Foils and their Effects on Montag's Realization
Throughout Montag's journey, he learns that true happiness stems not from living in ignorance and allowing authorities to make decisions for individuals but from being curious, striving for education, and questioning one's world. Mildred and Clarisse help show Montag this important truth through their relationship as foils. Clarisse is a young woman full of life, wonderment, and a desire to challenge the norms of the text's society: one in which individual thought is not encouraged, books are destroyed, and people are expected to remain ignorant to the world around them. The quotations below help show how Mildred complies with these expectations and Clarisse does the opposite. Mildred lives a life of ignorance and boredom, which pushes her to overdose on sleeping pills to escape the sense of boredom she feels with the world. Clarisse, however, explores the beauties of the natural world and is quite willing to ask questions to learn more. The contrasts between these two women help magnify the characteristics of one another.
"'You think too many things,'" said Montag, uneasily. 'I rarely watch the parlor walls or go to races or Fun parks. So I've lots of time for crazy thoughts, I guess [...] Oh, we're most peculiar.' [...] Then she looked at him with wonder and curiosity. ' Are you happy?'" (Bradbury, 9-10). |
"It was like coming into the cold marbled room of a mausoleum after the moon has set. Complete darkness, not a hint of the silver world outside, the windows tightly shut, the chamber a tomb world where no sound from the great city could penetrate. The room was not empty [...] His wife stretched on the bed, uncovered and cold, like a body displayed on the lid of a tomb, her eyes fixed to the ceiling by invisible threads of steel, immovable" (11-12). |
Clarisse McClellan
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Mildred Montag
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