Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury: Character Analysis

When she overdosed, a machine that “pumped all of the blood from the body and replaced it with fresh blood” was yet, another government machine connected to her. Part of Mildred’s job was always listening to the government with the “little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean sound of music and talk” always in her ears (12). These machines made it hard for Mildred to understand simple things so her “favourite subject [was herself]” (72). With the little seashells, she only had time to think about herself. All the items on her page prove that she was a self-centered, government controlled

Mildred as his wife represents the static character generalization through her euphoric lifestyle mirrored by television walls and her selfish tendencies. She is unwilling to change and so she is trapped within the societal struggle of “true living” and just existing. When questioned about their young neighbor Clarisse, she even absentmindedly states that she forgot to tell Montag four days ago that she was dead. If this wasn't cold enough she then shrugs off the death of the teen casually, showing further deterioration between herself and reality (Bradbury 44-45).

When Montag asked Mildred “ ‘Will you turn the parlor off?’ Mildred replied ‘That’s my family.’ ‘I’ll turn it down.’ She went out of the room and did nothing to the parlor and came back. ‘Is that better’” (46)?

Throughout the years Mildred has accomplished very few achievements in life due to her narcissism and selfishness. Engulfed in her amusing contraptions and her digitally perfect good looks, she forgets to do the simplest tasks, like getting medicine for her sick husband. “But she’s gone for good. I think she’s dead”(Bradbury 47). When Mildred has to ponder over whether or not a young girl was brutally

“He might come and burn the house and the ‘family’. That’s awful! Think of our investment. Why should I read? What for?” (Bradbury 73). Mildred never cared about literature, only her ‘family’. Even after she sent in the alarm for the firemen, and ran off to the taxi, she was muttering, “Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything, everything gone now…” (Bradbury 114). Since Mildred never changes throughout the novel, she is static.

Mildred’s friends, Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Phelps, don’t talk that much because they don’t want to know the truth about others. In order for Mrs. Bowles to become happy, Mildred suggests to go back to watching television. " 'Come on, let's be cheery, you turn the 'family' on, now. Go ahead. Let's laugh and be happy, now, stop crying, we'll have a party!' "(Bradbury 97). When someone is sad or depressed or want to numb their emotions, their immediate reaction is to watch TV or turn their family on. They run away from their feelings and hide them. People in their society are addicted to the technology. Instead of talking to each other or talking to Montag, Millie and her friends would like to be left alone and have the parlor turned on."The three women fidgeted and looked nervously at the empty mud-coloured walls"(Bradbury 91). Mildred’s friends would rather do anything else than talk to Montag. Technology is also manipulating Mildred in many sections of the book, and she is acting like the characters on television. Millie is influenced by the white clowns and wants to hit innocent animals for fun."' It's fun out in the country. You hit rabbits, sometimes you hit dogs. Go take the beetle' "(Bradbury 61). Mildred said that it is fun to hit animals, like how the white clowns chopping their limbs off. She is a violent person because she see’s that

Go take the beetle." (pg 31) This is an example of Mildred having no emotion because she takes out her frustrations on innocent animals. Not only that but she doesn’t care one bit.

Mildred constantly shows Montag that she doesn’t care about him or what he does. She has no real connections in life and only cares about herself no matter what it costs other people. Technology rips away any real connections that Mildred has ever had with Montag to a point where she doesn’t even care about him. Mildred has succumb to technology and it has corrupted her life in such a way that her own husband no longer holds any emotional meaning to her anymore. In a horrifically shallow conversation between Mildred and Montag, Mildred says to Montag, “It's really fun. It'll be even more fun when we can afford to have the fourth wall installed. How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a wall-TV put in. It's only two thousand dollars.” (Bradbury 20). The conversation goes on and Montag replies with, “That’s one-third of my yearly pay. It’s only two thousand dollars, she replied. And I think you should consider me sometimes.” (Bradbury 20). Mildred talks about how she needs another parlour wall to improve her life. This conversation inspires the idea that Mildred only cares about herself and how she is oblivious she is to Montag’s emotions. The idea that Mildred, through technology, has become completely detached from her husband and that she doesn’t care about him. She only cares about the

As the women walk through the house, they begin to get a feel for what Mrs. Wright’s life is like. They notice things like the limited kitchen space, the broken stove, and the broken jars of fruit and begin to realize the day-to-day struggles that Mrs. Wright endured. The entire house has a solemn, depressing atmosphere. Mrs. Hale regretfully comments that, for this reason and the fact that Mr. Wright is a difficult man to be around, she never came to visit her old friend, Mrs. Wright.

