Corruption Of Independence In William Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451'

Montag would still realize that the firemen that are burning books are bad, while those who preserve books are good. If Clarisse had not been in the book, Montag would change his views on books and would start to read and hide them from the other firemen. This is due to how Montag was asking the other firemen a question, “Was it always like this? …

But he never realized that he was not happy until Clarisse asked him if he was happy. Clarisse not only shows him into another reality that could exist, but that shows him the reality that had existed and what should exist. Like reading books should be legal and so should stay up late at night talking or watching TV as a family. Clarisse shows and gives Montag the ability to interpret his own world. Once Montag starts to interpret the world he lives, he begins to take little steps toward books and has a couple of sudden urges of wanting to rescue the book. He slowly starts to realize that a man is behind every book and has put hard work behind it. By destroying a book, Montag is destroying history created by another man, especially when he put so much work into the book. Montag notices that many people care for their television families instead of caring for their actual families, like Montag’s wife or even Mrs. (). Montag even notices that all the firemen look similar, like dark-hair and unshaven, mirror images of Montag. She influences Montag so much that Montag ends up becoming a human being who can think, feel, and analyze from the automan he used to

“It was a pleasure to burn” (1). Montag never thought much of his job, to him, it was merely his duty. Meeting Clarisse starts Montag's revision of life. Her interest and questioning is so unique that Montag is intrigued by her. He had never met someone who asks "why" instead of "how." Soon, Clarisse disappears, and is then presumably dead for the rest of the book. Shortly after his disappearance,

Juan Ramon Jimenez once said, “If they give you ruled paper, write the other way”. This quote shows the challenge of authority, like Montag and his society. Just like challenging the normal, or doing the opposite of what seems to be right by “writing the other way” on a lined piece of paper, Montag chooses to challenge authority by reading, remembering, and comprehending books, instead of burning them. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes place in a dystopian society in the twenty-fourth century and the main character is Guy Montag. He is a fireman whose job is to burn books and start fires instead of putting them out. Moreover, he lives in a society which just listens to government propaganda and follows whatever they are told; the citizens do not think deeply about aspects in life but rather focus on mind-numbing activities, that does not take any deep thought process. Books are banned but Montag takes the risk to start to read books, hoping they will bring him happiness in the dark world he lives in. In his journey he has three mentors who help him, Clarisse, Faber, and Granger. The protagonist, Guy Montag, changes as a result of the conflict within his dystopian society and this change connects to the novel’s theme of government censorship over its citizens.

Clarisse is one of the characters who influenced Montag by showing her own world. Clarisse remind Montag the fireman’s real job. Clarisse said ‘”strange. I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames”’ (pg 8). Clarisse is the one of character who read a book in conflict read society. She confused Montag on

Montag is brainwashed up until the point where he meets Clarisse and then his new curiosity blossoms. Clarisse sparks a new flame in Montag and it makes him question everything he has been doing throughout his life as a fireman.

INTRODUCTION. In my English class at Capital High School, we recently read the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and we discussed whether freedom is really free. In my opinion, I think that freedom is free, but it has its limitations. People always complain about not being able to do the things they want to do but it’s all about contentment. It’s all in the mind and in the way we see things. We, the citizens of the United States, are trained to practice our rights such as the Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion which I believe is very significant to a person, but nowadays, people tend to abuse it and when someone tries to correct them, the tendency is that they would get mad and would answer back saying that they’re free to say whatever they want to say. I personally think that this shouldn’t be our mindset towards freedom. Freedom is free, but we should not abuse it nor take advantage of it in the wrong way. Freedom is important because it is a way of expressing yourself and a way for people to get to know you as a person that’s why this is significant to me. My main goal in this letter is to express and tell you my opinion about the abuse of our freedom by connecting two articles and the book, Fahrenheit 451.

This symbolizes a crack in Montag’s shell of ignorance and shows how he is capable of thinking about the past with the knowledge he gained from Clarisse. Moreover, the shell of ignorance breaks even more when Clarisse compares Montag to other citizens. In her narration, she describes how different Montag is and how she feels it is strange that he is a fireman:

In this situation Montag is first meeting Clarisse, and this is the first time the reader meets someone who is unique. This quote brings out the theme that those who are different in a strict society can help bring out someone’s true identity, and Clarisse does this to Montag.

He shields Clarisse from Beatty as he shouts, “Clarisse witnessed it all. She did not hurt anybody. She only left them alone”. These Montag’s words accentuate that Clarisse apart from being just a person who wished to offer help and view the universe differently with no harm. Other people like Beatty viewed Clarisse just a person who will rot the community. The government seeks to arrest Montag since he has defied the faith of orthodoxy. Individuality separates a person from others, after Montag made a decision to change from conformism he heads to a section of outsiders who were like him and resolves with

Clarisse is different. She’s different from everyone else in the town that’s around her. She doesn’t just believe what society has told her. “Strange. I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn on accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames. “Clarisse is always wondering and that intrigued Montag.

Montag finds Clarisse to be anomalous as she is both inquisitive and peculiar. Clarisse immediately realises that Montag is a fireman and is in awe of him. We also learn that part of his uniform consists partly of a salamander on his arm and a phoenix-disc on his chest ( both are significant to symbolism in the book, and will be defined in the symbolism page ), both of which seem to fascinate Clarisse. Clarisse introduces herself as seventeen and crazy and explains that her uncle said that the two words always correlate. She then goes on to question Montag about his job as a fireman and his life.

Humans in average contemporary America have settled into the mundane lifestyle that provides stability and consistency. Just as Mencken stated, people desire dull reliability over uncertain opportunity. The safe, but somewhat unfavorable, option is the more appealing choice than the one that offers only ambiguity. Routine is safe; freedom from routine equals uncertainty which is scary.

Clarisse played a significant role in Montag's life. Clarisse is a seventeen year old teenager who is a little bit different than everyone else. She enjoys when it rains and like to play in the leaves. She loves to be outside and in the wilderness. she does not like to be inside and watching tv or playing video games. She likes to be around odd things which is how she met Montag. Montag and Clarisse became really good friends. She lives next door to Montag and like to go listen to him talk and likes to ask him questions about his job and how it feels to be a fireman. But eventually Clarisse asks too many questions and it pushes Montag over the edge. Clarisse never told Montag what to think but shows him that thinking is an option. Later on

Clarisse, the young women, impacts Montag’s life and changes his perspective on the world. When Montag first met Clarisse, he noticed she did not behave like the other citizens. Clarisse does not obsess over technology. Instead, Clarisse liked to enjoy the outside world and pay attention to it. As Montag and Clarisse interact and become friends, Clarisse says something to Montag that shocks him. For the first time Montag contemplates his life and job. While in this state of shock, Clarisse tells Montag that she finds him unique because he does not ignore her. Instead he listens and comprehends what she says, "...You're one of the few who put up with me. That's why I think it's so strange you're a fireman, it just doesn't seem right for you, somehow."(23-24). After Clarisse says this, Montag decides to do something Clarisse suggested. He stopped to feel the rain drip on his tongue, something he has never done before. Clarisse impacted Montag's life in a way that made him realize and appreciate the world around him. Until Montag met Clarisse, he never thought of the world as something to take care of and appreciate. Clarisse shaped Montag into the person he became. Other