Clarisse opens Montag's eyes to the world around him, and kickstarts his curiosity. Before granger, before Faber, even before Clarisse, Montag thought nothing much of his life at all. He went through the motions and never strayed from what society wanted. Then, suddenly, Clarisse walked into his life, quite literary. "'It's fine work. Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn 'me to ashes, then burn the ashes. That's our official slogan'"(8) Montag believes whole-heatedly that his work is "fine work" believes there is nothing wrong with relentlessly burning books, but Clarisse subtly seems to disagree, "Do you ever read any of the books you burn?"'(8) it can be assumed Montag hasn't ever read the book, assumed that his small …show more content…
As Montag enters his home, winding down for the night, all he can see in his mind, on the walls, in the darkness, Clarisse. "She had a very thin face like a dial of a small clock seen faintly in the dark room in the middle of the night when you waken to see the time and see the clock telling you the hour and the minute and the second, with a white silence and a glowing, all certainty and knowing what it had to tell of the night passing swiftly on toward further darknesses, but moving also toward a new sun"(10). Although all these new revelations Clarisse echos to Montag are confusing him and messing with his mind, (darkness) the words Clarisse speaks and the ideas she talks about spark a new interest in Montag, start a new chapter in his life. Although he doesn't know what will come of it, he seems to be hopeful, hence, "moving also toward a new sun"(10) Clarisse is that new sun, the new hope in his life,and the coming days will of course still be filled with darkness and uncertainty, a light, somewhere back in the farthest corners of Montag's mind, has flicked on. Only a spark now, but Montag himself knows, how fast fire spreads
In Fahrenheit 451, The character Clarisse Is a character of kindness, joyfulness, and mystery. In the beginning of the book when Montag meets Clarisse, Montag feels different around her. In Fahrenheit 451 Clarisse plays a very important role in the story and also in Montags character. One example, of when Clarisse plays an important role in the story is when she rubs the dandelion on Montag’s chin, and when the dandelion doesn’t rub off on Montag, Clarisse accuses Montag for not being in love. Montag comments and says he is very much in love and says the reason it didn’t rub off was because Clarisse used it all up on herself. Another important role that Clarisse plays is when she meets him at the corner one day and at the subway entrance Montag ask Clarisse “Why is it”?
Influential People "Peer pressure and social norms are powerful influences on behavior, and they are classic excuses." Andrew Lansly. In Fahrenheit 451 people who were influence his life in different ways good, bad, or even the ugly. Clarice was more influential To Montag than his own wife Mildred was.
“ ‘Bet I know something else you don’t. There’s dew on the grass in the morning.’ (Montag) suddenly couldn’t remember if he had known this or not, and it made him quite irritable. ‘And if you look’ - she nodded to the sky - ‘there’s a man in the moon.’ He hadn’t looked for a long time.” (7). Montag meets Clarisse, his new neighbor, in the park while going home from a job. Almost immediately, Montag notices that this girl is different; she is very odd, and talks a lot about subjects unrelated to each other, such as the jet-cars and how houses used to not be fireproof. This line shows how Montag hasn’t been looking at the world as a whole and thinking about it. Instead, he has only been burning down houses and going home to his wife without
As one lives, they learn and grow by breaking down barriers and creating their own road and journey ahead. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury displays how one can change as he traverses through illusion, belief, reason, intelligence, and truth. Throughout Montag’s journey of learning, he meets figures that influence his decisions and mold him into a new person. Similarly, the prisoner from Allegory of the Cave encounters these ideas as he makes his way from the shadows of the cave into the light. The characters that Montag encounters include Clarisse, who resembles belief, Granger who resembles truth, Beatty who resembles reason, Mildred who resembles illusion, and Faber who resembles intelligence.
