“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hatred cannot drive out hatred; only love can do that” (“Martin”). Regularly, in society, when lives are filled with hatred and fear, people begin to distance themselves from society. Conformity develops easily when people turn to each other for comfort. The dystopian society of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 faces these problems of conformity. However, Clarisse McClellan, lover of life and nature, is the foil to the stupid and conformist citizens of her town. Clarisse's abundance of curiosity and love of knowledge are shunned by a society that has turned its back on learning and on books themselves. Unable to contain his personality, his unstoppable curiosity is considered a “time bomb”. Later, a chance meeting between the seventeen-year-old girl and her neighbor, Guy Montag, a firefighter, creates an unexpected friendship. Clarisse slowly reveals the many layers of conformity that Montag hides under with his constant questions. These questions make him more self-aware than he ever thought possible. Montag gradually undergoes a painful self-examination and realizes that his life lacks love, knowledge and leisure. Then, through a random act of violence, Clarisse is killed. Yet his presence is visible through Montag as he completes his transformation. In Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse McClellan is introduced for a brief period to highlight Guy Montag's dynamic transformation from a callous and cold conformist to a curious and knowledgeable nonconformist. Before meeting Clarisse, Montag is a quiet and unnoticed citizen. of society. Montag is a firefighter, but not in the traditional sense. In their society, the goal of firefighters is to burn ...... middle of paper ...... the small details, which Clarisse taught him to do. The first thing Montag notices when he comes out of the river is the smell of it. Early in the novel, Clarisse asked Montag if he had ever tasted rain before, as she thought it tasted like red wine. Then, once Montag left town for good, he noticed every detail around him like Clarisse had, but without any help. Savoring the pure joy of being free, he takes a moment and observes his new surroundings: “He reached down and felt a weed growing like a child brushing against him. His fingers smelled of licorice. He stood there, breathing, and the more he breathed, the more he was filled with all the details of the terrain” (138). Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print. “Quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.” BrainyQuote. Xplore and Web. April 24. 2014.