Fahrenheit 451 Conformity Quotes

(STEWE-1): We see a lack of humanity when Mildred says to Montag, "'See what you're doing? You'll ruin us! Who's more important, me or that Bible?'" (Bradbury 72). Mildred is self-centered and only worries about herself. She doesn’t think about others’ emotions and how they might feel, and she puts herself before the books that could help Montag regain his humanity. Mildred is the ideal member of society, and thus represents society as a whole. The rest of society is self-centered and unempathetic, and only worry about themselves. They place themselves and their needs before others and their needs. They

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.

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

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

“ Don't step on the toes of the dog lovers, the cat lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormons,

Topic sentence: In Fahrenheit 451 the author, Ray Bradbury, comments on society’s complacency to let people kill themselves through how normal the world around Montag accepts people dying.

“And he remembered thinking that if she died, he was certain he wouldn’t cry” (Bradburry 47). Throughout the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury the crumbling relationship between Mildred and Montag leads to the breakage of their marriage and Montag finding his place in the world. The couple goes through ten years of marriage without love. This unhealthy relationship causes a miserable life for both of them. They live is a damaged society where everyone is under strict control. Books and pedestrians are banned, while killing and hurting are allowed. Mildred goes through life knowing very little about the world surrounding her, she is comfortable with being ignorant. Montag, on the other hand, is on a mission to learn more about his and Mildred’s civilization. He wants to find the root of the problem and repair it. This difference in the two individuals leads to the breaking of their relationship, and the ending of their life as they know it. Mildred’s realization that she doesn’t love Montag, Montag questioning the ways of society, and Montag reading books to Mildred and her friends leads to Mildred giving up on Montag and turning him into the government.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 features a fictional and futuristic firefighter named Guy Montag. As a firefighter, Montag does not put out fires. Instead, he starts them in order to burn books and, basically, knowledge to the human race. He does not have any second thoughts about his responsibility until he meets seventeen-year-old Clarisse McClellan. She reveals many wonders of the world to Montag and causes him to rethink what he is doing in burning books. After his talks with her, the society’s obedience to the law that bans knowledge, thinking, and creativity also increasingly distresses him. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury shows conformity in the futuristic America through schooling, leisure, and fright.

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

“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.

Guy Montag is the protagonist and central character of the book, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury that transforms from a conformist in a totalitarian society to rebuilding a society that reads books. Montag fits the cliché description of a good-looking male with “black hair, black brows…fiery face, and…blue-steel shaved but unshaved look.” (Bradbury, 33)  For the past eight years he has burned books. He is a 3rd generation firefighter, who in the beginning of the story, loves his job, which consists of burning the homes of people who perform criminal acts of reading and keeping books in their homes. By understanding Montag’s relationships, discontentment, and future, one can begin to understand the complexities of Guy Montag.

Questioning the way life works can sometimes lead to trouble. In most places, rules were meant to be obeyed, not questioned. In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury places Guy Montag in dystopian society that does not believe in knowledge and makes him the person that enforces this law. Guy, in the beginning of the novel, is known to be someone who follows all the rules, takes pride in his work, and never questions anything. Being placed in a Dystopian society where ignorance is bliss, all books were burned by the fireman, such as Guy.

Her bland, limited and vacant persona shows she is the epitome of someone in dystopia. Her physical appearance also alludes to this. She was described as having abnormally pale skin and chemically fried hair- this is symbolizing the twisted beauty standards that were placed on women such as her in this society. As horrible as it sounds, Mildred, with her obsession and addiction to the simplistic, electronic-based lifestyle, closely resembles the lifestyles of many people in the present-day. Because of all this, she and Montag were completely incompatible. Unsurprisingly, Mildred betrays her husband in “Burning Bright.” She does this by reporting him and his stash of illegal books, which resulted in Montag being forced to burn his house to the ground. In this scene, Mildred symbolizes the fear of the demanding government. She feared severe consequences, just as anyone in the society would. This shows how strong of a grasp the horrible government has over its people.

Now on both of their behalves they really did not have the same view into the dystopian society. Montag believed it was wrong to burn books, and Mildred did not care about nothing including Montag and them books. “It is easy to read the women in Fahrenheit 451 as stock, one-dimensional characters, set up only to illustrate the opposite poles between which Montag struggles.” Montag does not realize he struggles to see the differences in him and women. “Although Montag has not yet recognized the problem with this reduction of happiness to a step below hedonism, a kind of vicarious hedonism, in which even sensation is often artificially provided, Beatty seems aware of it." Beatty realizes something different before Montag has the chance to. “Before Montag can begin to recognize his connection to others and to his inhuman society, however, he needs to reconnect with himself, reestablish his relationship with the world.”

Mildred Montag, a character in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, is rarely remembered beyond an image of a passive antagonist, a zombified burden on the heroic Guy Montag. However, a closer examination reveals a complex character in fascinating historical context. Why is Mildred and what she symbolizes unanimously misinterpreted? In letting go of wrongful assumptions, exploring the factors behind her misinterpretation and developing an appreciation for her difficult situation, the answer to this question becomes clear. In getting to better understand Mildred Montag and the oft-ignored demographic of housewives she represents, one is choosing to listen to a voice history silenced.