Clarisse McClellan

The young, curious, and empathic neighbor

Clarisse McClellan is the new neighbor of the main character Guy Montag in Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 (Part 1, 5%). She is seventeen years old (Part 1, 6%), but Guy thinks she looks much older (Part 1, 31%). She lives with her parents and uncle in a house on the same street as Guy. Before, the family lived in Chicago (Part 1, 86%).

When Guy sees her for the first time, Clarisse is wearing a white dress that rustles when she moves (Part 1, 3%). She has dark, sparkling eyes with a lot of charisma (Part 1, 3%). Guy thinks she is " beautiful(…) astonishing, in fact" (Part 1, 11%). Her face is narrow, pale, and has an expression of wonder and thirst for knowledge (Part 1, 3%). This is because Clarisse wants to get to the bottom of the things that concern her, not just indulge in factual knowledge (Part 1, 86%). 

For Guy, it seems as if Clarisse's face reflects the faces of the people she is looking at (Part 1, 6%). This impression is probably due to the fact that she feels a lot of empathy for other people (Part 1, 6%). 

Clarisse has a childlike imagination and sometimes behaves in a naïve manner. She tells Guy that there is a man in th...