The Foreshadowing Came Back! - Fahrenheit 451

The foreshadowing came back!

This third mini section was also a good one (this entire book was good, so I may say that a lot). In it, Guy Montag, our protagonist, has an identity crisis that somehow makes me as a reader happy. Again, something of his character is revealed, and as you may have guessed, there is foreshadowing.

After his strange conversation with Clarisse McClellan, his odd teenaged neighbor who smells things, Guy walks into his home pondering the last question she asked him, which was if he was happy. Guy thinks to himself that, of course he is happy, and is laughing, but when he questions his happiness, his laughter stops and he thinks. Something behind the ventilation grill makes him uneasy and shuts off his thoughts of happiness, and this something gets explained later (I'll be nice and not ruin it for now). But it is foreshadowing, and it makes me happy.

Guy continues to think about his conversation with Clarisse, comparing it to one he had with an old man in the park about a year ago. This also turns out to be foreshadowing (two foreshadows in a row!), and it is also explained more later on in the book. Again, I won't ruin anything. He continues to think about her and her face, comparing it to the hand of a clock that tells you about the night but also promises the dawn eventually. This foreshadows the progression of Guy's character later on in the book because of Clarisse and her strange ways.

Here, Guy experiences an identity crisis, where one half of him starts to think again, while the other half tells him to be normal and shut up like everyone else. Then he thinks more about Clarisse, whom he compares now to a mirror, causing him to look his own confusing thoughts straight in the eye. He juxtaposes other people with torches, burning brightly until they snuff themselves out. He recognizes Clarisse's observant nature and realizes that he feels like he has known her a long time when they only talked for a few minutes. He is completely in awe of her as he makes his way to his bedroom.