In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury introduces us to a failed utopia in a distant made-up future. Books are illegal. People cannot own or read books. A firefighter, Montag, whose job is to burn books, starts to wonder why books are available if they are illegal. Clarisse, Beatty, and a failed utopia are used to better explain the problem. Bradbury effectively uses conflict between characters to demonstrate how society can be so parochial. To begin with, Bradbury opens up with Montag meeting a girl named Clarisse McClellan. Beatty labels Clarisse as a “time bomb”. Clarisse is described as a genuine curious, sensitive girl who questions everything about society(Peter Sisario). To Montag, Clarisse introduces herself as “Seventeen and insane”. Montag and Clarisse met as Montag was leaving his job as a firefighter, he turned the corner and there was Clarisse standing. Finding out they were neighbors, Montag decides to walk home with her chatting along the way. They arrive and Clarisse asks something Montag had never really thought about most of his life. Clarisse looked at Montag with a look of “wonder and curiosity”. Clarisse asked Montag, “Are you happy?”. Montag was shocked. Montag had no chance to reply as she was already gone, her door …show more content…
Not only is he reading books, he now has committed murder. This strange failed utopia is against everything that Montag now wants to believe in. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury creates this world where reading is illegal. They do not want people to think on their own. They want people to be mindless humans who follow orders. The allusion used earlier to the Phoenix suggests that the world Montag is living in has reached the “Dark ages” or the end of the cycle(Peter Sisario). Beatty's death symbolizes the end of Montag's “Dark Ages” and the start of a new life. Montag’s wife is gone, his house is gone, and he has now no job. Everything from his old life is