How does the author develop the main character?

When we first meet Montag, we meet a man who seems to be happy with his job and in love with his wife. For the reader, it's difficult to understand how he can be so complacent, it's difficult to sympathize with his situation because he doesn't seem to want anymore than what he has.

As the novel progresses (begins), he meets Clarisse, and for whatever reason, this very young girl succeeds in making him open his eyes to the things he's missing. He begins to question his job, he wants to expand his mind, he wants to learn, and he wants to understand just what it is he's missing.

Montag is in no way the perfect hero. It's often difficult to empathize with his beliefs and even his actions. He doesn't always do things the right way, but we have to applaud him for stepping up and taking action. Over the course of the novel we come to really care about the character; we cheer him on....... and this is what the author intended from the start.