When Montag was a fireman, he enjoyed seeing people in pain. He found pleasure in burning and death. One is able to observe this interest when Montag once declared quite proudly, "It's fine work. Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn 'em to ashes, then burn the ashes…." This job was merely as escape from him home life. Montag seemed to be a happy man, but in reality, he was a very depressed man, saddened by his wife's lack of care for him and everything he saw at home. Any sign of caring or joy comforted him, such as the kindness that came from the strange girl named Clarisse. In the end, Guy Montag the fireman is a man who is lost in his search for true happiness.
Throughout Fahrenheit 451 Montag changes from a depressed man who despises books, to a man who finds happiness through books. He is someone who thinks for himself. One can tell that he thinks for himself when he is able to remember on his own the place he and Mildred first met and the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Book of Revelation. Montag learned how to care about human life. Before, he never had a second thought about burning houses and people to the ground. As the atomic bomb was dropped, destroying nearly the whole human civilization, Montag thought back for a moment imagining the sad death his wife, Mildred, probably went through. He screamed her name, showing that even though Mildred was never nice to Montag and never cared about him, he still loved her and cared about her life. Montag's experience gave him a sense of emotion and self-confidence. Montag the Reader had no doubts as he walked back to the destroyed city. He was ready to show everyone who survived how great books are and how they can change people. Montag the Reader is a man who has discovered what true happiness is and wants to share it with the world.