Question

Ah, love, let us be true

To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
What were Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Phelps reactions to the poems?

Answer 1

In Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451,' Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Phelps react with distress to the poem 'Dover Beach,' highlighting their discomfort with the intense emotions and themes it presents in their shallow society.

Step-by-step explanation:

The reactions of Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Phelps to the poems are depicted in Ray Bradbury's dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, when Montag reads the poem "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold, which profoundly contrasts the beautiful, dreamlike world with the harsh reality of human pain and conflict, the women are visibly disturbed and upset. Mrs. Phelps cries, and Mrs. Bowles is angered, suggesting that the vivid emotions and existential challenges presented in the poem are too intense for their shallow, emotionless society.

This scene underscores the society's disconnect from genuine human emotion and the discomfort that real art and literature can evoke in those unaccustomed to such depth.

Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Phelps are characters from the novel 'Fahrenheit 451' by Ray Bradbury. In the novel, Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Phelps represent the shallow and ignorant society that lacks true joy, love, and knowledge.

They are portrayed as symbols of conformity and superficiality. Mrs. Bowles is described as being obsessed with her family 'parlor walls' and constantly immersed in mindless entertainment, while Mrs. Phelps is shown to be emotionally detached and unaffected by her husband's banishment for owning books.