Leaving Conformity in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

A true Inspiration

In the 1950 novel “Fahrenheit 451,” author Ray Bradbury presents the images of mind controlling world. He forces his readers to envision a world that is blinded from the truth of the present and the past. The novel is set in the, perhaps near, future where the censored fireman exists not to fight fires, instead to burn books. In Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist fireman Montage meets his neighbor, a young girl named Clarisse. She has been raised to live the way once it used to be, time when people had true freedom. Clarisse’s different view of life makes her outcast by her teachers and classmates. She helps Montage to start thinking differently and looking at the world with a new pair of eyes. She becomes his true inspiration, when Montag begins to question the meaning of life. Even though, Bradbury presents Clarisse only at the beginning of the novel, her inspirational influence makes Montag’s mind with insightful questions and answers to explore. Eventually, he transforms from a conformist to a revolutionary throughout the novel.

In the society of Fahrenheit 451, the lives of citizen are restricted. They live unconsciously under the control of government without realizing their surroundings. However, Clarisse is an exceptional to that. She is seventeen and naïve. Her way of thinking, action and attitude makes her different from rest of the “citizens”. She loves to smell the flowers instead of going to Fun Park “to bully people around” or “break windowpanes in the car wrecker.” She considers car racing as a constant unthinking stimulation, even it is preferred by most of the people. Clarisse is an individual who likes to observe people and she observes Montage. Her evaluation of Montag is that he is “not like o...

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...ys. One evening, an alarm comes in, calling the firemen to an old house where the owner, an older woman, refuses to abandon her home. Before he puts the house on fire, Montag steals one of the woman's books and takes it home with him. Montag returns home shaken by his illegal acquisition, but he hides it from everyone. Clarisse becomes Montag’s first inspiration to read secretly.

In Conclusion, Clarisse is the influential character that Montag gradually transforms from a dedicated fireman into a rebellious soldier in an army of readers. Now he is able to realize his mistakes and conspiracy of the government. Montag has been walking through his life blindly without thinking past and future effect, and Clarisse opens his eyes and guides him through his path. As a result, Clarisse is the inspirational force that makes Montag forward in his journey of self-realization.