The Smile by Ray Bradbury is a story set in the future. Warfare from the past has eliminated nearly all civilizations and has made the beauty and peace of the society turn into hatred and destruction. Cities have been lowered to junk lands, and cornfields and crops glow and bloom due to radioactivity from the horrid warfare of the past. The unfortunate survivors of this dreadful bloodshed wear soiled and poor clothing and have dwellings that consist of caves. Grigsby and Tom, the two core characters of this story have great different views and attitudes towards the past. They share a vast amount of differences personality wise, and physically, as well.
Grigsby detests and abhors the past. In Grigsby's perspective, the past destroyed everything. …show more content…
He is extremely curious, interested, and very intrigued in learning about the past. Tom does not know much about the past, nor is he highly educated about it. For example, it was very odd for a little boy to be standing in the line and rising up in the morning relatively early for simply destroying and disrespecting an artifact of the past. Moreover, when Tom introduced himself to Grigsby, Tom asked a vast amount of questions about the past and the painting from the past. For example, Tom asked Grigsby, "'Why're we all here in line? Why're we all here to spit?"' Grigsby later replies that this activity all has to do with hate on the past. Moreover, Grigsby then explained the other festivals that he partook in to emphasize his hate on the past. Soon, Tom began to be puzzled and confused. Furthermore, when it was Tom's turn to spit at the ancient Mona Lisa painting, he then came to realize that it was a beautiful piece and work of art. His mouth was dry and he simply could not spit at the painting. Confused and curious, Tom then took a piece of the smile of the Mona Lisa and held it close to him. What is ironic is that one of the men in the line stated that in order to reconstruct and produce a civilization, they needed someone with an imagination and with a heart to do so. I believe the leader for creating a new limited civilization of peace could be Tom. Tom is one of the lesser people that are the disbelievers of hatred towards the past than the
Grigsby detests and abhors the past. In Grigsby's perspective, the past destroyed everything. …show more content…
He is extremely curious, interested, and very intrigued in learning about the past. Tom does not know much about the past, nor is he highly educated about it. For example, it was very odd for a little boy to be standing in the line and rising up in the morning relatively early for simply destroying and disrespecting an artifact of the past. Moreover, when Tom introduced himself to Grigsby, Tom asked a vast amount of questions about the past and the painting from the past. For example, Tom asked Grigsby, "'Why're we all here in line? Why're we all here to spit?"' Grigsby later replies that this activity all has to do with hate on the past. Moreover, Grigsby then explained the other festivals that he partook in to emphasize his hate on the past. Soon, Tom began to be puzzled and confused. Furthermore, when it was Tom's turn to spit at the ancient Mona Lisa painting, he then came to realize that it was a beautiful piece and work of art. His mouth was dry and he simply could not spit at the painting. Confused and curious, Tom then took a piece of the smile of the Mona Lisa and held it close to him. What is ironic is that one of the men in the line stated that in order to reconstruct and produce a civilization, they needed someone with an imagination and with a heart to do so. I believe the leader for creating a new limited civilization of peace could be Tom. Tom is one of the lesser people that are the disbelievers of hatred towards the past than the