Often in literature a character who is alienated from society. In Fahrenheit 451 Clarisse McClellan is alienated from her society. Clarisse is alienated through her abnormal values, her family’s values, and by not attending to society’s norm. This can show, through her alienation, her society’s morals and values. In Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag, the main protagonist, asks Clarisse why she doesn’t attend school and she replies “oh they don’t miss me, I’m antisocial, they say” (Bradbury 29). The quote proves that Clarisse is alienated because of her abnormal values differentiating from societies. Clarisse is seen as “antisocial” from her school when she is actively social and it shows that the society’s morals are irregular. Clarisse’s withdrawal from her society can also directly relate to her not thinking the school she goes to is important, “An hour of TV class, an hour of basketball, an hour of transcription history or painting pictures”(Bradbury 29). In the quote Clarisse is complaining about the school structure, the useless classes, and the lack of teaching. Through her value that school isn’t important …show more content…
In the quote Clarisse id explain to Montag how her family says society used to be. This gives significance because it can demonstrate her family values that are looked down upon by society causing her to be separated from society. The McClellan’s are social with each other, “my mother and father and uncle sitting around, talking."(Bradbury 9). The quote shows that Clarisse’s family values sitting around and communicating with each other which is obscure to their society. The current society in Fahrenheit 451 doesn’t practice being social with each other instead they are distant with little communication making them think Clarisse’s family has abnormal
She likes nature, she isn’t into violence, and she’s not into having an emotionless social life. She’s interested in odd things, which is what attracts her to Montag who is a fireman without the stereotypical fireman traits. In our world he would be stopping the fire’s not starting them. Throughout the story she asks Montag weird questions about his job and his life “Are you happy?” questions that no one else in his position would ever be asked by normal people. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 Clarisse McClellan represents purity. In a society based upon blind acceptance of government policy, she likes "to smell things and look at things, and sometimes stay up all night, walking, and watching the sunrise". (pg.11 Ray Bradbury)Clarisse does not accept the values set forth for her by society, and seldom takes part in activities, watching the parlor, which appeal to the others in her society who feel the need for the need for constant mindless stimulation. Clarisse is an individual who is in touch with her own soul, and she is able to see the world around her and honestly evaluate its worth. Her affect on Montag is huge. She is Montag's "motivation ". She is responsible for Montag's change. She also made him realize that he wasn't happy. Clarisse’s death affected Montag greatly, when he realized that she was dead, run over he starts to realize what kind of world they live in.Throughout the story Clarisse isn’t trying to teach Guy anything. She’s trying to learn from him. Her constant questioning ends up pushing the already doubtful fireman over the edge. Clarisse never tells Montag what to think; she just shows him that thinking for yourself is an option. She invites him to do it for himself, and he walks through the door she
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.
Within the novel Fahrenheit 451, three main societies are expressed throught the representation of various groups or characters. These societies include the old society, which was allowed to read literature, the middle society, which bannned literature choosing to instead focus on mindless distractions, and the new society which is only seen for a short amount of time in the book. The old society is represented by the group of outcasts that the main character Montag meets in the third part of the novel after escaping the city. The group is welcomeing to Montag and even appear to be expecting him. The outcasts do not ahere to the rules created by the middle society and instead read, and keep diffferent forms of literature. They view literature as an eccential thing, going as far as to memorize varius forms of work so that it will not be lost. Their dedication to the countinance of literature is seen in the following quote from the text, “Montag.” Granger took Montag;s shoulder firmly. “Walk carefully. Guard your health. If anything should happen to Harris, you are the book of
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.
As Montag ends his shift at the fire station, he walks out, only to encounter Clarisse. He notices that “[t]he autumn leaves blew over the moonlit pavement...letting the motion of the wind and the leaves carry [Clarisse] forward. Her head was half bent to watch her shoes stir the circling leaves” (3). At this point of the novel, Montag continues to follow society’s rule because he values his job of burning books. In Fahrenheit 451, the motif of nature in “autumn leaves,” “motion of the wind” and “circling leaves” symbolizes freedom and truthfulness; the symbolism of nature is representative of Clarisse, who is innocent and pure. She is conscious of her surroundings and interacts with the natural side of the world. In Clarisse’s society, no one notices the beautiful aspects that nature offers because they are so distracted by mindless technology. Clarisse mentions the beautiful, natural occurrences in the pure world of nature and gives notice to the things that Montag has not observed because of his ignorance. Because Clarisse puts her focus on nature rather than technology, she is seen as “crazy” and radical; in Montag’s world, society appreciates the artificial rather than the natural. She notices that destruction is a direct cause of a lack of nature in a dysfunctional society. As a result of Clarisse’s rebellion to society, she is aware of the nature that surrounds her; additionally, she critically develops her own deep relationships with those she loves. When Montag is conversing with Clarisse and wonders why she is not at school, Clarisse explains that she's “antisocial, they say. [She doesn't] mix.” (27). She argues that “[she’s] very social indeed” and that “social to [her] means talking about how strange the world
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
"Fahrenheit 451" shows the government limiting information and controlling what citizens cannot do many times in the book. In the story, Clarisse says "'No front porches. My uncle says there used to be front porches. And people sat there sometimes at night, talking when they wanted to talk, rocking, and not talking when they didn't want to talk. Sometimes they just sat there and thought about things, turned things over.... So they ran off with the porches'" (Bradbury 60). Clarisse is a girl who Montag meets while walking home one day from his work. Meeting her is one of the events that make Montag think and understand the wrongs of his society. In this quote, she is explaining why front porches are not allowed. The government does not want people to think, because that can lead to riots against the control that they have. They are controlling the citizens' minds, and don't allow for free thought. At a different time in the story,
Fahrenheit 451 is a novel in which many characters can be identified as followers, conventionalists, and conformists. These characters are parallel to their neighbors in what they do every day. Mildred Montag is a member of this group. Not everyone is like Mildred, however. In spite of how controlling the society in which the story takes place is, there is the occasional independent individual. Clarisse McClellan is a nonconformist. She can see beyond the lies she has been told by the government. Even though these two characters seem like opposites, Mildred and Clarisse have similar and different qualities.
