Examples Of Imagery In Fahrenheit 451

Sympathetic Scenes in Fahrenheit 451 Guy Montag lives in an unfeeling society. People in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 avoid deep thought and emotions because it might cause them pain. According to Beatty, all media in the world reflects the comfortable mindlessness of the people so that they can live happier lives. Characters who are absorbed in the media, like Mildred, are generally indifferent to tragedy within the book. Many events in the book also prompt indifference in the reader, while others are meant to evoke sympathy.

Montag’s Wife, Mildred, is a negative influence on him, trying to push him away emotionally and physically. She does not know who she really is and lives in an illusionary world with her obsession of television shows and believing they are real. He is so confused because she tries to ignore it ever happened thinking about all the bad things; “fire, sleeping tablets, men disposable tissue, coattails, blow, wad, flush...Rain. The storm. The uncle laughing...The whole world pouring down..." (19). After this incident he looks at Mildred in a different light and is someone who he can’t relate to. Another way she separates herself from Montag is through her "family", which is a television show. Montag constantly asks Millie “[if that] family loves [her]… love [her] with all their heart and soul" (83). Her world isn’t based in reality; they are clearly on different paths. Hers is one of illusion and his is becoming that of a totally self-aware person. She blocks everything and everyone out that is around her and lives within the show. Mildred opens Montag 's eyes to the real world and shows him that most people are uncaring and narcissistic.

The word ‘family’ reveals how Mildred relies on technology like a real family instead of caring and being warm-hearted towards her husband, who is her actual family. In addition, it represents Mildred’s obsession towards the parlor. The word ‘sick’ shows that Montag needs care from someone and Mildred is not helping him, by not even decreasing the volume for a sick husband who is continually asking her to turn it off, indicates that Mildred has no care for her husband. Mildred’s subsequent reliance on technology makes her inseparable from it, trying to stay with technology all the time and not caring what happens to others hence making her selfish. Mildred’s egocentric behaviour is also illustrated when she puts the alarm when Montag brings the books to home and reads them in a society where they do not allow books. “She ran past with her body stiff, her face floured with powder, her mouth gone, without lipstick. ‘Mildred you didn’t put in the alarm!’ She shoved in the valise in the waiting beetle, climbed in and sat mumbling, ‘Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything gone, everything gone now…’”(114). Mildred turned in Montag to the firehouse for having books. Mildred knew the consequences of what will happen when she puts in the alarm. Everything in the house will be destroyed along with the parlors that she loves. Also, Montag is going to be arrested for possessing books but Mildred still decides to report Montag because she wants her

1. Mildred says these words to Guy Montag. She tells him that books aren’t people which are found in her TV parlor which she enjoys being with. She calls the people on the TV her family. She compares the books to her TV. She says that the people on the TV tell her things and make her laugh and they are full of colors, whereas the books are black and white and don’t make sense to anybody and doesn’t make her laugh instead makes her feel bad.

Montag’s wife, Mildred tried to kill herself by taking “sleeping tablets which had been filled with thirty capsules and..now lay uncapped and empty” (10). The spouses relationship is drastically in trouble, considering Mildred’s attempt to take her own life, willing to leave Montag alone in the world. Mildred does not care about anything but watching television, not paying much attention to her own husband besides asking for things and now requesting for him to get their “fourth wall torn out and a fourth t.v wall put in” only leading to more distance between the two (18). She would rather spend her time alone, only thinking to please herself, rather than being with Montag, this lack of communication is leading is them nowhere but down. One of the few times the couple times actually communicates, Montag asks Mildred “when did we meet and where” but neither of them

Faber says, “So now you see why books are hated and feared?They show the pores in the face of life”(79). Montag decides to work with Faber and become a revolutionary even though it may be risky. Faber decides to give Montag an earpiece so that he can hear what is going on in Montag’s life and they can communicate secretly. Montag takes the earpiece and goes home. When home he finds Mildred and her friends watching the television. To Montag this seems like a good time to bring out all the books in his home. Montag was trying to be a revolutionary and change Mildred and her friends into believing that books were actually fine but it backfired on him. When he decides to read a poem to the girls he gets a negative response. One of the friends, Mrs.Phelps begins to cry, the other friend Mrs.Bowles says, “I’ve always said, poetry tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings”(97). Their whole society was avoiding books because they provoke real and raw emotions that they think they are not able to handle, but they could be if they tried. Montag changed his outlook and was trying to help others, but their minds were not developed enough to

Dover Beach explains sadness through the use of metaphors, “glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay…sweet is the night air… you hear the grating roar of pebbles draw back and fling.” There is a contrast between pleasures and displeasures such as the comparison of ‘tranquil’ and ‘grating roar’. The contrast shows that at first glance it may seem as if there is a pleasant atmosphere however, observing the situation there is shown to be great distress. There is only a façade of happiness. In Fahrenheit 451 Montag begins to realise his unhappiness as “he wore his happiness like a mask” and he tells himself “happiness is important. Fun is everything. And yet I kept sitting there saying to myself, I’m not happy, I’m not happy.” The use of the word mask signifies the illusion of reality as people are falsifying their true emotions and are doing so to fit into their perception of reality. There is an eternal conflict between what the mind perceives and what really is. Both Dover Beach and Fahrenheit 451 expose what reality is; it is not happiness it is sadness covered in lies. Society acts as if it were perfect where in fact it far from

“That’s awful! ...Why should I read? What for?”(Bradbury, 73) Mildred hates the fact that her house and her ‘family’ would burn down if Beatty and the other firemen found out about Montag and his books. Mildred doesn’t understand why Montag wants to reason with her and what he finds so special in books. Mildred is a selfish woman who cares only about herself and her friends. As long as nothing happened to her ‘family’, she’d be fine.

