Fahrenheit 451: Clarisse

Ray Bradbury has created a peculiar character named Clarisse is his novel Fahrenheit 451. Clarisse befriends the main character Montag while he is walking home one night from his job as a fireman. Clarisse is described and very ghostly thin, wearing a white dress what matches her pale skin and white hair. Yet despite her dark eyes and hollow face she has this gorgeous beauty. Clarisse interests me by making me wonder about what she does and how she seems so different from the other people in her society. Montag feels the same way when he says,

"How odd. How strange. And my wife thirty and yet you seem so much older at times. I can't get over it."
 

Montag and I are trying to piece together Clarisse at the same time. Clarisse seems to have figured out the pieces to the puzzle of society that can't fit perfectly. While riding the jet train she has listened to people only talk about simple things such as cars, clothes, pools, and responding with how swell. When Clarisse shares things with Montag her intelligence throws his perspective of her and his job off. The people in her society seem blank and boring to her world, where everything is in color and has a deeper meaning that the world intends things to have. When Clarisse asks Montag,

"Are you happy?'
 

she causes something to stir inside of him as well as me, playing the role of the reader.  The question immediatly reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. Clarisse being Alice, wandering in her own world of fun and appreciating the small quirky things in life. By asking questions to Montag Clarisse also manages to ask the reader questions that we can relate to our lives today. Her perculiarness draws us into the story, growing deeper with each scene she is present in. Montag even is bewildered when Clarisse begins to dig into him with her questions. When she mentions how he is different from other fire fighters, his mind cannot wrap around hpw she discovered this and her comments and presence will continue to make Montag and readers question their own actions.