Mildred Montag: She is the wife of Guy. They don't really love each other. She is materialistic and she doesn't like books. She is also a coward.…
This woman had a tremendous impact on Montag. She burned with her books. When he is talking with Mildred about it later, he says "There must be something in books, things we can't imagine to make a woman stay in a burning house, there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing." (pg 51) Mildred tries to say that the woman was simple-minded and that it is water under the bridge. Montag knows that the experience will last him a lifetime. He cannot put it out of his mind. He goes on to explain that for the first time he realized that a man wrote the books He had to think them up and put them down on paper, and then he came along and in two minutes burned it all up and it was over. It seriously bothered him.…
A major passage in the novel is when the firemen go to Mrs. Hudson's home. They go to her home and she sets the home on fire and burns herself with it. This is a major turning point in the novel for Montag. The…
28. How does Mildred feel toward the characters in the parlor? Why is this disturbing to Montag?…
Mildred Pierce, by James M. Cain, begins in pre-Depression California, and ends during World War II times, also in California. The main character, Mildred Pierce, is a very attractive housewife of 29, raising two daughters, Ray and Veda. Although Mildred loves both her daughters, Veda is a particular obsession with Mildred. She constantly slaves away throughout the novel to do whatever she can to make Veda happy, despite the constant abuse and deception Veda inflicts upon Mildred. After a divorce from her first husband, Bert, in the opening pages of the novel, Mildred is forced to sacrifice her pride and become a waitress in order to support her family. If Veda were ever to find out, she would be appalled; a constantly recurring theme throughout this story is Veda's pride and arrogance, and her condemnation of jobs she deems to be menial. Mildred's main goal is to nurture Veda's musical talents, and manages to pay for expensive music lessons from her meager salaries as a waitress and pie baker. However, Mildred's luck is soon to change, as she takes up with an attorney and former partner of Bert, Wally. Mildred is able to use Wally's business and real estate savvy to build a restaurant out of a deserted model home, and from there create a thriving chain of three food businesses. After becoming bored with Wally, however, Mildred craves a relationship with another man, a prestigious local man named Monty. Veda highly approves of her mother's choice, as this makes her feel as if she too were more prestigious and affluent, despite having misgivings about her mother still being so low as to have an average, pedestrian job. All seems to be going well; even through Veda's constant demands and tantrums, she still gets everything she wants, and Mildred and Monty are happy. Monty, however, falls on hard times with the coming of the Great Depression, and he constantly mooches off of Mildred's affluence, making it a struggle for Mildred to cater to Veda's every whim.…
In Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian novel, Ray Bradbury portrays Mildred as an extremely unintelligent character who does not connect with reality throughout the book. Mildred us very caught up in her television “family” which Montag questions, do they “Love you, love you very much, love you with all their heart” (page). This ascertains that Mildred shows qualities of being absent minded. As a human being separating television from reality should be a skill that is possessed because their are huge differences between the two settings. Mildred is presented as a character that can not tell the difference which causes Montag to ask her that otherwise very odd question. Moreover, Mildred is very dismissive of actions…
The main conflict in Fahrenheit 451 is Man versus Society. Montag is a typical citizen, living and working in a society that has been bled of distinctiveness and personal interaction. When montag meets Clarisse McClellan you can really start to see how society has changed, while she would seem a little “odd” by today's standards of being normal in this world she is like an alien to any and all of the social norms that have been enforced. After meeting her Montag begins to think about the things she was talking about that he thought to be absurd like what if once fireman actually had to put out fires. Because of this Montag himself starts to ask questions about society and in turn break the law and startto read books after he questions…
