Mildred And Clarisse In Fahrenheit 451

A difference between Mildred and Clarisse is their polar opposite personalities. Throughout Fahrenheit 451, Mildred is a very selfish, conceited woman. This is shown when she talks about herself to Montag. “He opened the book. ‘That Favorite Subject, Myself’ … ‘I understand that one,’ said Mildred.” (Bradbury 72). Mildred's comment exemplifies her conceited attitude toward herself. She dislikes books yet chooses that one to relate to. In contrast to Mildred, Clarisse is a selfless, caring girl. There’s a lot of examples of Clarisse being selfless, but a big one is when Montag talks about her to Mildred. “But Clarisse’s favorite subject wasn’t herself. It was everyone else, and me … She was the first person I can remember who looked straight at me as if I counted.” (Bradbury 72). Montag explains Clarisse's selfless side very well. He knows from experience that she loved others more than herself. These two contrasting examples prove that Mildred and Clarisse have different personalities. But, personalities aside, they have differing values as well.

In the first section of fahrenheit 451 the two character that stuck out to me was Guy montag and Clarrisse McCellan. They are both outsiders in the novel.The both see the world differently and see the world differently. They are different because Clarrisse has always seen the world differently then other people and Guy just recently stated to see the world

Clarisse is a character that asks Montag a lot of questions, and seems to think

Clarisse is a curious girl about her environment, how the earth has evolved, and the past. She rubs off on Montag, which could lead to a dramatic change in his life.

She tells Montag early in the story that her school teachers call her anti-social. She goes on to explain that this is because she isn’t interested in the same things that most kids are interested in. They are content with killing each other, watching television, and playing sports 24/7, all while Clarisse would prefer to sit and talk to people.

It was revealed that Mildred and her friends are the people that reported Montag to the firemen. Earlier, Montag offended Mildred’s friends by reading a melachony poem that caused emotion. Mildred did not stay loyal to her husband and instead reports him to the government, abiding to society. The main rift in their relationship was that they are on opposite sides of society, Mildred is very devoted while Montag challenges the society standards. Deep down, she knows that if she is instead devoted to her husband then her life would go down the drain. She would lose everything including her ‘family’ and therefore has no hestiation in turning against

Ray Bradbury uses the static characters of Clarisse and Mildred to illustrate that Guy Montag is not happy in his 1953 book Fahrenheit 451. Even though Clarisse and Mildred are two very different characters in the novel, with very different personalities and ideas, both are clear examples of a static character and are a stark contrast to Bradbury’s character of Guy Montag.

“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.

Clarisse is one of the characters who influenced Montag by showing her own world. Clarisse remind Montag the fireman’s real job. Clarisse said ‘”strange. I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames”’ (pg 8). Clarisse is the one of character who read a book in conflict read society. She confused Montag on

Of the characters of Fahrenheit 451 Clarisse Mcclellan and Mildred Montag stand out most prominently because of their pronounced contrast. On one hand Mildred Montag is the obedient citizen who would rather watch

The way he pictures her using very descriptive terms helps us understand how to envision the character. From the way, her skin resembles that of milk or to the way she stares out into the void of the night reminiscing about a time when all was different with the society. After the two examining one another, they begin to indulge in a conversation. She is very observant knowing every small detail about the flowers that people pass by to the face on the moon. He then is able to catch a glimpse in her eyes, he uses metaphors to describe how he sees himself in “shining drops of water” It's from these descriptions that the idea I'm getting from how Montag views Clarisse is that she has a special unique feature no one he knows has. The author is

The third reason was that Clarisse loved to ask questions. Usually, when something happens, we usually ask “how did it happen?” This is switched around for Clarisse. Clarisse wanted to know “why something had happened.” Montag tells Clarisse, “No, no, ” he said. “It was a good question. It’s been a long time since anyone cared enough to ask. A good question (26.)” I think that she asked many questions because she wasn’t allowed to ask them in school. At her school, students sat down in class and stayed silent. She stopped going to school because they weren’t supposed to talk to each other and ask questions. Basically they watched videos that taught them information. Clarisse hated school and people considered her as antisocial. Another example is that she asked Montag if he has read any of the books that he has burned. I think that Clarisse planted an idea in Montag mind that made him wonder about what was really inside of books. Because of this, he steals a book from the old woman’s house and

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.”

At the basis of Fahrenheit 451 is the relationship between Mildred and Montag. The first scene in which they interact, when Montag finds Mildred overdosed, sets the tone for their relationship throughout the book. They are distant, never having full conversations, so apart that neither of them could remember where they first met (40). Mildred is absorbed in her “other family”, the TV walls and barely notices Montag’s breakdown until he shows her his books. Besides burning books, Mildred indifference and distance were one of the main causes of Montag’s disintegration. Perhaps if Mildred had been more attentive to Montag, he may not have spiralled so quickly and dramatically. However Mildred’s disconnectedness may have also been caused by Montag’s

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.