Juxtaposition In Fahrenheit 451

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Captain Beatty’s Explanation, Aldridge

Society changes people in a positive and negative way. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury; Mildred is the wife of the main character Guy Montag, and she acts in certain ways that seems odd or strange. Captain Beatty, the fireman captain, gives a speech to Montag. Beatty’s speech explains why Mildred acts the way she does, which had just started to become a mystery for Montag. First, Mildred could be described as unfeeling. She does not care and is emotionless to everything that happens no matter what it is. In the novel, a woman kills herself in front of Montag, and because of this he is upset. Mildred’s response to this included, “She’s nothing to me; she shouldn’t have books, it was her responsibility, she should have thought of that.” She does not care that her husband is upset, and she doesn’t feel sorry or sad that someone died. Based on Captain …show more content…

In the novel, Montag asks if she remembered where and when they met. Mildred replies with, “ I don’t know, it’s been so long, it doesn’t matter.” She acts as if she doesn’t care and is lifeless at the thought that she can’t remember this. To act “robotic” is to be fake or emotionless. It’s almost as if everything that happened in the past just escaped memory and she doesn’t think or care or even love thoughts about Montag. Captain Beatty’s speech explains this with, “If you don’t want a man unhappy, don’t give him a question to worry him, give him none. Let him forget there is such thing as war, peace Montag.” This means every thought, every idea, is banished from the mind of society. If they are made to think, then they are unhappy. Mildred, along with society is robotic. Beatty’s speech explains why Mildred acts the way she does, which had started to become a mystery for Montag, She acts in ways that are robotic, or self-centered, or unfeeling. Beatty’s speech explains the reason

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