Technology in Farenheit 451

638 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: technological advancements in fahrenheit 451

In the technology driven society of Fahrenheit 451, where books are banned and everyone’s favorite pastime is the mindless task of watching T.V, it is rare for anyone to have any intellectual curiosity. However, pale skinned Clarisse is different. She has a different view on society and is a breath of fresh air to fireman Guy Montag. Clarisse acts as a window to the path of knowledge and understanding to Montag and opens his mind to the idea of books and intellectual awareness.
In the beginning of the book, a pattern is formed where Guy Montag begins to aquire intellectual curiosity. Montag’s eye-opener is Clarisse. Guy Montag was walking home when he meets Clarisse. They begin to talk when Clarisse asks “do you ever read the books you burn?” (8). Of course Montag laughed and replies “that’s against the law”(8). Guy is clearly still under the impression that books are bad just as the society wants to make him believe. He has never met anyone who has asked if he read books. After they arrive to Montag’s house, Clarisse asks Montag a question.” ‘Are you happy?’ she said. “Am I what?” he cried.” This seems to be a foreign question to Montag, for happiness was not in question when you live a dull life staring at parlor walls everyday. People living in this society do not seem to question happiness for their minds could not think deeper than what television show they were going to watch. Clarisse asking this question opens Montag’s mind and allows him to see what is wrong with the society he is living in. It allows him to become curious, thus eventually leading him to books; thanks to the influence Clarisse has on him.
Montag and Clarisse’s conversation seems to impact Montag’s life rapidly. He begins to question the unrealistic ban...

... middle of paper ...

...”(53). Stealing books, disloyalty to his boss, and law breaking are all new behaviors. The need for knowledge and wanting to know further than what is taught causes his abnormal behavior and proves to show how his lifestyle has completely changed. This pattern continues throughout the book and it all starts after his multiple conversations with Clarisse. She has such a major influence on him that it even impacts his actions.
In conclusion, Clarisse shares her view on life and introduces Montag to the wonders of books and knowledge. Just after talking to her a few times, Montag begins to imitate her personality and view the world as she does. Clarisse metaphorically acts as window between Montag’s old life and the life Clarisse introduces to him. After his discovery of books due to his renowned intellectual curiosity, he continues the path to awareness and wisdom.

Show More
Related

  • Use Of Leisure Time In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Montag’s society, everyone is the same, and no one questions anything that is happening around them. Clarisse, a girl who questions the way their society works, tells Montag, ‘“They

    Read More

  • Censorship And Conformation In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 opens with Guy Montag, a fireman, reminiscing of the pleasures of burning. As the story unfolds, we learn that Montag is a fireman who rids the world of books by burning all that are found. Walking home one night Montag meets Clarisse, his strong minded neighbor. She begins peppering him with questions. Clarisse doesn’t go along with societal norms and Montag realizes that immediately. “I rarely watch the 'parlor walls ' or go to races or Fun Parks. So I 've lots of time for crazy thoughts, I guess.” (Bradbury 3) Clarisse uses her imagination brought by stories from books and family instead of watching television. Clarisse helps Montag realize that the government induced censorship and conformation is stifling society’s education and imagination. Montag’s wife, Mildred ,is incapable of having a personal conversation with Montag. She conforms to societal standards and is greatly

    Read More

  • Montag's Journey To Enlightenment In Fahrenheit 451

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    As Montag continues his journey to enlightenment, similar to the prisoner, he progresses to the stage of belief, embodied by Clarisse. Montag initially meets Clarisse, a social outcast, while walking home from work one day. From their first encounter, he notices that she constantly questions society and the ways of the world. They begin to develop a friendship but it is abruptly cut short when she suddenly disappears. One day, about a week after her disappearance, “[h]e didn’t know what there was about the afternoon, but it was not seeing her somewhere in the world. [....] [A]t first he did not even know he missed her or was even looking for her, [...] there were vague stirrings of dis-ease in him. Something was the matter, his routine had

