On p. 73 of my Del Ray edition (ISBN 0-345-34296-8), in The Sieve and the Sand Chapter while Montag and Mildred are in the hallway readings books, there's a line:

"He stared at the parlor that was dead and gray as the waters of an ocean that might teem with life if they switched on the electronic sun."

I suspect that this line was meant to be for Mildred, not Montag, and it should have started with the word "She". The line does not make sense to be be thought by describing Montag but makes perfect sense for Mildred.

Is this a mistake?

Jason

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jason Quinn,

Hi Jason, and welcome.

I just looked at my edition of F451, and found that it has the same line. I think you MIGHT be right - the line would seem to make a bit more sense if it was stating Mildred's point of view.

However, if you look a couple of lines on you see something which might justify it being Montag's thoughts. Here's the full passage:

-------------------------
He stared at the parlour that was dead and grey as the waters of an ocean that might teem with life if they switched on the electronic sun.

"Now," said Mildred, "my 'family' is people. They tell me things; I laugh,
they laugh! And the colours!"

"Yes, I know."
-----------------------------------

Montag is acknowledging the colours (and the other seductions) of the parlour walls when the parlour is switched on. With this in mind, it DOES make sense for him to have looked in and seen the grey walls and thought about how it could be brought to life at the flick of a switch.

But you may be right!

If I can lay hands on some other editions of F451, I will check them to see if this particular line is the same.

1953, Ballantine Books edition reads, "He stared at the parlor that was dead and gray..."

My interpretation, in line with Phil, is that Montag is contemplating the (ironic) dilemma of this scene. Switching on the parlor would instantly bring artificial life into his home. That is all that Mildred values: tv "family," drugs, and electronic stimuli. Nothing is real, as Montag has come to recognize - step by step since his encounters with Clarisse and Faber.

The passage's written style, I feel, reveals Montag's quandary. Mildred's superficial lifestyle is what Guy must escape. From F451 book burner (at the outset) to joining with the book people in the wilderness (as the novel concludes), Montag had to lose everything before he could gain a sense of "real life".

This message has been edited. Last edited by: fjp451,

quote:

Originally posted by fjp451:
...The passage's written style, I feel, reveals Montag's quandary...

Yes, and the whole passage (and the entire book) is written pretty much from Montag's point of view. We get occasional moments when we are let in on the thoughts of other characters, but the narrator of the book is very much hovering over Montag's shoulder most of the time. There will be a technical term for this kind of focalisation, but I can't bring it to mind right now.

quote:

the narrator of the book is very much hovering over Montag's shoulder most of the time

- perhaps "omniscient narration!?"