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   mrs-campbell Teacher
   High School - 11th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   Faber is an elderly man that Montag met for the first time before the novel even starts.  They sat together, inadvertantly, on a park bench, and had a conversation.  The conversation, and the man himself, stuck in Montag's mind because there was just something different about him, in a good way.  Later, when Montag meets Clarisse for the first time, he notes a similarity between the two of them, the fact that they had actually had real conversations that were stimulating, interesting and enlivening.  He notes of his meeting with Clarisse, that

   "He remembered nothing like it save one afternoon a year ago when he had met an old man in the park and they had talked."

   Later, as we get to know Faber a bit better, we discover that he used to be a professor; he loved books, and he loved learning.  But, because of the bans on books, and the turn that society took against knowledge and learning, he had cowered under the pressure and gotten rid of his books, stopped teaching, and led a life of fearful seclusion.  Montag contacts him again later in the book, strikes up a friendship, and giving each other strength and courage, they come up with a plan to change things.

   Faber, a man of learning, for a time, was cowardly in the face of societal restrictions, but rises to the call to play a very brave role in Montag's rebellion.  Faber is wise, a comfort and support to Montag, and a mentor and guide along his path towards self-discovery.  I hope that those thoughts help; good luck!

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/fahrenheit-451/characters

   http://www.enotes.com/fahrenheit-451/summary

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   Posted by mrs-campbell on Tuesday October 27, 2009 at 8:00 PM