F451: Burning Bright Part III
What is a scapegoat?
A person who is blamed for the mistakes of others
What do you think mirrors symbolize?
An ability to truly know and understand one's self.
Who, earlier in the novel, did Montag compare to a mirror?
Clarisse
What do you think this fire means to Montag?
Comfort, warmth, safety
What does Montag imagine Mildred would see in the mirror?
He imagines she will see the truth of her own identity: see how "wildly empty" she really is. She's alone, superficial, and selfish.
Who is Granger, and what role does he play in Montag's story?
He is a man who Montag meets once he has fled from the city. He's smart and wrote a book about the individual and society. He serves as a guide to Montag and helps him transition into their new community with kindness and advice.
What can we infer from the fact that it took him 15 minutes to approach?
He is very nervous/apprehensive.
What is a phoenix?
In mythology, it's a bird that would live for a time, then burn itself on a funeral pyre, then rise from the ashes with renewed youth to live again.
How is this fire different to the fires Montag has known previously? Identify 3:
It is not intended to destroy anything, it's used for light and warmth, it's small and gentle rather than raging and intense, it's fueled by wood instead of kerosene.
Why is this excerpt from the book funny? "'Don't judge a book by its cover,' someone said. And they all laughed quietly."
It's a play on the idiom/phrase: The men are the books: so he is hinting that they shouldn't be judged by their appearance
Are the men literally trying to save books?
No, they burn books themselves and the physical books are of little value to them.
Describe the community of men that Montag joins.
They are a traveling group of smart men who are outcasts from society; they are committed to the pursuit of knowledge and remembering books.
What is the men's purpose?
They are devoted to memorizing and reciting books, they believe that physical books can always be destroyed, so they want to "keep it in the old heads, where no one can see it or suspect it" to keep it safe
How do the authorities use the media to lie to people?
They fake the capture of Montag, using a scapegoat to make it look like they have killed him. It's entirely fake, but people think what they see on TV is real.
Why does Bradbury use italics with the phrase "it was warming" at the end of the quote?
To emphasize the strangeness of this purpose
How is man dissimilar to the phoenix?
We can remember our own destruction and mistakes and hopefully one day will stop making them.
How is man similar to the phoenix?
We live in a similar ongoing cycle of destruction and rebuilding.
Why do you think Granger believes "the most important single thing we had to pound into ourselves is that we were not important"?
When one becomes too proud or self important, they may value themselves too highly, and these men want to value knowledge even over their own sense of identity
Are the men figuratively trying to save books?
Yes, they save the contents of the books, it's the knowledge that they care about.
