Examples Of Inquisitiveness In Fahrenheit 451

Curiosity killed the cat. A saying that most of us remember from one point in our lives or another and is very much prevalent in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In this novel, the main character and narrator Guy Montag, lives in a society where books are prohibited and works as a fireman who burns books until one day he meets young Clarisse who sparks a flame of curiosity in Guy. Ray Bradbury demonstrates the idea that with curiosity and knowledge comes danger and is shown throughout the story including when Clarisse met Montag, when Montag started to read, and when Beatty, the fire chief, tried to burn down Montag's house.

In Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse is one of the main characters throughout the book. Although Mildred and Captain Beatty influenced Montag, Clarisse impacted him the most. In this book, Ray Bradbury kills off one of the most influential characters. Even though she is “dead”, Bradbury somehow made her a symbol. We don’t know why Bradbury killed off this important character, but it left readers wondering. She had some type of influence on Montag that made him think about things. She was interested in learning and asking questions. I believe that Clarisse has impacted Montag because she taught him that thinking was an option.

In Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse McClellan, is a seventeen year old girl who lives next door to Guy Montag. Clarisse met Montag when she was walking down the street, she looked at him surprised. Clarisse's appearance is mentioned as curious, because she is called as white. “..Her face was slender and milk-white, and in it was a kind of gentle hunger that touched over everything with tireless curiosity..”, “Her dress was white and it whispered”. (Bradbury 02) By comparing from the book, Clarisse can be someone who won’t “fit in” the book. She is more than a seventeen year old girl, she is filled with ideas and questions. Her character is different from everyone in the book, she was more positive and uplifting.

Montag, as the main protagonist of Fahrenheit 451, is a highly dynamic character.His new found want to learn, understand the world and fix the issues, he himself was blind to for years, makes him a relatable characterization for human curiosity. His society views “free thought” as a menace to the collective good despite seeing the signs that the entire system is failing. Mass suicides, endorphine powered joy rides, and murder have replaced human thought and compassion. His ability to break against the grain gifts him with both disadvantages and advantages as he faces new obstacles throughout the novel.

In Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” Montag starts off as seemingly normal as he goes about his job, home life and inner conscious. As elements are introduced, it is clear that psychologically he has been trained to think a certain way and live his life as if it were written, or programmed. Ray Bradbury creates this world that seems to promote “sameness” in Montag’s society, and clearly discourages any deviation of one’s job or role in society. In the course of the story, Montag ‘sinner peace is interrupted when he encounters a woman named Clarisse on his way home from work. From this moment, Montag is intrigued, and his inner psychological consciousness is impacted in a way that will change the way he sees his role in society, personal, professional, and even love life. His relationship with himself, his wife Mildred, his boss Beatty, and his coworkers, and finally the most impactful Clarisse. This affects Montag, and help him see his dystopian society for what it truly is, and how he’s been serving it.

We must break the status quo—stop simply accepting that things are set in stone—and just tread from the norm. Fahrenheit 451 is a book with that clear idea. In the future, of some sort of dystopia, books are illegal; they are burned. Freethinking is unheard of. Fahrenheit 451 is about Guy Montag, a fire fighter, who challenges the norm—though dangerous and extremely illegal—and becomes a freethinker himself.

Everybody has gone through something that has shaped changed them in a way that they could never go back to the person they were. In life, pain and suffering changes people and often causes one to restructure their life. As well, suffering can either define an individual or to allow for spiritual growth. This is especially true in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, as even though both Mildred and Clarisse differ in their perceptions toward life and their effect on Montag, both must eventually suffer the reality of a society consumed by insensitivity to push along Montag’s journey. All in all, one will view that it was necessary for both Clarisse and Mildred to experience death to allow for Montag’s journey to come to full circle.

Clarisse’s and Mildred’s presence in Ray Bradbury's story Fahrenheit 451, gives the idea that both characters are alive but metaphorically dead by looking at their personalities and ways of being in their dystopian community and personal relationships. Clarisse and Mildred may have different personalities but they both share the same concept. Clarisse has a personality that does not exist within other people. She tends to point out on the real significance of life, which leaves characters in shock and confusion after interacting with her. As for Mildred and Montag’s relationship, Mildred shows lack of attention and love towards Montag. Mildred would pay attention more to her “family” and her friends instead of her marriage relationship. This gives Mildred the image that she is figuratively dead between her relationship with Montag. These figuratively dead characters lead to change Montag’s perspective.

