Saturday, August 21, 2010

Enjoying Finer Things in Life in Fahrenheit 451

Clarisse understands a good many things about life. One of the main reasons is because she pays attention to things. She tells Montag that she likes to watch people and try to understand them.

One thing that she understands is that people are so in a rush to get on with their lives and they are always in such a hurry to get to their next destination that they never stop to take everything in that they are missing as they go.

Clarisse has gained a sad sort of recognition of the way people never stop to appreciate things anymore. She finds it sad that people are constantly rushing by on the interstate and never stopping to appreciate the simpler things such as grass or rose gardens or barns. She tells Montag a story about how one day her uncle was driving at forty miles per hour on the highway, simply trying to enjoy everything as he went along, and he went to jail for two days for it. This shows that people are so wrapped up in rush and moving and getting things done fast that they cannot even recognize the value in somebody else desiring to slow down and appreciate the finer things in life.

I also believe she understands that because of this nobody will ever be truly happy. If the happiness in your life is always revolving around the next thing you are trying to achieve or accomplish or the place you are trying to get to, then you will never arrive. You will always be one step behind actually achieving the happiness that you are trying to get. I believe that the author is trying to convey in this book that the way to being happy is by stopping to enjoy simple things and not basing your happiness on the next big thing that you want out of your life, because if you do then you will never be satisfied with what you have, you will just keep running after the next thing.

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