Many people can consider love to be "dangerous". In Mildred's case, do you think her love of technology brought the death of her physically and/or mentally?
Mildred’s case is an interesting one; in a backwards dystopian society, technology trumps over knowledge, and Mildred is no different. But when it comes to her husband, Montag, he has found a new appreciation for books. The two come together as opposite people, which is a situation that usually leads to a failed relationship. Her love of technology forced her apart from the knowledge-seeking Montag, which actually caused much mental pain. In a quote from page 72, Mildred finally gives Montag an ultimatum, “See what you’re doing? You’ll ruin us! Who’s more important, me or that Bible?” (Bradbury 72) You can tell by the tone of this quote that Mildred has been clearly hurt in some way, either through fear of getting caught or from a pure hatred of books. Her love of technology, including the “parlor” and the seashell radios, has driven her to a form of antisocial behavior; where she is still interacting with humans, but cut off from them at the same time. This is shown on page 73: “’Mille? Does the White Clown love you?’ No answer. ‘Mille, does’- He licked his lips-‘does your ‘family’ love you, love you very much, love you with all their heart and soul. Millie?’ He felt her blinking slowly at the back of his neck. ‘Why would you ask a silly question like that?” (Bradbury 73) This is a clear sign of her antisocial behavior, which is hurting her mentally. This behavior is what, in the end, forced her to call an alarm on her husband for hoarding books. Her emotional pain and antisocial behavior are what contributed to her untimely death, which could have been avoided had she gone with Montag. When looking to how the technology affected her physically, we notice, that on several occasions, she has grown forgetful. In my opinion, this is a side-effect, so to speak, of the constant use of the distractive technology. Her forgetfulness grew dangerous as well, almost killing her in the beginning of the book, thanks to an unknown overdose of sleeping pills, which she kept taking, because she kept forgetting that she had ever taken any. As you can see, her love/obsession of technology is what led Mildred to her downfall.
Julia–I do believe Mildred’s love of technology brought the death of her physically AND mentally. Bradbury has portrayed Mildred as a person who is disconnected from reality. In one scene, “[Montag] felt he was one of the creatures electronically inserted between the slots of the panto-color walls, speaking, but the speech not piercing the crystal barrier. He could only pantomime, hoping she would turn his way and see him. They could not touch through the glass” (Bradbury 44). In this section, Mildred was too focused listening to the radio and because of her excessive use of “seashell ear thimbles,” her attention span has diminished gravely. Technology has inhibited her level of social skill which makes it hard for her to hold a conversation, even with her husband. This is similar to what Kevin said above, since he mentions how technology has created a distance between Mildred and Montag. Also, adding on to what Kevin said about her forgetfulness, Mildred is very close-minded and blunt. Casually, she speaks to Montag “’I meant to tell you. Forgot. Forgot’”(Bradbury 44). Her antisocial behavior is demonstrated in the dialogue as she tells Montag that Clarisse is dead, and that she simply forgot to tell him until he mentioned her name.
I agree with the two comments above. Mildred’s obsession is a better word for it. It isn’t really love, but a compulsion and addiction to find pleasure in technology. It wasn’t really “love” she had since technology basically dictated her life. It definitely was killing her mentally. First of all, she saw the parlor as her family. “’Will you turn the parlor off?’ he asked. ‘That’s my family’” (Bradbury 49). It isn’t mentally healthy at all to consider images on a screen your family. She had spent so much time watching it and the more she watched, the more her mentality was dying. She became mindless and empty when she didn’t watch the television walls. “The parlor was dead and Mildred kept peering in at it with a blank expression…” (Bradbury 71). Mildred basically was already dead in a sense. Her capacity to think for herself and seek knowledge is dead. She has been easily manipulated by the ideals of society and became obsessed with her shows. The sad thing is that most people in the novel’s dystopian society act like this. “The three women fidgeted and looked nervously at the empty mud-colored walls” (Bradbury 94). This was the part in which friends were over at Mildred’s house but all they really wanted to do is look at the parlor walls. They all seem to shut down once technology does as well. Especially Mildred. I think that because she becomes so brain-dead and forgetful when not watching shows, it could’ve caused her sleeping pill overdose. Which confirms technology also brought the death of her physically.
I completely agree with everyone. I agree with the fact about how forgetful Mildred was and how that in turns shows how she is emotionally dead. Kevin, how you pointed out that Mildred’s forgetfulness might have even caused her to overdose on pills was a very insightful thought that I didn’t even think of. What nobody had said yet that I wanted to point out was that I think her love of technology was what physically killed her in the end. On page 159, it says, “He saw her leaning toward the great shimmering walls of color and motion where the family talked and talked and talked to her, where the family prattled and chatted and said her name and smiled at her and said nothing of the bomb that was an inch, now a half inch, now a quarter inch from the top of the hotel. Leaning into the wall as if all of the hunger of looking would find the secret of her sleepless unease there. Mildred, leaning anxiously, nervously, as if to plunge, drop, fall into the swarming immensity of color to drown in its bright happiness” (Bradbury 159). If Mildred would have paid attention to Montag’s cries, Mildred would’ve avoided the hands of death. Since Mildred was obsessed with technology, she simply ignored Montag’s pleads and kept on staring at her beloved “family”. Mildred’s obsession with technology showed a timeline of how she was slowly becoming less and less involved with her marriage. Montag truly loved Mildred enough that he warned her about the bombs. Since she was blinded by technology, she ended up dying in the end. I think if Mildred didn’t have a love for technology, her marriage and her life would’ve been saved. Thank you for all of your replies. I was a pleasure to read your insightful thoughts about my question.