In Fahrenheit 451 Guy Montag is seen as the main character and the reason for this whole story because without him there would not be a story at all. However, while Montag is the central character his path is laid out for him by the other characters in the novel. These characters play the most important role in creating the feel of the story. Bradbury comments on humanity's urge to suppress what they do not understand. Clarisse McClellan appearance, actions, ideas, and relationships give important insight to the story. In this paper, I will be discussing the evolution of Clarisse's impact on Montag’s eyes and how she acted as the domino that set Montag on this life-altering story where he grows from a non-questioning consumer to a self-aware individual that betrays his dystopian society. I will also be using Jerome Bruner “The Narrative Creation Of Self” to support my thesis. “A self-making narrative is something of a balancing act. It must, on the one hand, create a conviction of autonomy, that one has a will of one’s own, a certain freedom of choice, a degree of possibility. However, it must also relate one to a world of others—to friends and family, to institutions, to the past, to reference groups. But there is an implicit commitment to others in relating oneself to others that, of course, limits our autonomy. We seem virtually unable to live without both, autonomy and commitment, and our lives strive to balance the two. So do the self-narratives we tell

Of the characters of Fahrenheit 451 Clarisse Mcclellan and Mildred Montag stand out most prominently because of their pronounced contrast. On one hand Mildred Montag is the obedient citizen who would rather watch

She refuses the entertainment that society offers, such as watching television. Instead, she prefers to wonder, sit, and talk about things, most particularly with Montag. Furthermore, she is not intimidated by the government like the rest of society. All of this enlightens Montag to reveal all the goodness that is being hidden in this blind society. Clarisse never tells Montag what to think; she just shows him that thinking is an option. She simply asks Montag questions such as “How long’ve you worked at being a fireman?” (8) and “How did you get into it?” (22) Such questions awaken him to realize why he really “enjoys” doing what he does, to a point where he realizes he really does not admire starting fires, and burning books. Montag grows extremely dissatisfied with his life and work as he talks more with Clarisse. She instigates him to wonder if perhaps books are not so bad, and so he even steals one from a book burning. In Fahrenheit 451, it states, “So it was the hand that started it all . . . His hands had been infected, and soon it would be his arms . . . His hands were ravenous.” (41) The reader is able to see here that Montag is becoming more and more influenced by Clarisse. The more time he spends with her, the more he begins to contemplate. This phrase clearly shows how Montag is being “infected”, but in a positive way. His thoughts are taking control over him all because of his conversations with Clarisse. She invites him to

In the novel Fahrenheit 451, individuality and dissent are bad. In the first part of the book, The Hearth and the Salamander, there was a character named Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse is individual and different. This makes her an outcast. She asks how? Not why? Even today, with people at school: if you are different, you aren’t always treated as well as others. Clarisse questioned Montag a lot about his life and job. She opened up his mind and made him think. “How long’ve you worked at being a fireman? (Bradbury, 8) … “Are you happy?”(Bradbury, 10) Clarisse asked him about his job and if he was happy about it and his life. Unlike most people, she never really showed any interest in what he did, or how he did it. Instead, she asked him why he did it, and why he enjoyed doing it. Montag started to question himself, and agreed with Clarisse on most things. Montag became so fed up with what he did, that he changed. In time, Clarisse died (or was killed), because she was different. “The poor girl’s better

In this society, people will always try many different things throughout their life - just because they become curious. Curiosity is what leads humanity in innovation and improvement, and makes us diverse. Once people stop having individual thoughts, our sense of self and different beliefs will also disappear. In the book “Fahrenheit 451”, Guy Montag lives in a society where the government controls all with technology, preventing people from having books and even individual thought. Montag, who was a fireman that burned books for a living, was one of those people until he encounters a 17 year old girl who asks him if he is truly happy. After returning home that night and discovering that his wife had almost killed herself with sleeping pills,

We as humans have determined that there is no such thing as a perfect society. In a dystopia, most people are completely unaware of the issue or problem in society. Anyone who recognizes that issue immediately stands out. This causes error, and corruption to the system. In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, a girl name Clarisse McClellan was the main character to affect a man named Guy Montag. She recognized the problem, and helped lead Guy to a much needed self examination. Clarisse McClellan impacts Guy Montag significantly and effected the way that he lived in the remainder of the story. She forced Montag to think about what was truly missing from his life, and starts him on his course to regognizing the main issue in their community,

Bradbury uses Clarisse to help readers compare and contrast the lifestyle in Fahrenheit 451 to our world today. These quotes are especially interesting because Bradbury contradicts himself, and seems to change opinions on whether Montag is a good character or bad. On page 7, Clarisse says “I’m seventeen and I’m crazy. My uncle says the two always go together. When people ask your age, he said, always say seventeen and insane” (Bradbury 7). This is ironic because Clarisse is calling herself crazy and insane, while by today’s standards she may be one of the few sane citizens in that society. Along with Faber, they are shunned because they are intellectual and try to understand life beyond what they learns in school and what she is brainwashed to understand. A few days after Clarisse has this conversation, she is killed by a speeding car. Although Bradbury never directly states that the government planned her death, it is quite possible, as she was an outlier and did not follow the society’s laws. Bradbury may have tried to mock how McCarthyism was related to lawful US citizens living in fear of being arrested