73). However, when Guy asks her if her 'family ' loves her with "all their heart and soul," (pg. 77) she is at a loss for words. Much like what happens when Clarisse asks Guy whether or not he is happy, this question forces Mildred to think strictly about what is real. It reminds her that deep down, she knows that her 'family ' consists of fictional characters who cannot harbor real emotions and thus, cannot requite her love for them. This is part of the awareness that she refuses to acknowledge, and she is stunned when Guy 's question catches her in her disguise. Unfortunately, she does not accept that she has a problem and proceeds to change the subject in response to his question. Towards the end of the book, when Mildred leaves the house as the firemen arrive to burn it, it can be inferred that technology does not have the effect on her that she desires, and that it cannot save her from her reality. One can recall that earlier in the story, an old woman chooses to stay in her house and burn along with her books, causing Guy to realize that books can help people to find in their lives a meaning that does not exist in his or Mildred 's. Mildred does not stay to burn with the parlor that she makes such a big deal out of throughout the course of the book. In this way, she inadvertently proves that the parlor and the other forms of technology she attaches herself to, do not provide her life with any

The walls that Mildred called “family” were getting to her and were making Mildred the woman that Montag stopped loving. But Mildred was not able to see this because the walls and every other type of technology that she used was distracting her from reality. Technology didn’t make Mildred think deeply and carefully about the things that mattered

While mildred got the short end of the stick.

Mrs. Wright suffered from social isolation caused by her husband. When Mr. Hale suggested the family “go in with me on a party telephone,” Mr. Wright defended himself by saying he only wanted “peace and quiet” and seemed to not care “what his wife wanted.” Even when Mr. Hale explained to Mrs. Wright the reason behind his visit was to ask about the telephone, she laughed, but then looked scared. As if she had been conditioned to suppress her true wishes and desires, unless she wished for grief. Without the agency and ability to reach out to the other women, Mr. Wright isolated Mrs. Wright from potential hobbies, social groups, and activities. Before she became

Mildred is an average member of society but yet, is alone. Mildred’s only real conversations are with or about the television. Millie answered the phone and immediately answered with “Yes, the WHite Clown’s on tonight!”(Bradbury 70). There was no asking of how their days were, just the television. When Millie hear a conversation about not caring when one's husband dies, she immediately thought of a show she had watched, not even thinking about the thought of how heartless not mourning a dead husband was. One of the first times Mildred is introduced in the novel, she is shown after attempting suicide, and most people who are suicidal do not feel loved, but instead live a dull, vapid life. One shocking detail of the city is how much the population is abating because of suicide. Mildred doesn’t even have much of a reaction when she is saved by the technicians, which truly shows her detachment from true feelings. As the novel progresses, Mildred is still surrounding herself with her television and acting as an average member of society. By doing this, she is unknowingly separating herself from the world, which is exactly what the society wants her to do. If all the people in the city were talking and having conversations about important things, they may start thinking, which, in the opinions of the city, is the worst thing that could

Mildred has to abandon her island of civilized social convention when she becomes interested in Fred Evelyn, and nature begins to take its effect on her when she does. She must go down a "long, narrow footpath through the bending wheat" (150) to encounter Fred at the river. This footpath is like a tunnel through the "yellow wheat" that reaches "high above her waist" (150) on either side, which suggests the nearly overwhelming aspect of the fecundity that is almost enveloping her. Mildred's close contact with her sensuous surroundings causes her own repressed sexuality to come to the surface. Her brown eyes become "filled with a reflected golden light" (150) from the wheat as she passes through it, and her lips and cheeks become "ripe with color that the sun had coaxed there" (150). Nature has now begun to erode the self-control that Mildred has exercised over her passions.