conversation. Clarisse asks, “Are you happy” (Bradbury 7)? This makes him begin to ponder whether he really is happy or not. Montag then thinks to himself, “Of course I’m happy. What does she think? I’m not” (Bradbury 7)? With an obviously questioning tone, readers read deeper and realize he isn’t happy with his life. He begins to open his eyes and flourish with curiosity as the story progresses, noticing things around him that he wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for the presence of Clarisse. One thing that Guy Montag noticed was the burning of books was in fact wrong. Bradbury writes, “And for the first time I realized that a man was behind each one of the books. A man had to think them up. A man had to take a long time to put them down on paper” (Bradbury 49). He realized that books, a symbol of knowledge and new thoughts, were important in society and that if they were read, “They just might stop us from making the same damn insane mistakes” (Bradbury 69). Meeting a new person completely changed the idea behind Montag’s character and gave his life a new meaning, purity and knowledge.

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Throughout the dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury shows how books can negatively impact relationships. Right from the start of this novel, readers can see that Guy Montag obviously has an obsession with the burning of books. In the novel, books kill not only a relationship between husband and wife, but also many friendships around the circle of Guy Montag. One symbol that gives the readers a deeper understanding of Fahrenheit 451 is fire. Fire is brought up many times throughout the novel, making it hard for readers to ignore. It symbolizes positive ideas such as wisdom and knowledge, but it also symbolizes ideas on the complete opposite end of the spectrum such as anger and pain. Fahrenheit 451 pulls both sides together to make a story full of irony. Ray Bradbury writes, “It was a pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 1). Guy Montag was talking about how he likes to see things burn, primarily books. His relationships with people were fine until he realized that burning books was in fact bad, not good. He then soon becomes extremely intrigued by the idea of books and his relationships with people start to fall apart. One time when Mildred had friends over to watch a show, he looked at the screen and saw bodies flying in the air. Montag is disgusted at what he sees and unplugs the television. He then strikes up a conversation with the women, asking when they think the war will start; moreover he says that he notices their husbands aren’t with them. After continuing on the conversation, Montag gets very upset with Mrs. Bowles because of a rude statement. Guy Montag says, “Go home and think of your first husband divorced and your second husband killed in a jet and your third husband blowing his brains out, go home and think of the dozen abortions you’ve had, go home and think of that and your damn caesarean sections, too, and your children who hate your guts! Go home and think how it all happened and what did you ever do to stop it? Go home , go home!” (Bradbury 98). After this occurrence, his social circle is pretty much destroyed. Him and his wife lost everything because people find out that Montag had books. The firemen burnt his house down. His wife says, “Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything ,everything gone now” (Bradbury 108). An important symbol in this  situation is his wife. At this moment his wife, Mildred, resembles loss and heartbreak. Her life fell apart, as well as her relationship with Guy Montag.

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Mrs. Jenkins
English 10-8
25 April 2019

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This image shows a daughter shunning her father, likely because of poor choices.

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This shows how the father's drinking problems are impacting his spouse and child. Young eyes are always watching. According to Anaheim Lighthouse's page, factors that contribute to addiction are genetics and environment.

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Many adults that have a mental illness have found unhehalthy ways of coping.

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This picture shows how common mental illness really is, even in children.

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When someone in a family is suffering from a mental illness, it affects everbody around them as well.

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In this video, Tom Insel has an idea. He wonders if we could reduce mental illness mortality rate, just like how we reduced the mortality rate for illnesses such as heart disease.

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Thomas Insel: Toward a new understanding of mental illness

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Today, thanks to better early detection, there are 63% fewer deaths from heart disease than there were just a few decades ago. Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, wonders: Could we do the same for depression and schizophrenia?

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Ray Bradbury uses his novel Fahrenheit 451 to accurately show how societal issues, such as mental health and addiction can impact relationships and self-worth as it pertains to American life today.