Being obsessed with entertainment, which is probably the most obvious aspect of this book, is very important in our world and Montag's made up society. The characters rarely have friends, and if they do, they just go over each other's houses to watch television. Bradbury makes this clear when Mildred says to Montag, "I went to Helen's last night" (50). He replies by saying, "Couldn't you get the shows in your own parlor" (50). She says, "Sure, but it's nice visiting" (50). In that statement she clarifies that the only reason she goes over friend's houses is to watch television, not to talk, eat, or go outside and have a good time. An example of someone who is not obsessed with entertainment is Clarisse, the 17 year old girl who is "different" from everyone else because she enjoyed life. She enjoyed smelling flowers, walking in the rain, and getting into deep conversations with people. Clarisse thinks that all people ever do is watch the "Parlor Walls," go to the races, and amusement parks. Our society is turning out to be like that, we have to stop it before it's too late. A couple of years ago, family used to go to amusement parks as a treat every once in a while, now a days we have people that go almost every other day.…
Their interaction seems shallow and forced, laughing at dead bodies on television screens. The way they talk about their kids is frightening: ”You heave them into the parlor and turn the switch. It's like washing clothes: stuff laundry and slam the lid,” says Mrs. Bowles (page 96). But doesn't that, leaving the kids in the parlor for hours, sound a lot like giving a child an Ipad to play with to keep them busy? Mildred's friends also briefly talk politics, which to them means rating the looks of the presidential candidates. This once again sounds so shallow, but nowadays we hear people constantly criticising politicians and other popular people for their looks. The quality of human interaction in our world may be losing its depth and interest, just like it has in the world of Fahrenheit 451.…
Darkness surrounds Lydia, her body is trembling, and she feels weak. Her head is spinning, while her stomach churns. She has had her suspicions, woman’s intuition you might say. Her fears became reality when the truth surfaces, her husband is being unfaithful. She is shaking, even though it is an unusually warm January day. Shaking, not because she’s cold. The color has drained from her body and she feels ill. There is a giant hole in her heart, and the pain is unbelievable.…
The title, The Catcher in the Rye, directly indicates the reoccurring theme of the novel, to protect the innocence of the younger generations. The novel is structured on Holden’s desire to protect all the innocent children in the world from growing up because with age comes experiences that lead to corruption and the loss of innocence.…
Moreover, much like Bradbury seeks to impart on the reader, Granger (‘Modern Day Moses’), hopes to guide his group of literary disciples toward a promised land of free thought, alleviating the Dark Age and creating a new spark of intellectualism. This can be extended further, one could indeed say that Granger, remarking on how insignificant Montag is in the grand scheme of time and evolutionary expanse, is also saying that: on his own Montag isn’t much, but with the collective power of the group, the impact could be tremendous, a message quite similar to Bradbury’s. Throughout the novel we see Clarisse, then Montag, and then Faber, all try to create a humanistic spark within society, to change the minds of those who cannot see. However, despite their attempts, it is only…
Adolescence is a turbulent time, in which teenagers are caught between the innocent, frivolous world of children and the enigma of adulthood. Holden Caulfield, center of the bildungsroman Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, experiences many conflicts, both internal and external, that give way to issues hindering him from leading a normal life. Three primary problems impeding him are unresolved grief from his brother Allie’s death, the inability to live up to expectations of his wealthy family, and his failure to accept that life is complex.…
J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is about a young Holden Caulfield’s growth into maturity. Caulfield begins the novel as an inexperienced boarding school student attending Pencey Prep, a private boarding school located in Pennsylvania, who is struggling academically and socially. After getting kicked out of yet another boarding school, Caulfield travels to New York City before going home. After staying in New York for the time period between when he got kicked out and when he can return home Caulfield learns the struggles of living in the adult world. As he experiences New York, it opens his eyes to the painfulness of growing up and he wants to escape it. A major theme in this story is keeping innocence, which is portrayed through Caulfield’s theory about the catcher in the rye, his need to protect his sister, and the red hunting hat.…
Throughout this novel many themes appeared in The Cather in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, a story about a 17-year-old boy who deals with constant heartache and tries to find himself. Unfortunately it takes many hardships to really figure out why everything happens in his life. The three main themes that occurred throughout this novel are the phonies of the world, childhood innocence, and mortality. These themes really give an idea of why the main character is who he is.…
