Fahrenheit 451 - Question 4

Who is the "hero" of this book and what are some of his/her traits?

Usually this question can be answered with the main protagonist in the story, but I feel a little differently with this book. I, unlike some people, believe that Clarisse is the hero of this story. Yeah, I know, go ahead and tell me I'm wrong. Or you could just keep reading and find out how right I really am...

So the story starts out following this guy named...well...Guy. And right from the start, we know that he isn't like the other people in his society. He's a fireman, but he keeps books on the side. He's a smart guy who does a little free thinking in his spare time. Sweet, sounds like a hero to me. But the problem was, he would never do anything with his free thinking. And if you need to start a fire and you have a match, but won't light the match, no one is going to thank you when they're cooking smore's.

So then Guy meets this girl Clarisse. Shes just a little weirdie in their society. She doesn't like the violence on t.v.? What? And she really likes weird things (such as herself). She also takes an interest in Guy because he is a fireman who likes books. That's like a vegetarian who works at a slaughter house. Clarisse never told Guy what to think, which is why I believe that Guy listened to her. She always asked Guy questions that no one had ever asked him, and that really got the wheels turning in his mind. Clarisse was the one who made Guy into the man he was at the end of the story. Without her, he would have just been burning books for the rest of his life and having no idea why.

Then you read some more, and Clarisse dies? Seriously? No happy ending where Clarisse and Guy grow old together? No? Clarisse was the perfect example for what cannot exist in the society in the story, so she ceased to exist. We don't know how or why, but she did. It just could not happen. But nothing would have happened without her. Boom. Aren't you glad you read the whole blog to find out why Clarisse was way more important than Guy?

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1953. Print.