“I’m antisocial they say. I don’t mix. It’s so strange. I’m very social indeed. It all depends on what you mean by social doesn’t it?” (Page 22, Clarisse)
In this brief sentence made by Clarisse, the point that’s brought up here is that everything’s based upon perspectives. In the eyes of Clarisse, she seems to be the one who’s perfectly normal and loves to speak with others. Yet in the eyes of the average person at the time she’s antisocial for shunning the “Seashells” and other trappings of technology that others such as Mildred (Montag’s wife) seem to embrace. In this story, Clarisse and Mildred appear to be “foil” characters, or characters whose traits oppose and show the traits of the opposing character. However, what struck me the most about the situation was how easily the 2’s situations could've been reversed and how things would’ve changed as a result. I think this is the reason why we’re able to connect with the characters in this book so well.
Mildred represents one side of us, while Clarisse represents the other . Sometimes we feel just like Mildred, we no longer want to be caught up in the petty troubles of the world. Instead it’s just easier if we just lose ourselves in a world of fast action and immerse ourselves into a fictional perfect world. At the same time though, sometimes we’re Clarisse. We cannot help ourselves but questions the why’s of the world, why things are the way they are. While at first it seems that we have nothing in common with Mildred if we closely take a look at ourselves, we’ll most likely find at least one situation where we’ve behaved exactly the same way. This really serves to bring in the point that technology is pervasive, and if we don’t treat it accordingly, we may lose our inner “Clarise” in the world of 100MPH beetles and parlor walls.
5. I think the quote can hint the reader that there is not much interaction between people in this book.
ReplyDelete6. Part of the reason why there isn't much interaction in this book is because technology is taking over people's lives.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree, and I think one of the conflicts in this book that there are a lot of Mildred's but too little Clarisse's.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this? Well, it's the way the government want them to be. They provide the parlor walls, Seashells, and the right to drive over a hundred miles per hour to make everyone be like...Mildred.
So i think Mildred represents the people of the society; empty and one-dimensional. Such round characters.
Agreed, Mildred seems to be the perfect example of the average in Bradbury's world. Though I don't know if I think it's because of the government. Maybe it was the people who wanted such simple pleasures, after all the government is supposed to pursue the goals that the people want.
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