In the dystopian society within Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, many characters contribute to the development of Montag, a fireman who takes pleasure in burning books. He does not see his actions as inhumane because his judgement is clouded, until he meets Clarisse McClellan. This innocent, yet knowledgeable, young adult is filled with curiosity and wonder as she connects with Montag. Her uniqueness and beauty aids in guiding Montag to show him the reality of the society they live in. Through her appearance, actions, and death, Clarisse McClellan motivates Montag and his noble deeds.
The families in Fahrenheit 451 are disconnected emotionally from each other. Montag asks a teenage girl named Clarisse about the lights that are on in her house. She responds that it is “just [her] mother and father and uncle sitting around talking,” and adds that her family is “most peculiar” (pg 7). Seeing a family spending time together as Clarisse’s does is a rare occurrence in this society. In addition, most family members in the book hardly care about each other. A woman named Mrs. Bowers says that her kids are away at school most days and when they do return home, “you heave them into the ‘parlor’ and turn the switch. It’s like washing clothes” (pg 93) Most parents in this society barely see their children, let alone talk or play with them. Mrs. Bowles even says of her children, “They’d just as soon kick as kiss me” (pg 93). Family members in Fahrenheit 451 don’t spend time together and have no love for each other. They are too busy with their television and entertainment to care about anyone else. This sort of behavior is also visible in modern society. Many people spend hours on their phones every day, not noticing their families. Despite this, the people in our society do value family relationships to a much greater extent than those in Fahrenheit
Imagine a society that revolves around conformity and none of the citizens are allowed to think for themselves. Imagine these citizens are not allowed to think for themselves either. This is the type of society that is depicted in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. But, there is one character, named Guy Montag, who is different from the other citizens. He questions conformity and over the course of the novel, as he questions it, his character changes as well.
One of the most salient quotes in Fahrenheit 451 is Clarisse's uncle's line: "Well, after all, this is the age of disposable tissue" (Bradbury 15). Reading this made me feel pity for the society because they live without loving, and without realizing they do not love. People have become so detached, other humans are merely objects that exist, rather than irreplaceable friends and family members. Unfortunately, Clarisse's uncle is one of the few who can analyze the state of society.
One reason freshman should continue to read Fahrenheit 451 is because it supports the idea that it is okay to be different from everyone else. In the novel, Clarisse does not partake in the activities that her peers do and she is known to be different from them, making people think that she is anti-social. In the alternate society that is Fahrenheit 451, children and teens are supposed to be quiet in class but create havoc outside of school with their friends. “‘They run us so ragged by the end of the day we can’t do anything but go to bed or head for a Fun Park to bully people around, break windowpanes in the Window Smasher place or wreck cards in the Car Wrecker place with the big steel ball’” (Bradbury 27). Clarisse describes what kids her age do with their free time: wreck things. She differs from them because she does not do these things, she likes to think. She enjoys talking to people, thinking about the world, and taking walks. “‘I like to smell things and look at things, and sometimes stay up all night, walking, and watch the sun rise’” (Bradbury 5). In this alternate society, this is believed to be antisocial, yet Clarisse is being more social than any other children her age. She likes to
When people are creative most of the time it is seen as unique or special. A person does not necessarily think that their creativity would make them stand out in a “bad way” due to their living situations. If you find yourself living in a gloomy society then you would think that being creative and different would bring hope back to the society. All of this describes the character Clarisse in the book Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, Clarisse is a unique character who represents the profound effects of creativity in an oppressive society.
In the book Fahrenheit 451 it analyzes the characteristics of a dystopia which was then turned into a story. The main character, named Montag, had a lot of different kind of people he let influence his life. He let his wife, a friend, and a random old lady build up his curiosity of the world.These three women have influenced Montag a lot which was the reason for his character growth from ignorant to enlightened which was Ray Bradbury’s tool of making the story move along. Montag’s wife, Mildred, has shown Montag how much their society has influenced their humanity as a whole. She has shown to be a perfect example of how people in their society do on an everyday basis. This helps Montag start to realize how bad their society really is. Next, his friend Clarisse was the main factor to his enlightenment mainly. She really influenced him the most because she was different than everyone else. She did normal human things, like go outside, and go on a hike or look at flowers. Because of this, she was outcasted and was not accepted. This increased Montag’s curiosity which helped him grow as a character. Lastly, the old lady who killed herself over books really put the final touch on Montag’s character growth. Her doing this boosted Montag’s curiosity tremendously because he wondered why this lady would kill herself over these books. This made him question his job, books, and ultimately the things around him. Because of this, it can be said that Ray Bradbury uses these three women