Fahrenheit 451 part 1

***Why is Clarisse important in Part 1 and how does she change Montag's life?

****Clarisse is the first person Montag met that observes and is curious about the world around them. She likes watching people and encourages him to question things. He starts to change when he meets her. For the first time in his life, questions whether he is happy. Montag starts to question his marriage and occupation and ultimately decides he wants to learn more at the end of part one.

***Why couldn't Mildred explain the relatives conversations and what does this show about her relationship with Montag?

****Mildred couldn't explain the conversation because it was nonsense and wasn't about anything in particular yet she was so engrossed in it. This shows that Mildred cares more about her TV "relatives" than her actual husband who is desperate for her attention.

***How does Beatty rationalize that everyone become the same instead of unique individuals?

***Beatty said that everyone needs to be the same so that everyone stays happy. Individual free thinking makes people question too much. So if people are told what to think and what to do they will all be the same and there would be less conflict and more happiness. Most people strive for what makes them happy, even if that means being the same as everyone else.

***What was Montag's plan with his books?

***Montag had been secretly stealing books from houses he was sent to burn and had been hiding them in the ventilator at his house. After he finally told Mildred about them, he asked her if they could read them together to try to come up with some answers about how to fix things. After they read them they would burn them together.

***Explain what Montag's relationship with the mechanical hound is like and how is this foreshadowing?

***Montag is afraid of the hound because it growls at him and acts like it wants to hurt him. Montag is nervous because he thinks it might be suspicious of him (or someone programmed it to be suspicious of him). This foreshadows that the hound will go after Montag at some point after they discover his books.

What does Beatty talk about in his long speech to Montag that are true about our world today?

1. People desire instant gratification (no patience to read long books) 2. Political correctness - things are censored to appease certain minorities 3. Society values superficial things 4. Society wants to make everyone "equal" to make them feel better about themselves, so people who stand out (ex. smart kids in class) are bullied and things become more basic so everyone can understand

What is Fahrenheit 451?

451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns

What does Clarisse rub under her chin? Why? Why does it upset Montag?

A dandelion. It shows if you're in love or not. It showed that Montag was not in love although he insists that he is. He doesn't want to think about his true feelings.

"He opened the bedroom door. It was like coming into the cold marbled room of a mausoleum after the moon has set." This quote by Montag is an example of which of the following literary devices?

A. Allusion B. Simile C. Metaphor D. Symbolism because it does how Montag feels about coming home to his bedroom and his wife - cold and lonely.

"We get these cases nine or ten a night... all you need is two handymen... Someone else just jumped off the cap of a pillbox. Call if you need us again. Keep her quiet. We got a contrasedative in her. She'll wake up hungry. So long." Based on this quote, the reader can draw all of the following conclusions EXCEPT?

A. This society lacks genuine care for people B. People frequently overdose on drugs in this society C. The woman will survive, at least this time D. The overdoses are all unintentional

How does Mildred react after she wakes up from her previous night's experience?

After Mildred wakes up from trying to commit suicide she tells Montag that she doesn't remember a thing. When he tells her what happened and that she took too many pills, she denies it and says she would never do that. She says that they must have had a party. She lives in a vacant state of self-denial about her pathetic superficial life.

After the fire at the old woman's house Beatty can recite the same quote the woman was saying after she opted to die with her books. What does this say about Beatty?

Beatty is quoting history about Ridley being burned at the stake for heresy in 1555. This shows that Beatty is educated and knows the real truth about history.

"Any man who can take a TV wall apart and put it back together again, and most men can nowadays, is happier than any man who tries to slide-rule, measure, and equate the universe, which just won't be measured or equated without making man feel bestial and lonely." (58) Who said this and what is it's significance?

Beatty is saying this to Montag. The quote is significant because it is talking about how society has changed to make people happy. People no longer want to learn about the reasons behind things, they just want the facts and easy things to learn without complication.

Why were the alarms to burn always at night?

Everyone can see the fires at night, they create a bright spectacle and remind everyone of what will happen if they secretly read books.

"You must understand that our civilization is so vast that we can't have our minorities upset and stirred. What do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn't that right? ... I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren't they? Don't we keep them moving, don't we give them fun? That's all we live for, isn't it? For pleasure, for titillation? And you must admit our culture provides plenty of these." (56) Who said this and what is it's significance?

Beatty says this to Montag after he tells him the true history of firemen and how their job came to be. This quote is significant because it talks about how people in their society just want to be happy and they are because of instant gratification. They are given lots of exciting things to do and everything that would make them question anything or cause conflict was taken away.

"Why? You got a guilty conscience or something?" Who says this? To whom? Why?

Captain Beatty says this to Montag after Montag gets growled at and almost gets attacked by the Hound at the firestation. Montag suspects that someone programed the Hound against him.

According to Clarisse, what is school like?

