Montag and The Dandelion People become ignorant not by choice, but because some do not have the pleasure of meeting those who are brave enough to share the truth of the world with them. Fahrenheit 451 demonstrates the importance of presenting one’s individuality to others. In this novel Clarisse McClellan plays the most critical role in Guy Montag’s character development; she challenges his narrowed vision of the world and this allows him to begin his search for individualism and wisdom.
The leading character of a dystopian society that rejects critical thinking; Guy Montag, is a fireman who starts fires instead of putting them out with the sole purpose of destroying books. At the start of the novel, Montag was incapable of defying the laws
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Although Montag had already started finding the desire for change within himself, Clarisse is the key character that ignites this change. Without her influence, Montag could not have been able to take action on his journey for knowledge. For instance, earlier in the novel Montag expressed deep concern for the “ventilator grill in the hall [when he] suddenly remembered that something lay hidden behind [it], something that seemed to peer down at him” (Bradbury 8), it was the guilt from the hidden books he had previously stolen from his job. Instead of destroying the books as the law dictates; he saved them in a sense because he felt immense curiosity for them, he had that “itch” that “every fireman gets at least once in his career” (Bradbury 59) about books. Before meeting Clarisse, Montag had already started to act on his own by stealing books because he felt intrigued by them, plus he felt uncertainty between: the fast paced life, the wall screens, the drug overdose, and the lack of affection with his wife suddenly leading him to realize his life was meaningless, however he never gained the courage to change his way of life because he is a loyal follower of the law. Furthermore he knew something was off with the way people rejected individual thought and with coldness his wife showed towards him; he couldn't quite understand why that mattered, therefore he limited himself to simply following the rules of society. He couldn’t bring himself to defy the law that kept him comfortable for so long; Clarisse ignited the small light of rebellion that Montag had already started for himself. Finally, she demonstrated the importance of thinking by opening his eyes to the world’s vanities, emptiness, and misery in which he actually lives, she showed him that it is necessary and acceptable to conduct a