Mildred Montag is the prime example of a conformist in the dystopian society portrayed in Ray Bradbury 's book, Fahrenheit 451. She thinks in the simplistic manner that people like her are conditioned to, and she 's married to a fireman, who plays the largely important role of burning books in this society. She spends her days watching the television screens in the parlor and her nights with Seashell Radios buzzing in her ears. At first glance, her life of all play and no work might seem relaxing and blissful. However, it eventually comes to mind that all of her bliss is derived from her use of technology in order to escape from reality. Even then, it will become apparent that Mildred is not actually blind to reality and that her happy

Montag’s third Trial occurs when Montag publicly commits a crime and reads the poem “Dover Beach” to Mildred’s friends. This scene emphasizes on the lack of emotional connection that most of society has. At first, Montag doesn’t understand the lack of empathy that the women have as “Montag said nothing but stood looking at the women’s faces as he looked at the faces of the saints” (91). His connection to not being able to perceive the faces of religious figures illustrate how Montag feels when they talk about frivolous ideas, like television shows. As Montag reads the poem, Mrs. Phelps reacts uncontrollably to the impactful wording and symbolic meaning of the poem. She cries “very loud as her face squeezed itself out of shape,” (97). This shows

Montag compares Mildred’s friends to plaster saints he saw in a church when he was young, because they were silent and he did not understand them. Montag goes to meet Faber, and he brings a copy of the Bible. When he begins his journey to meet Beatty Faber reads him the book of Job to comfort him. The biggest quote from the Bible is said by Montag at the end of the book. He is contemplating what to share with his new acquaintances, when he remembers the verse Revelations 22:2 “And on the other side of the river was there a tree of life...and the leaves of the tree were the healing of the nations” (Page 158). This verse implies a renewal or a cycle, in which hope is given after a disaster. Bombs destroyed the city, but now the leaves (perhaps books, or knowledge) will heal the survivors. The Bible is timeless, so by including quotes and references in the novel, Bradbury implies that the power of books is also timeless. After meeting with Faber, Montag makes his way to the firehouse, but first stops at his home. He finds Mildred and her friends, and becomes unraveled when interacting with them. Montag balks at their ignorance and nonchalance, so he recites a poem that he hopes they’ll react to. Dover Beach is a poem by Matthew Arnold, written in 1867. In the poem he laments the values that were lost in his society. Montag angrily reads it to the women, and they become visibly upset, one of them even crying. The poem forces

Montag feels at the begining of the novel that the communication is greatly lacking in society. People are becoming very ignorant and turning reallife realationships aside. They now turn to their "tv families". One victim of neglecting real life realtionships is Mildred, Montag's wife. Montag truley hates this. "Nobody listens any more. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read." (2.125). Montag hopes that his wife and him can rejoin their connection through the books, but is sadly wrong and must find some one else, Faber.

Clarisse tells Montag this, and it makes him wonder if anyone really does care. Montag realizes that he lives in a world of conceited people. He realizes that he does not really care about anyone, including his wife Mildred. People in his society don't think about others feelings when acting. From this, Montag learns the meaning of caring. He learns what a terrible place it is to live in, where no one cares about anyone but themselves. This only changes Montag for the better. At one point, Montag and the other firemen go to a house because a lady has books concealed in her home. The lady, not concerned about being burned to death, is determined to stay with her books. Montag is stunned by her decision, and cares very much about her safety. “Montag placed his hand on the woman's elbow. 'You can come with me'” (Bradbury 39) This is a turning point for Montag, in which he starts to care about everyone and their feelings.

In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 there are those who defend the cause of language; those who attempt to destroy the value of words and those who are victims of the abuse of power over language and thought, wielded by the government. The fireman, Montag, attempts to use language as weapon against the entrenched ignorance of his dystopian world. Conversely, the Fire Chief Beatty, uses the power of language as a weapon against those who would free humanity from the tyranny of ignorance. In the scene where Montag reads poetry to ‘the ladies’, their subconscious response to the poem ‘Dover Beach’ reveals the capacity of imagery to transform a listener. Mildred Montag and her “bunch” of ladies are

In the first half of the book Bradbury demonstrates the theme through showing the emotions of others regarding to other people, focusing on Mildred in particular. In the beginning of the book Montag runs into Clarisse, a person who is not like the rest and cares about the deeper meanings. He grew fond of her, later to find out that he would never see her again, since she was dead. The news was given by Mildred in a way that seemed unpresented sympathy, “‘Four days ago. I’m not sure. But I think she’s dead. The family moved out anyway. I don’t know. But I think she’s dead,’” (44). Mildred delivers the news late and without any sympathy, instead she is unsure if her information is true. She was ignorant to how Montag felt about Clarisse; numb to the pain and this was only a product of society and their need to hide this stress in order to preserve contentment. For instance they programmed behaviors into the different ‘families’ that other homeowners own, to normalize happier emotions while sadder, melancholic emotions were discouraged to the point that it was a surprise that people felt this way in any other setting than the presence of an illegal action. This false idea of what is human became