    Read More

  • Words In Fahrenheit 451

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bradbury describes Clarisse as a teenage girl who is a genuine lover of life. The novel describes that she is a nature lover and is very outgoing. Bradbury has Clarisse contradict Montag's wife Mildred. Clarisse was the main reason Montag starting questioning his happiness and books. Bradbury adds Clarisse’s character to the novel, so her words can be help Montag examine his current life decisions. By her doing this Montag suddenly comes to see some of the missing pieces of his life. Ray Bradbury uses his power of words through Clarisse’s character by having her be different from everyone else in the

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Analysis

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... ideas in books and understand them. Before this Montag never questioned the way he lives, he was blinded by all the distractions. The role that Clarisse plays in the book enables Montag to break free of the ignorance.

    Read More

  • How Did Montag Change In Fahrenheit 451

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    Clarisse said she found it strange that Montag is a fireman and is nice to her she saw it weird for a fireman to be like that. This statement is when Montag has a journey of development in the story. Then there is also the fact that Montag begins to ask questions more or even think about things he normally wouldn't think about. (Bradbury pg19) It is when Montag begins questioning things that he begins to get suspicious about what are really in books that the government doesn't want them to

    Read More

  • Empathy In Fahrenheit 451

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clarisse is a young, but intelligent girl that, unlike many children in the novel, was raised with discipline. “I was spanked when i needed it, years ago.” Clarisse said to Montag referring to how she was raised. Kids used to be loving and caring, but now it’s not like that anymore. The world is a dystopia and everyone has lost hope, but Clarisse, her family, a group of hobos who want to join the fight for books, and a secret team of Harvard graduates. Clarisse met a man named Montag, who is a firefighter that burns books down along with the house they were in if the owner of the books refuses to reveal their location. Clarisse walked with Montag, right after they had met, and told him of the many things life has to offer that he doesn’t see because he is caught up in burning books for a living. She caught Montag’s emotions and this is what ultimately ended up with Montag deciding he was going to stop burning books and even help the Harvard graduates memorize and spread the words and knowledge of the books that remain. Clarisse filled Montag with empathy and this changed Montag’s view of life

    Read More

  • Comprehension Question

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clarisse may be the consciousness of Montag because her questions drove Montag to his profound thoughts as they kept on having a conversation. Clarisse was a very peculiar girl that she has a very special feature which not everybody has. In my opinion, Clarisse is the igniter or a factor of Montag’s enlightenment in the way she made Montag to question his society and life.

    Read More

  • Individuality In Fahrenheit 451

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Montag meets Clarisse, his neighbor, he starts to notice that there is more to life than burning books. Montag states, “Last night I thought about all the kerosene I have used in the past ten years. And I thought about books. And for the first time I realized that a man was behind each one of those books” (Bradbury 49). It begins to bother Montag that all he has done for the past years is burn books. He starts to rethink his whole life, and how he has been living it. Montag goes on to say, “It took some men a lifetime maybe to put some of his thoughts down, looking around at the world and life and then I come along in two minutes and boom! It is all over” (Bradbury 49) Before, Montag never cares about what he has been doing to the books, but when he begins to ignore the distractions and really think about life he starts to notice that he has been destroying some other mans work. Montag begins to think more of the world

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Intelligence Quotes

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clarisse is a young 17 year old girl that has emotions, ambitions, and creativity because of the knowledge that comes from old traditions. “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 ) page 7. Clarisse is the only character to successfully exhibit all of these traits because she always talks to her grandfather that tells stories from the past. She can show emotion by always smiling when Montag encounters her. She also has the ambition of just trying to be accepted in society and trying to get through her treatments. Her creativity comes in two forms. The way she asks questions and the way she expresses her feelings towards simplistic objects such as flowers or even rain. Montag found his ambition to seek out the secrets of his society by receiving insight from Clarisse’s perspective of life. “Are you happy?” ( Bradbury ) page 10. With this one question Montag finally took the time to think if he was really happy. From there he continued to ask more questions which all turns into the events of the book. To recreate people who can feel, think and imagine knowledge must be actively present to create a unique individual.Bradbury asserts that man must retain knowledge in order to think

