#59

59. As Montag's escape becomes a reality once he reaches the river, how does the tone of the novel change? Find the words and phrases on pages 140 which support the tone you've chosen.

Answer: As Montag's escape becomes a reality once he reaches the river, the tone of the novel changes from fright, anxiety, and excitement to peace and relaxation. In fact, this quote literally describes to us the exact change that occurs, "He was moving from an unreality that was frightening into a reality that was unreal because it was new." This quotation states the recent tone as frightening and the new tone as something unreal because it was new; most likely this "reality" is something new to Montag such as a new experience, peaceful. Further, in this quotation the author is uncovering his attitude towards the river and its definition of peace, "The river was very real, it held him comfortably and gave him the time at last, the leisure, to consider this month, this year and a lifetime of years. He listened to his heart slow. His thoughts stopped rushing with his blood." In addition, this quote also shows the change because Montag finally gets a chance to think about everything-this is a sign of relaxation-and his thoughts begin to slow down-he is not worried; his thoughts have finally slowed down now that he is in the river where he feels comfortable; a place of comfort is usually a calm, peaceful place. Lastly, the book states that he was lying on his back while going down the river, this shows complete relaxation and calmness because an unrelaxed person would sink.
Words such as leisure and comfortably describe the new tone.