A society can greatly affect a person from expressing themself. Everyone, in different ways can contrast with one another. From their actions, their ideas and to how they speak, people can foil one another. Therefore in stories, these people are referred to foil characters. In the same way, the two secondary characters, Mildred and Clarisse, in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, way of living in their society contributes to their character traits.
Firstly, both characters live in a dystopian society which then reveals their true character. Mildred, the protagonist's wife, “says the lines” when her television screen “looks at her” (bradbury 17) suggesting lack of human interaction. While Clarisse is the opposite of everyone else as she sometimes “stays up all night, walking” ( bradbury 5) while having a conversation with the protagonist, Guy Montag. Living in this particular society in which censorship is banned and the human contact
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Mildred fails to have her own identity as considers her television as “her family” suggesting that her husband is not her family. While Clarisse expresses her own identity as she considers herself “abnormal” from the kids her own age. the idea of having an individual identity cease to exist in this novel as everyone is afraid of expressing themselves and being the outcast. Thus, Mildred does not have her own identity suggesting that she is hiding it or has no desire of having her own. It shows how people in this novel are afraid of being different. On the other hand, Clarisse shows her true identity to Montag and questions why society is like this. Why people burn books, why kids kill other kids, just why? She’s the only person that is curious to why people are against books. She considers herself abnormal as she does not follow what others kids do, for example going to school. But instead she goes and wanders the streets and watches people on the