“And yet I kept sitting there saying to myself, I’m not happy, I’m not happy.” 

“I am.” 

“I’m going to do something. I don’t even know what yet, but I’m going to do something big.”

“I’m tired of listening to this junk” (Bradbury, page 62). 

When it comes to this passage in the book, it shows that although Montag seems to be up to something, his wife could honestly care less. She is so used to listen to the not-so-interesting stuff on the radio and from her “family” that it is the only thing she likes to hear now. Mildred in this case can symbolize all the things that we tend to give our attention to, instead of giving it to others. All the negatives, all the problems in life, the little voice in your head that tells you to worry about the littlest of problems. Mildred is truly a symbol of an antagonist, but really just one in yourself. It is truly that voice that tells you what you are doing isn’t worth it. This story is a lot like us in the way that we are so focused on that little voice that really amounts to nothing in your head, but to you, it means the world. When we listen too much to that little voice telling us our faults and the faults of others, you don’t stop and look at what is really important. That is where the attention span goes. Where no one can see it but these little superfluous things that really aren’t going to matter two weeks down the road. Another quote that supports this point is from Bradbury’s book. “We’re headed right for a cliff” (Bradbury, page 63). This quote shows that Mildred does represent this negative voice, because although Montag begs and pleads with his wife, she calls Captain Beatty regardless, and ends up getting herself killed by doing so, even if it was later on. This can once again represent how negative we can be, and how sometimes those negative hunches really shouldn’t amount to anything. While this is a fiction story, day by day we stray further from what’s good in this world, and that is the love and support from each other. 

“Oh, they must!” (Bradbury, page 28). 

This quote between Clarisse and Montag show that although we are influenced by others and their words and actions, we often don't even realize it. Clarisse is the symbol of that voice that opened Montag’s eyes about what is really going on in his society. As stated in the previous chapter, we all have that voice that may tell us what we are doing wrong, but sometimes, it’s what opens our eyes to what is truly going on in certain situations. In Bradbury’s novel, Clarisse is that voice. Especially if you consider some theories about the book, such as Clarisse not existing at all, but really is only a figment of Montag’s imagination. She was truly what woke him up to what was wrong with this society, and that’s the huge part about conformity. Even if some think that the voice in your head is simply nagging and doesn’t actually know what it’s talking about, sometimes it does. You could compare this to getting advice from a parent about going to a party and then getting angry and saying that they “just don’t understand” when they say no. When in reality, they do understand, you just have to step away from the influence of others and see the truth in the situation. Another quote that supports this is “He felt he wanted to cry, but nothing would happen to his eyes or his mouth” (Bradbury, page 73). This quote supports my point because Montag lives in a society that doesn’t really feel true emotion. The only one they feel are feelings of depression and anxiety, but they are blocked out in pursuit of this fake happiness they want to achieve. No one in this society realizes that sometimes, the answer isn’t with others. It is with yourself. The same goes for the modern world. We often attempt to get answers from everyone who isn’t qualified, or believe that those that are qualified aren’t really at all. We all simply need to look within ourselves, to be able to avoid becoming like Bradbury’s novel and its society.