The Shift
After interpreting the motif technology, Bradbury starts to shift the spotlight to nature and expose technology as destructive. This shift is most precedent in fictional character Guy Montag. He had started his journey overwhelmed with technology, to the point where he couldn't even see the side of nature. Mildred starts his journey off and shows Guy just how unhappy he is and what technology has done to this society. Beatty then furthers his mentality with his constant interference and ironic knowledge about books. Yet these characters only start to further Guys quest. Fictional character Clarisse truly ignites Guys passion to reunite with nature, the healthier option. She helps him start the path and start to discover his unpleasant
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One of the main character advocating for nature is Clarisse. Ray Bradbury uses Clarisse to ignite the thirst for knowledge and start Guy on his path towards it. A seventeen year old lover of life and nature, Clarisse, an affable neighbor, mesmerizes readers with her odd personality, so different than all other characters in the novel. Bradbury uses Clarisse as the foil of Mildred, someone who loves artificial life and reality. She paralyzes Montag's simple train of thought, cutting loose a thunderstorm of curiosity. Clarisse takes advantage of her humanity and is not only aware of her surroundings, but uses them. Clarisse is opposed to not only her ‘modern’ education, but also the ‘modern’ lifestyle as well. She opposes technology and instead enjoys the natural worlds gifts of rain, dandelions, and autumn leaves. When Montag sees Clarisse, he describes her as “letting the motion of the wind and the leaves carry her forward”(3). This characterization shows her strong connection with nature and foreshadows a defiance of technology. Bradbury uses her to ignite Guy’s rebellious nature towards technology, and breed a connection with nature. The society deems her a threat as she endangers their lifestyle of technology. Bradbury ignites her passion for life with undeniable curiosity. Clarisse inflicts her abnormal curiosity onto Montag who is forced to retaliate with a hard evaluation on his life. She does this by asking a simple question, “Are you happy”(7). Bradbury uses her as a flashlight for Montag to better see technologies takeover on himself. When Clarisse talks about how she evaluates Montag she uses the words “strange”(21), in which Bradbury is showing Montag's current mindset as hard to understand. She claims his job “doesn't seem right”(21), igniting him to start reflecting on not only what he does, but who he is. Bradbury then describes Montag to “divide...into a hotness and a