Clarisse doesn't like school because they aren't allowed to think or ask questions. They have TV class, PE and can only paint abstract art (only colors - nothing to do with people, things or places because that would encourage people to think and have opinions). They are given "facts" but can not question whether or not they are true.

How is Clarisse different than Mildred?

Clarisse is different from Mildred because she has thoughts about how and why the world is like it is unlike Mildred who doesn't care about the "hows" or "whys" of anything, she just wants to be told what to think and do.

"Sometimes I'm ancient. I'm afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always used to be that way? My uncle says no. Six of my friends have been shot in the last year alone. Ten of them died invcar wrecks. I'm afraid of them and they don't like me because I'm afraid." (27) Who said this and what is the significance?

Clarisse is saying this to Montag after he asks her why she isn't in school. It is important because it shows how little human life means in their society. The fact that children kill eachother without any punishment scares her and foreshadows her own death.

"You laugh when I haven't been funny, and you answer right off. You never stop to think what I've asked you." Who is speaking to whom? What does quote reveal?

Clarisse is speaking to Montag Clarisse wants to get Montag to think more about the world around him.

How is it ironic that society considers Clarisse "anti-social"?

Clarisse said in the beginning of the book that she likes watching people, she likes talking to people and asking questions however, in their society people are extremely discouraged from having meaningful conversations and free thoughts. Being anti-social in their world is exactly the opposite of what anti-social is in our world.

Why did Clarisse stop coming to see Montag? How did he find out?

Clarisse was killed by a car and Montag found out through Mildred. It is interesting to note that Mildred had known about Clarisse's death for four days before she mentioned it to Montag. She did not seem to be bothered by it, she wasn't even bothered that it upset her husband.

"He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back." Who is "he"? Who is the "girl"? What does the quote reveal?

He = Montag Girl = Clarisse Before he met Clarisse, Montag was always smiling and never questioning his life or the world around him. Clarisse made him begin to think if he was really happy and he started to realize he was not.

What does Clarisse represent?

Individuality and free-thinking

What does the mechanical hound do?

It is like a robotic dog but with 8 legs and it can be programmed to search out a specific person or thing (through genetic codes) and inject it with a fatal dose of medication. It is accurate 100% of the time.

When Montag is talking with Clarisse he says that he can never wash the smell of kerosene off of him completely. What could this mean symbolically?

It symbolizes that no matter what Montag does now or in his future, he will never escape the things that he did or does as a fireman.

"With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world...." What literary device is being used?

Metaphor - comparing the kerosene hose to a dangerous snake

What secret does Montag reveal to Mildred after Captain Beatty leaves?

Mildred is horrified when Montag starts pulling many books from their ventilator. Montag tries to explain to Mildred that he is seriously unhappy and believes that books might contain useful information to help him answer important questions about life. Montag begs Mildred to read with him and says they will burn them together when they are done. Mildred prefers the TV instead.

cacophony

harsh or painful sounds

"Something was the matter, his routine had been disturbed." Who is this quote referring to? How as his routine disturbed?

Montag Clarisse had been visiting Montag every day since they first started talking and he hadn't seen her for four days.

"Janitorial work essentially... But now, someone had slipped. This woman was spoiling the ritual." Who sees his work as janitorial? Who is "this woman"? How has she spoil the ritual?

Montag is referring to the old woman in her house with all her books. People are usually taken away by the police and sent to jail or to a mental institution before the firemen get there. That way the firemen only have to burn down the contents of the house, they don't kill anyone so they don't have to feel guilty. They are just "cleaning up" = destroying the banned books, not killing anyone.

"We've got to start somewhere here, figuring out why we're in such a mess, you and the medicine at night, and the car, and me and my work. We're heading right for the cliff, Millie. This isn't going to be easy. We haven't anything to go on, but maybe we can piece it out and figure it and help each other." (63-64) Who said this and what is it's significance?

Montag is saying this to Mildred after he shows her his hidden books in their ventilator. The quote is important because he is finally communicating to her how he feels and that he feels that they are in trouble and heading right off of a cliff. He wants them to read the books together and thinks that by reading the books it might help them to figure out how things between them got so bad (Mildred's attempted suicide, distance between them) and how to change things. He promises they will burn the books together after they read them.

"They and their charcoal hair and soot-colored brows and bluish-ash-smeared cheeks where they had shaven close; but their heritage showed. Montag started up, his mouth opened. Had he ever seen a fireman that didn't have black hair, black brows, a fiery face, and a blue-steel shaved but unshaved look? These men were all mirror-images of himself! " (30) Who said this and what is it's significance?

Montag is thinking this about all of the firemen at the station and how they all looked exactly alike. Every one of them came from a line of firemen in their families. This is significant because all of the firemen also needed to think alike, they weren't allowed to question why they did what they did, they were expected to just burn the books and be happy doing it.

"And he remembered thinking then that if she died, he was certain he wouldn't cry. For it would be the dying of an unknown, a street face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong that he had begun to cry, not at death but at the thought of not crying at death..." (41) Who said this and what is it's significance?

