“His wife [Millie] stretched on the bed, uncovered and cold, like a body displayed on the lid of a tomb, her eyes fixed to the ceiling by invisible threads of steel, immovable” (10). Now, it may sound like Millie is dead, but I can assure you that she isn’t. Mildred “Millie” Montag started off in the book as dead, but later on the book showed us how she fit society’s norm. She is obsessed with her seashell radio and loves her “family” on the parlor wall more than she cares about her own husband, Guy. “Now, my ‘family’ is people. They tell me things: I laugh, they laugh! And the colors!” (73). Prior to this quote, Millie was yelling at Guy saying that the books were not people, but her ‘family’ on the wall was people, proving that she cared
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For example, “‘Beatty!’ said Mildred. ‘It can’t be him.’ ‘He’s come back!’ she whispered. The front door voice called again softly. ‘Someone here…’. ‘We won’t answer.’ Montag lay back against the wall and slowly sank to a crouching position and began to nudge the books, bewilderedly, with his thump, his forefinger. He was shivering and he wanted above all to shove the books up through the ventilator again, but he knew he could not face Beatty, again. He crouched and then he sat and the voice of the front door spoke again, more insistently. Montag picked a single small volume from the floor. ‘Where do we begin?’ He opened the book halfway and peered at it. ‘We begin by beginning, I guess’ ‘He’ll come in,’ said Mildred, ‘and burn us and the books!’ The front door faded at last” (67-68). This quote shows potential of Millie changing because normally she would’ve opened the door no matter who it is, but instead she protected Guy and didn’t answer the door, knowing it would’ve got them in serious trouble. She also stuck up for him when she had Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Phelps over, and decided to recite a poem, Dover Beach. “Mildred had already anticipated this in a quavery voice. ‘Ladies, once a year, every fireman’s allowed to bring one book home, from the old days, to show his family how silly it all was, how nervous
For example, “‘Beatty!’ said Mildred. ‘It can’t be him.’ ‘He’s come back!’ she whispered. The front door voice called again softly. ‘Someone here…’. ‘We won’t answer.’ Montag lay back against the wall and slowly sank to a crouching position and began to nudge the books, bewilderedly, with his thump, his forefinger. He was shivering and he wanted above all to shove the books up through the ventilator again, but he knew he could not face Beatty, again. He crouched and then he sat and the voice of the front door spoke again, more insistently. Montag picked a single small volume from the floor. ‘Where do we begin?’ He opened the book halfway and peered at it. ‘We begin by beginning, I guess’ ‘He’ll come in,’ said Mildred, ‘and burn us and the books!’ The front door faded at last” (67-68). This quote shows potential of Millie changing because normally she would’ve opened the door no matter who it is, but instead she protected Guy and didn’t answer the door, knowing it would’ve got them in serious trouble. She also stuck up for him when she had Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Phelps over, and decided to recite a poem, Dover Beach. “Mildred had already anticipated this in a quavery voice. ‘Ladies, once a year, every fireman’s allowed to bring one book home, from the old days, to show his family how silly it all was, how nervous