Who Is The Lifeless Character In Fahrenheit 451

In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, society is unhappy, and sort of lifeless. It shows that a society without books cannot really produce a happy life. Mildred Montag is a prime example of this empty living represented in the book. Mildred is shallow and miserable, but plays an important role in representing society along with giving readers a contrast to Montag in this novel.

Throughout the book Mildred is shown as a shallow and lifeless character. At the start of the novel she tries to kill herself as she “took all the pills in [her] bottle” (Bradbury 17). Mildred tries to kill herself simply because she is deeply unhappy. The next day even she denies ever taking the pills showing the extreme unhappiness of Mildred, and fear

First off, when Montag has just burned a house with a woman inside and is explaining his feelings to Mildred, she tells him to “let me alone, I didn 't do anything” (Bradbury 49). Montag is explaining that he does not like doing this as a fireman and that it is wrong, and his wife completely turns a cheek. She does not care that he is feeling this way and sees no wrong in it, showing that she does not see these things in the way Montag does. Next, in a similar situation when Montag is feeling unhappy Mildred says that she is “tired of listening to this junk” (Bradbury 62). Montag feels so terribly sad and feels that books might help and Mildred is appalled by this. They think completely different on this subject showing the contrast between the two. Finally, when Montag shows up at his house when on a the job with Beatty he asks “was it my wife turned in the alarm?” (Bradbury 62). Beatty tells him that this is true showing how differently this couple thinks. If Mildred can turn in her husband for books, she does not get how he thinks at all showing their vast differences. Mildred is an important character as she gives a contrast to the nonconformist,