Fahrenheit 451 Rhetorical Analysis

Words: 424
Pages: 2

Writing Prompt
College Prep Lit
Amiah DeWolf

Imagine living in a world where books are illegal and thinking for yourself is a unique trait to possess. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, that is exactly what is going on. The select few who go against the status quo are labeled as freaks and shunned. Teenager Clarisse McClellan gives us insight on how these “freaks” are treated and what it is like to ponder topics without limitations. We find out early that Clarisse is a kindred spirit. She loves life and humanity, but is only related to by her family. When she encounters Montag, the lifeless fireman, his world is thrown for a loop. Clarisse forces his brain into having thoughts and questioning the way he is living his life--oblivious to
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Communicating. She has a way of speaking that yearns to be noticed. She states in the story,” 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.” If that doesn’t show the reader what kind of personality she and her family have then I don’t know what does. In their society, Clarisse is consider odd. However, if she were to be alive as part of our world, she might fit in rather nicely. She likes to experience things for herself and explore the unknown while the people around her communicate with their walls and refuse to acknowledge their surroundings. Aside from the fact that our generation constantly stares at our phone screens, we also tend to be adventurous and crazy. Reading the story, Clarisse established herself a position as one of my favorite characters. When she got killed off, I soon found myself less interested in the storyline. However, I noticed that if she would not have died, Montag would not have had motivation to finally look at what is wrong in their society. He notices after she dies just how empty the world they are living in really is, and how Clarisse was the one person who refused to be hushed by the conformity they survive