What does Mona Lisas smile symbolize?

That's a good question, Norway. Here's my personal view. The smile--the only piece of the Mona Lisa canvas Tom grabs in the melee where the mob destroys the Mona Lisa as a vestige of a hated past--represents the beauty of the past. In F451, the community of book memorizers represent the preservation of the past in a hostile present in order to recreate a beauty and truth from the past in the future. Tom's capture of the painting's smile will remain with him always, but, as it points out at the end of the story, the smile remains with him in his mind in the darkness. The Smile, I believe, represents imagination, beauty, truth, and hope in the eventual triump of the good. F451 represents that same vision. These people are preserving the good of the past so it can be re-revealed in the future.

I think it also has a "political" component and that is that the history of humanity includes periods where the past is destroyed--this is seen in the story in book burnings, the destruction of the auto, the destruction of the factory that builds the aircraft. It is a pathetic effort to paint the past with a uni-dimensional brush. I think we see that in our own politics with the demonization of the past that is being manifested today. There has been tremendous good in America's past, in addition to her mistakes. I have been saddened by the recent world tour by our new president--the groveling tour. There is much good in America's past. Rather than spit on it--as they did in the Mona Lisa painting--we should celebrate and preserve the good.

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Originally posted by Student norway:
What does Mona Lisa's smile symbolize?

That da Vinci was naked while painting her.

Thank you Mr. Dark it helped alot, but do anyone know why she smiles?

In my mind, WHY she smiles is more a question on the DaVinci side than the Bradbury side. In this story, I think the smile represents a reaching out of the past with a promise of the future. Originally, it seems to me, it could have meant just about anything. Other thoughts?

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Originally posted by Mr. Dark:
In my mind, WHY she smiles is more a question on the DaVinci side than the Bradbury side. In this story, I think the smile represents a reaching out of the past with a promise of the future. Originally, it seems to me, it could have meant just about anything. Other thoughts?

To me, the smile being the last thing to go represented the final destruction of Art and Humanity.

I like your reading, John, but I think the retention of the smile and the boy's ability to recognize the beauty of Mona Lisa is a hopeful ending, not a final defeat of art, beauty, and the imagination. I see the ending as hopeful, in spite of the destruction of the Mona Lisa.

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Originally posted by Mr. Dark:
I like your reading, John, but I think the retention of the smile and the boy's ability to recognize the beauty of Mona Lisa is a hopeful ending, not a final defeat of art, beauty, and the imagination. I see the ending as hopeful, in spite of the destruction of the Mona Lisa.

Talk about diametrically opposing ideas. A true testament to Ray’s genius.

I guess I'm a glass-is-half-full kind of guy. )

That's one of the things powerful about Ray's writing. His use of symbol and metaphor allows for a variety of interpretations. Of course, based on textual components, we can try to hone in on what his meaning is . . .

Based on careful textual reading, I think mine's right . . . )

(These are supposed to be smiley faces. I don't know why they come out as red balloons!)

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Originally posted by Mr. Dark:
...(These are supposed to be smiley faces. I don't know why they come out as red balloons!)

"The " by Ray Bradbury works better than "The " by Ray Bradbury.

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Originally posted by Student norway:
What does Mona Lisas smile symbolize?

That they didn't destroy the original, but a copy. The original is painted on wood, not canvas.

Oh, cool.

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Originally posted by dandelion:
That they didn't destroy the original, but a copy. The original is painted on wood, not canvas.

Ray never worried about man being able to breathe on Mars, either. Metaphors can take literary license with physics.

Thus, this should cover both metaphors!!

http://www.buyteethwhitener.co...lisa-in-the-Mars.jpg