Fahrenheit 451 Clarisse Analysis

Bradbury uses similes to demonstrate the contrast of Clarisse and Mildred , showing that ignorance doesn't prompt happiness despite the way society interprets it to be. These vital comparisons show us how each character represents their current society to better comprehend what truly makes a person content . After a conversation Montag has with Clarisse where she questions him if he was happy, Guy recollects the moment and describes her as having" .. a very thing face like the dial of a small clock seen of a night when you waken to see the time and see the clock telling you the hour and the minute and the second... what it has to tell of the night passing swiftly on towards further darkness, but moving also towards a new sun." (Bradbury 10).

Many similes are used by Bradbury to depict Clarisse and in this example uses "a dial of a small clock" to compare her with the purpose of the mechanism and how she represents it. A clock suggests the certainty of definite time in which Clarisse has and holds a firm grasp on the knowledge of her true identity that forms into a truth that the rest of society does not recognize.

While for most of the population, life is but a routine that blends days into one another, for Clarisse the clock does tick allowing her to see new things and note every "hour and the minute and the second" which is very different to Montag. He also describes Clarisse as someone who stands out "in a dark room in the middle of a night" that proposes she isn't blind or oblivious to her surroundings and clarity exist despite of the "dark". She therefore becomes classified as 'odd' because she understands who she is , allowing her to be much happier than society's standard of happiness. Clarisse drives Guy "towards a new sun" and Bradbury applies this comparison to indicate how she is the light to his darkness and begins to clear the fog of obliviousness to the truth for him. For the first time he can see something different because Clarisse questions society's intentions from her observations and portrays the authenticity of how life is suppose to be , making her the light from the "new

sun". The irony in which someone as young as Clarisse can know herself better than Montag leads him to question his fake happiness and starts to realize that even when he was doing precisely what society told him to do , it didn't make him any the more happy ,directly indicating to the theme that is implied.

Once again Bradbury continues to use smiles to show the contrast of Clarisse and Mildred thus showing that obliviousness can't assure happiness, but can bring forth the opposite.

After understanding how different Clarisse is in Fahrenheit's society, we can now see how Mildred stands out with her lifestyle compared to Clarisse. When Montag comes back from work and sees Mildred in an unconscious state from her attempt suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills, he sets out what she looks like, indicating " Two moonstone looked up at him in the light of his small hand held fire; two pale moonstones buried in a creek of clear water over which the life of the earth ran , not touching them. Her face was like a snow covered island upon which rain might fall, nut it felt no rain; over which clouds might pass their moving shadows , but she felt no shadow."(13) . With eyes like "pale moonstones buried in a creek of clear water" on Mildred's face, the word 'buried' is incorporated to infer that something is being disguised or hidden in the creak of clear water. Reality is represented by the clarity of the water and the attempt suicide gives us a reasonable perspective of Mildred's intentions; she overdosed on sleeping pills to forget feelings she didn't welcome. "The life of the world ran, not touching" is used by Bradbury to show how unlike Clarisse, Mildred wasn't aware of what was occurring around her and didn't see with clarity.She wouldn't allow herself to become in touch with

reality in fear of recognizing the sadness she had, distracting herself with the technology that was available.While Clarisse's face was described like a clock Midlred's face is described to be "like a snow covered island". The cold and disconnected qualities of the 'snow covered island' are compared similar to Mildred's, allowing readers to distinguish how detached and isolated she is. Mildred epitomizes the cold hard truth of their society, so desperately determined to conceal her misery, that she hardly acknowledges her motives. Bradbury reveals how Mildred feels "no rain " or any "shadows" that pass over her. Without rain there is a sense of a bare and liflessness that seems to depict Mildred herself. The "shadows" emit the impression of wrongness that is the reality that passes over her. Mildred doesn't feel anything , oblivious towards the imperfection of the interpetted false bliss that is bestowed on most. While Clarisse stood out to Montag with her insight , Mildred didn't have the new light to bring Montag towards despite being married for years. Wile Bradbruy uses Mildred to represent the ignorant world they live in, Clarisse is used to portray the different and thoughtful part of our society. Like Montag at the beginning , even though she does what society says is normal, regardless she still isn't content with her life and Bradbury shows us that through her attempt suicide.This proves the theme of how the ignorance of reality,doesn't necessarily lead to a sense of happiness .