In the beginning of the novel Montag is a fireman who burns books, but after he meets Clarisse, he starts to question about the books and why society is the way it is now. This reveals the theme that too much knowledge can lead to the destruction of society. In the
Believing in “the shadows,” or the world that’s only directly perceived in front of oneself, generated many struggles for Montag. In specific context, Montag adored the practice of burning books without regard to his later love for the discipline of reading books. He lived acquainted to the regularities of the destructive nature of humanity. The internal struggle he goes through is that his current perceived notions in life leave him deprived of happiness. He seeks something that will fulfill the void inside of him. All of the regularities in his life become less satisfactory when he meets a young girl named Clarisse; which awakens him to the idea that there is something greater among the shadows that he resides in for comfort. His struggle is portrayed on page 29, stating: “And, then, Clarisse was gone. He didn’t know what there was about the afternoon, but it was not seeing her somewhere in the world. The lawn was empty, the trees empty, the street empty...there were vague stirrings of disease in him. Something was the matter, his routine had been disturbed.” (Bradbury, 29) This quote shows his uncertainty towards his longing to see Clarisse again. Montag did not know why he missed her; just like the prisoner in the Allegory who did not understand anything. In simple terms, both
Clarisse McClellan is important to the novel because she helps Montag realize that what he does as a fireman doesn't make him happy. Clarisse is a person that doesn't fear of people, like firemen and she tells people “I’m seventeen and I’m crazy”(Bradbury 7), So that they could know a little information about her . Clarisse isn't a person who holds in thoughts, if she wants to say something she would say it even if it' not related to the subject. Clarisse helps the novel set into place because she makes a change to the situation.
For most of us, our lives are a routine. We wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night without being full aware of our surroundings. We rarely stop to think what is happening and what to make of everything. The problem with this is that it is necessary for the growth of ourselves and other to comprehend the things in our life. Fahrenheit 451 illustrates the better understanding of our world around us through experience.
Clarisse is not getting the feeling that she thinks she would get from a fireman. "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 to you, somehow"(Bradbury pg26). This made Montag feel hotness and coldness, softness and a hardness. This shows the amount of feelings Montag gets from being around her. This shows that Montag is in an identity crisis during his conversation with Clarisse. Montag doesn't know if his profession of being a fireman is right or wrong. " you laugh when I haven't been funny, and you answer right off. You never stop to think ever asked you". This quote really shows the character development of Montag from being an ordinary fireman to someone Clarisse feels comfortable around. Furthermore, Montag is now starting to get more comfortable around Clarisse and her thoughts on the
Clarisse represents a part from Montag, she represents his deepest thoughts that the society made him forget about. She is the light for his darkness that made him realize that burning books is wrong and he wasn’t happy with his life. She is his younger self that was buried deep down inside him. Because he seems to know her very well even though he has known her for a short time. Because for him she is young Montag that used to enjoy life and loves books. An example that shows Clarisse is part of Montag is when he is talking with Beatty and “Suddenly it seemes a much younger voice was speaking for him. He opened his mouth and it was Clarisse McClellan” (31) Montag is mentally attached to Clarisse, so he started talking like her, started talking like he used to when he was young. The other part of Montag is represented by the firemen: “these men were all mirror images of himself!” (30). His job is the other half of Montag that is dominant and that buried young Montag deep down, and Captain Beatty is exactly like Montag. Beatty also used to read books before and he used to question the system just like Montag is now. When Montag kills Beatty he feels as if he has
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.
“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,
Montag soon begins to enter the bonfire stage. Clarisse, is an observant, curious, open-minded and unique 17 year old girl. Montag, after meeting a couple times with Clarisse, is when his eyes truly open that his society is full of fake realities. He becomes observant and starts asking questions about his society. While being with Clarisse, Montag would smell the leaves and notice the small details; therefore, he was having a shift from being a prisoner to going up to the bonfire. On page #48 it says, “ You’re not sick,” said Mildred. Montag fell back in bed. He reached under the pillow. The hidden book was still there. “Mildred, how would it be if, well, maybe I quit my job awhile?” “You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, because, one night, some woman and her books-” “You should have seen her, Millie!”…. “You weren’t there, you didn’t see ,” he said. “ There must be something in the books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.” This is the event that changed Montags viewpoint on books
On Montag’s walk home from work one evening he meets a young 17 year-old girl named Clarisse. Through a series of questions, actions, and untimely death she causes Montag to examine his life. Clarisse asks Montag “Do you ever read any of the books you burn?”(Bradbury 1). This simple question plants a
In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Montag is fighting for what he believes is right among this society, where books are outlawed across the lands. He is employed as a firefighter, which in this dystopian society, is designed for starting fires in order to burn books. The threat of having knowledge other than that society wants is something the institutional bodies fear. Fear and power are factors of why the society within Bradbury’s book applies such scrutiny against reading books. Montag is struggling within the society, where his wife calls people on the television “the family,” and is immediately scared by the fact that Montag read poetry to her, leading to her calling the fire department. Montag slowly begins finding out the true nature of the meaning behind books, he is able to retreat to a