Montag is thinking this about knowing that he wouldn't cry if Mildred died. It is significant because it shows how far apart they have gotten. Mildred loves her TV more than anything and she has turned into a stranger to Montag and he feels very lonely.

"There are too many of us, he thought. There are billions of us and that's too many. Nobody knows anyone. Strangers come and violate you. Strangers come and cut your heart out. Strangers come and take your blood. Good God, who were those men?" (14) Who said this and what is the significance?

Montag is thinking this after the men that came to help Mildred left his house. The quote is significant because it says that there are billions of people in their world but no one knows each other. There are so many people but no one talks to each other, they don't learn things about each other and communicate.

"Let you alone! That's all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?" (49) Who said this and what is it's significance?

Montag says this to Mildred because he was so upset about the fire at the old womans house and Mildred didn't seem bothered by the fact that they burned the woman alive at all. He is trying to talk to her about how he thought it was wrong and she didn't want to hear about it, she wanted to be left alone to watch her TV. Montag is frustrastrated that she doesn't care about anything real.

What does Montag take from the fire at the old woman's house? What is interesting about the way he describes taking it?

Montag takes a book and puts it into quickly shoves it into his jacket but he describes that he didn't do it, his hand did with a "magician's flourish" and no one had seen him take it.

How is life in Montag's house different from life in Clarisse's house?

Montag's house is dark and his wife's life is consumed by the TV walls (they have 3 walls but Mildred wants a fourth), they don't talk to each other and Mildred is always preoccupied with anything but her real life. In Clarisse's house, the lights are on and bright and her family spends time talking with each other. Clarisse also has chores and responsibilities where other kids do not.

How did the firemen know which houses had books?

Neighbors, family members, and friends became informants and told the authorities

"We get these cases nine or ten a night... all you need is two handymen... Someone else just jumped off the cap of a pillbox. Call if you need us again. Keep her quiet. We got a contra sedative in her. She'll wake up hungry. So long." Who says this? Who is it about? What does it reveal?

One of the men who came to Montag's house to pump the pills Mildred took out of her stomach and drain and replace all of the blood in her body because she over dosed.

Why does Clarisse go to a psychiatrist?

People think she's crazy and antisocial because she isn't like them. She likes watching real people and enjoying the real world, not watching the parlor walls. She is curious and questions things.

"He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back." What literary device is being used and what does it achieve?

Simile It helps the reader understand Clarisse's effect on Montag, it helps the reader to understand Montag's feelings and that she has already changed him in a permanent way.

Why does what the firemen do for a living seem ironic?

The firemen in this society burn books for a living and this is ironic because typically firemen put out fires and not start them. They protect people and their possessions, not destroy them.

"He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back." (9) Who said this and what is the significance?

The narrator is saying this about Montag and is discussing how Clarisse had changed him. The quote is significant because before earlier in the story Montag was described as having a constant smile on his face and he couldn't remember a time that he didn't smile. Now that Clarisse had asked him if he was happy it made him think about it and it took his smile away and he would rather not have to think about if he is happy or not.

"It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed." (1) Who said this and what is the significance?

The narrator is saying this about Montag. The quote is significant because it discusses how much Montag enjoys his job of starting things on fire and watching them be destroyed.

Who is Mildred's "family"?

The people she watches on the parlor walls

What are Mildred's "seashells" and what do they do?

They are little things she wears in her ears that let her listen to her "shows" on her parlor walls or anything that lets her escape actually living in the real world going on around her. Similar to AirPods today.

tamped

gently pressed in

"He felt his body divide itself into a hotness and a coldness, a softness and a hardness, a trembling and a not trembling, the two halves grinding one upon the other." (21) Who said this and what is the significance?

This quote is about Montag after Clarisse asked him how he ended up being a fireman and why he is different from other people she has met. The quote is significant because it shows how Montag is torn between wanting to learn and be more curious about the world like Clarisse and wanting to stay like everyone else and be cold and empty just following the crowd not questioning anything.

Why are the people who come to work on Mildred referred to as HANDYMEN?

This society has little value for human life and these handymen can just show up at people's houses with their toolkits and machines with no emotion, it's like they are working on a car not a human.

luminescent

glowing

gilt

golden

abyss

a void, emptiness

"...all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters...." What literary device is being used?

alliteration - by using repetitive "B" in blazing, burning and bring it emphasizes the burning destruction

refracted

altered and distorted

dictum

an order

Heresy

disbelief in the established religion or rules

ravenous

extremely hungry

feigning

faking

odious

hateful

Objectivity

impartiality, the ability to allow the facts to speak for themselves

proclivities

inclinations; desires

noncombustible

not able to burn

olfactory

related to the sense of smell

tactile

relating to the sense of touch; inviting to touch

pulverized

smashed to bits

Ballistics

the science of projectiles in fight and firearms

gullet

throat

stolid

unemotional