    Read More

  • Montag's Influences in Farenheit 451

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    Firstly, Montag is influenced by Clarisse McClellan because she is the first person he has met that is not like the rest of the society. Clarisse is a young 17 year old girl that Montag quickly becomes very fond of. Clarisse influences Montag by the way she questioned Montag, the way she admires nature, and her death. Clarisse first influenced Montag by the way she began questioning him often. Her questions would make him think for himself unlike the rest of society. “Then she seemed to remember something and came back to look at him with wonder and curiosity. “Are you happy?” she said. “Am I what?” he cried. But she was gone- running in the moonlight” (Bradbury, 10). Clarisse was one of the only people that Montag had ever met that had ever asked him that. This question that she asked him influenced him because he thinks about, and Montag asks himself tha...

    Read More

  • Montag's Motivation In Fahrenheit 451

    749 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine being in a society, where one is not allowed to have their own thoughts and ideas. Crazy, right? Well, it happens in Fahrenheit 451. The novel is written by Ray Bradbury and it occurs in a community where the right of freedom of speech is confiscated by their government. Individuals in the society are banned from the right to own books. Firefighters, instead of putting out fires, set fires. Montag, a thirty-year-old firefighter never questioned the pleasure of the joy of watching books burn until he met a young woman who told him of a past when people were not afraid. In this hectic story, there is one significant character known by the name of, Clarisse. The young, seventeen-year-old woman is an imperative character due to her motivations

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by author Ray Bradbury we are taken into a place of the future where books have become outlawed, technology is at its prime, life is fast, and human interaction is scarce. The novel is seen through the eyes of middle aged man Guy Montag. A firefighter, Ray Bradbury portrays the common firefighter as a personal who creates the fire rather than extinguishing them in order to accomplish the complete annihilation of books. Throughout the book we get to understand that Montag is a fire hungry man that takes pleasure in the destruction of books. It’s not until interacting with three individuals that open Montag’s eyes helping him realize the errors of his ways. Leading Montag to change his opinion about books, and more over to a new direction in life with a mission to preserve and bring back the life once sought out in books. These three individual characters Clarisse McClellan, Faber, and Granger transformed Montag through the methods of questioning, revealing, and teaching.

    Read More

  • How Clarice Influenced Montag in Fahrenheit 451

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Guy Montag is a fireman who is greatly influenced in Ray Bradbury's novel, Fahrenheit 451. The job of a fireman in this futuristic society is to burn down houses with books in them. Montag has always enjoyed his job, that is until Clarisse McClellan comes along. Clarisse is seventeen and crazy. At least, this is what her uncle, whom she gets many of her ideas about the world from, describes her as. Clarisse and Montag befriend each other quickly, and Clarisse's impact on Montag is enormous. Clarisse comes into Montag's life, and immediately begins to question his relationship with his wife, his career, and his happiness. Also, Clarisse shows Montag how to appreciate the simple things in life. She teaches him to care about other people and their feelings. By the end of the novel, we can see that Montag is forever changed by Clarisse.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury: Three Mentors

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...radbury the protagonist Guy Montag had three mentors that helped him along his journey; Clarisse, Faber and Granger. Clarisse is the one who first opens his eyes to the world around him, Faber teaches him how he should approach this new way of thinking, and Granger establishes him as an intellectual who can help society rebuild after the destruction from the war. A line from the Book of Ecclesiastes Montag remembers very well sums up his transformation: “And on either side of the river was there a tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (158) Now Montag is finally learning who he is and what he should do with his life; through his three mentors he has found his identity.

    Read More

More about Technology in Farenheit 451

Open Document