Love And Emotions In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

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Love and emotions, essential to one's happiness and personality. That is something Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, would seem to agree with. He portrays the theme of connection vs isolation in Fahrenheit 451 through love and emotions. The first section of the novel has the protagonist, Guy Montag, encounter a 17 year old girl by the name of Clarisse. Right away readers can tell that she is a an oddity in the sense that she ,in a society devoid of true feelings and emotions, exhibits happiness, curiosity, and plenty of other emotions. Montag and Clarisse are walking together when Clarisse plucks a dandelion from the ground and explains to Montag, “Have you ever heard of rubbing it under your chin? ...If it rubs off that means I'm in love. Has it?” …show more content…

Montag has a growing awareness of the society he lives in. No one in the society, not even himself, has experienced love or any type of strong emotions. In the world Fahrenheit 451, there are firemen who’s job is to burn books, leaving most of the society deprived of knowledge and feeling. Real relationships in the novel are almost impossible to spot, further enhancing Bradbury’s theme of isolation and connection. When Montag goes home afterwards, he questions whether or not he is in love, if he is truly satisfied with his life. Clarisse serves the role as “The Dandelion” in Montag's life. She gives him certain feelings and vibes that he never experienced, steadily raising her petals to Montag. Once she finally rubs on Montag, none of her petals stick, showing Montag his true self and the reality of the world he lives in. His happiness, and the other characters, are really just a mirage they use to distract themselves from how truly alone they are and how they can't even form an actual connection with their own families. Using the information above and more included in the book, one can conclude that the dandelion is symbolic of

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