Offer your different views and points on what part in the novel you think is the self-realization point. My teacher believes that the epiphany occurs when Clarisee asks Montag if he is happy and if he is in love. She believes that this is his point in spilting between the two points of his life. Do you think that there could be any other points in the book in which this self-realization or epiphany happens? If so, please post your thoughts and views on why and provide proof for your answers.

I agree with your teacher. I think the epiphany occurs when clarisse meets montag. I also think that self realization occurs when they burn the old ladys house down, with her. When he meets Clarisse and she talks to him he is thinking about his life, but when he burns the house down he acts on his feelings of doubt.

I agree with both of you. I think that the real turning point of the story was when Clarisse and Montag talked. But I think that when they burned the old lady's house down that it was just the burning that set the trigger off and that he really understood what Clarisse's point about happiness meant.

I think that when Montag started talking to Clarisse, she made him think. She made him think about his life and what it really meant to him. However, I think the real self-realization moment occured when Montag was trying to get the old lady out of her burning house but she refused. Up until that point, Montag just thought about what Clarisse said and about books. When the house was burning, that was when he actually took some action instead of just thinking about it, when he stole the book. For the first time, he saw how a person would die for something as simple as a book. He actually realized how much books meant and were worth. He never thought books were necessary or held much value until he saw the old woman willing to give her life for the books. That's the point when he thought to himself that there might actually be something important in these books that he burns for a living. He realized that books were not evil things that caused sadness, but objects that could teach us a lot about life. When he took that book, he probably knew that he could never go back to his old life. From that point forward, he wanted to know everything about books (when Faber comes in) and he wanted to change the way people viewed books.

I belive that his self-realization point happens in the novel when he sees the old lady burn with her books. Sure his encounters with Clarisse get him thinking, but when he sees this woman die with her books i think he first finally understands what she was talking about and that provokes a change. From this moment on the whole dynamic of the book changes. Monatg had a set schedule even when he was in contact with Clarisse. He adhered to this schedule to the minute of each day. After the old lady buring point in the book Montag complete forgets about his schedule and doesn't show up for work. His stepping out of his every day routine shows his first step to non- conforming. This then is the beginning of his journey to self- discovery.