Mildred’s case is an interesting one; in a backwards dystopian society, technology trumps over knowledge, and Mildred is no different. But when it comes to her husband, Montag, he has found a new appreciation for books. The two come together as opposite people, which is a situation that usually leads to a failed relationship. Her love of technology forced her apart from the knowledge-seeking Montag, which actually caused much mental pain. In a quote from page 72, Mildred finally gives Montag an ultimatum, “See what you’re doing? You’ll ruin us! Who’s more important, me or that Bible?” (Bradbury 72) You can tell by the tone of this quote that Mildred has been clearly hurt in some way, either through fear of getting caught or from a pure hatred of books. Her love of technology, including the “parlor” and the seashell radios, has driven her to a form of antisocial behavior; where she is still interacting with humans, but cut off from them at the same time. This is shown on page 73: “’Mille? Does the White Clown love you?’ No answer. ‘Mille, does’- He licked his lips-‘does your ‘family’ love you, love you very much, love you with all their heart and soul. Millie?’ He felt her blinking slowly at the back of his neck. ‘Why would you ask a silly question like that?” (Bradbury 73) This is a clear sign of her antisocial behavior, which is hurting her mentally. This behavior is what, in the end, forced her to call an alarm on her husband for hoarding books. Her emotional pain and antisocial behavior are what contributed to her untimely death, which could have been avoided had she gone with Montag. When looking to how the technology affected her physically, we notice, that on several occasions, she has grown forgetful. In my opinion, this is a side-effect, so to speak, of the constant use of the distractive technology. Her forgetfulness grew dangerous as well, almost killing her in the beginning of the book, thanks to an unknown overdose of sleeping pills, which she kept taking, because she kept forgetting that she had ever taken any. As you can see, her love/obsession of technology is what led Mildred to her downfall.
ReplyDeleteJulia–I do believe Mildred’s love of technology brought the death of her physically AND mentally. Bradbury has portrayed Mildred as a person who is disconnected from reality. In one scene, “[Montag] felt he was one of the creatures electronically inserted between the slots of the panto-color walls, speaking, but the speech not piercing the crystal barrier. He could only pantomime, hoping she would turn his way and see him. They could not touch through the glass” (Bradbury 44). In this section, Mildred was too focused listening to the radio and because of her excessive use of “seashell ear thimbles,” her attention span has diminished gravely. Technology has inhibited her level of social skill which makes it hard for her to hold a conversation, even with her husband. This is similar to what Kevin said above, since he mentions how technology has created a distance between Mildred and Montag. Also, adding on to what Kevin said about her forgetfulness, Mildred is very close-minded and blunt. Casually, she speaks to Montag “’I meant to tell you. Forgot. Forgot’”(Bradbury 44). Her antisocial behavior is demonstrated in the dialogue as she tells Montag that Clarisse is dead, and that she simply forgot to tell him until he mentioned her name.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the two comments above. Mildred’s obsession is a better word for it. It isn’t really love, but a compulsion and addiction to find pleasure in technology. It wasn’t really “love” she had since technology basically dictated her life. It definitely was killing her mentally. First of all, she saw the parlor as her family. “’Will you turn the parlor off?’ he asked. ‘That’s my family’” (Bradbury 49). It isn’t mentally healthy at all to consider images on a screen your family. She had spent so much time watching it and the more she watched, the more her mentality was dying. She became mindless and empty when she didn’t watch the television walls. “The parlor was dead and Mildred kept peering in at it with a blank expression…” (Bradbury 71). Mildred basically was already dead in a sense. Her capacity to think for herself and seek knowledge is dead. She has been easily manipulated by the ideals of society and became obsessed with her shows. The sad thing is that most people in the novel’s dystopian society act like this. “The three women fidgeted and looked nervously at the empty mud-colored walls” (Bradbury 94). This was the part in which friends were over at Mildred’s house but all they really wanted to do is look at the parlor walls. They all seem to shut down once technology does as well. Especially Mildred. I think that because she becomes so brain-dead and forgetful when not watching shows, it could’ve caused her sleeping pill overdose. Which confirms technology also brought the death of her physically.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everyone. I agree with the fact about how forgetful Mildred was and how that in turns shows how she is emotionally dead. Kevin, how you pointed out that Mildred’s forgetfulness might have even caused her to overdose on pills was a very insightful thought that I didn’t even think of. What nobody had said yet that I wanted to point out was that I think her love of technology was what physically killed her in the end. On page 159, it says, “He saw her leaning toward the great shimmering walls of color and motion where the family talked and talked and talked to her, where the family prattled and chatted and said her name and smiled at her and said nothing of the bomb that was an inch, now a half inch, now a quarter inch from the top of the hotel. Leaning into the wall as if all of the hunger of looking would find the secret of her sleepless unease there. Mildred, leaning anxiously, nervously, as if to plunge, drop, fall into the swarming immensity of color to drown in its bright happiness” (Bradbury 159). If Mildred would have paid attention to Montag’s cries, Mildred would’ve avoided the hands of death. Since Mildred was obsessed with technology, she simply ignored Montag’s pleads and kept on staring at her beloved “family”. Mildred’s obsession with technology showed a timeline of how she was slowly becoming less and less involved with her marriage. Montag truly loved Mildred enough that he warned her about the bombs. Since she was blinded by technology, she ended up dying in the end. I think if Mildred didn’t have a love for technology, her marriage and her life would’ve been saved. Thank you for all of your replies. I was a pleasure to read your insightful thoughts about my question.
ReplyDelete