fahrenheit
Why does Montag's helmet have the number 451 on it?
451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns.
Captain Beatty's lecture can best be described as
A. persuasive. Beatty is trying to bring Montag around to his point of view. Beatty acts friendly, smiling and sitting comfortably. His language is informal. He uses direct address often, pulling Montag in to the conversation.
The central motif here is one of
A. seeing. Montag feels that the books are looking at him, and he quickly looks away. Montag watches Clarisse's face projected on the blank wall of his imagination. He compares her to a mirror—something in which one sees oneself—and also to someone watching a puppet show.
How does Bradbury characterize Montag in the opening paragraphs of the book? What details does he use to accomplish this characterization?
Montag is, or seems to be, cheerful and easygoing. Bradbury compares him to a "minstrel man." Minstrel shows, popular in the United States in the 1800s, often featured white men who pretended to be black, singing and dancing in a parody of black people. Montag's grin, like the grin of someone in blackface, is grotesque. He does not control it; he simply cannot remember a time when he was not smiling.
In an ancient Greek myth, Prometheus, a son of Zeus, feels sorry for human beings, who are cold and helpless. He steals re from the gods and gives it to mankind. Symbolically, the giving of re is the beginning of wisdom and science. Fire is also destructive: the Christian Hell is supposed to be a place where people burn eternally, and some religions predict that the world will end in re. What aspect of re do we see in the opening of the book?
The book begins with the destructive aspect of re. Montag burns books for a living.
Montag's character development is most evident through his
attempt to think for himself. Montag expresses the idea that when a man is certain to die, he can take any risk without fear. Faber points out that Montag has come up with an interesting idea all on his own, without getting it from someone else.
From Bradbury's note that Montag "searched for a simile, found one in his work," we can infer that Montag
has an underdeveloped imagination. Montag only has the experience from his job at hand when he needs to think of a simile. His whole life has been devoted to burning.
When Beatty asks whether he has given Montag "trench mouth," he is metaphorically suggesting that he
has removed Montag's ability to speak. In Beatty's own estimation, he has won the battle of words with Montag.
The motif most prevalent in this section is
hearing. Montag comes to Faber because he wants someone to listen to him. Faber shows Montag the plugs that he uses to drown out the noise of the subways. Finally, Faber gives Montag the earpiece that allows him to hear and be heard.
Beatty refers to _____ and _____ as opposites.
information and meaning. He notes that people enjoy memorizing facts, such as "how much corn Iowa grew last year," but they don't need for the facts to mean anything. Information is easy to gain, and it makes people feel knowledgeable; true meaning is dif cult to grasp and brings no satisfaction.
Bradbury uses two voices in this passage in order to show Montag's
inner conflict. Montag is arguing with himself; part of him wants to remain as he is, conforming to the rest of his society and rejecting people like Clarisse. The other part has agreed with her all along.
Bradbury conveys Montag's emotions through
internal dialogue. Montag is speaking to himself; the conversation takes place only inside his mind.
In the dream, Beatty scolds Montag for using many words, but saying nothing; he is actually engaging in this very practice to confuse Montag. This is an example of
irony. Beatty knows and acknowledges exactly what he is doing. His point is that words can be used to any purpose. In the dream, he pretends to be against such manipulation; in speaking to the real Montag, he demonstrates it through the way he speaks.
Beatty says about words, "'Others can use them too, and there you are, lost in the middle of the moor, in a great welter of nouns and verbs and adjectives.'" Here, the word "welter" most nearly means
jumble. Montag is lost in a great something of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. We know he is confused by whatever he is lost in. A jumble is a mixed-up pile, so it is the closest word to "welter" of all the answers.
The phrase "silently baying" is an example of
oxymoron. "Baying" is loud howling; the Mechanical Hound is baying without any noise. Bradbury uses this phrase to show that the Hound is a grotesque reproduction of a real dog; rather than barking or howling, it announces its presence in a much more arti cial, unlifelike way.
Faber's attitude towards human beings can best be described as
pessimistic. Faber says that even if Montag's plan does work, it probably will not stop human beings from destroying themselves.
On a symbolic level, Montag's wading into the river, could represent his
rebirth as a new person. Montag sheds his old clothing and puts on Faber's. He also leaves his old life behind in the form of the city from which he ees.
The device that Beatty most frequently uses to make his point is
rhetorical questions. Beatty asks questions that expect a certain answer. Often, he provides this answer himself. This is a way of reinforcing that his opinions are correct and Montag must necessarily agree with them.
Beatty tries to appeal to Montag's
sense of importance. He says that people like himself and Montag are the only thing standing between society and misery. He also announces at the beginning of the lecture that he is letting Montag in on secret information.
In Montag as _____. the story he tells of their argument, Beatty primarily portrays himself as _____ and
serene; emotional. Beatty portrays himself as calm and Montag as furiously upset. The dream both re ects and enhances what is actually happening: Beatty is talking smoothly and persuasively and Montag is becoming extremely nervous.
The colors the author primarily uses are meant to evoke
shadows. The sidewalks are white; the river is "a solid, moving blackness." The people who emerge from their houses have entirely gray features. He sees "silhouettes" of people watching television.
In the myth of Hercules and Antaeus that Faber recounts, Antaeus represents
society. Just before he mentions this myth, Faber says that "we" (he, Montag, and the rest of their society) are trying to live on owers and reworks without ever returning to the earth. It follows that Antaeus, who has to be in contact with the earth to be powerful, also represents society.
Bradbury has the announcer count to ten in order to increase the_____ of the scene.
suspense. The reader is held in suspense about whether Montag will be spotted by a resident of Elm Terrace and then killed by the Hound. With each number, presumably, more people are mobilized to look out their windows, increasing the chance that Montag will be caught.
Montag watches "his own chess game" through the windows of the houses as he runs. The author's use of this detail emphasizes that
television makes things seem unreal. Watching the pursuit play out on the parlor walls makes Montag feel like a piece in a game; he is almost unable to grasp that he is facing his own death. Meanwhile, the television audience does not empathize with him; it sees him as a character in a program.
The symbol most closely associated with Clarisse in this passage is
the moon. Montag compares her to a clock with a glowing white face that is seen in the middle of the night. Like the moon, she re ects light; other people are like torches (or the sun), giving off light by burning.
Beatty claims that the society in which he and Montag are now living reflects the will of
the people. Beatty says that the structure of the current society is the result of efforts to eliminate unhappiness for the largest number of people.
Faber uses the comparison involving reworks and owers to show that
the pursuit of pleasure may be harmful to society. Faber says reworks and owers— i.e., attractive but insubstantial things--are not enough to keep society functioning; if people mistake them for nourishment, society will grow weaker.
Beatty's tone as he describes his "dream" is
triumphant. Beatty wants to make Montag feel uncertain and nervous. In the dream, he remains calm while Montag grows increasingly infuriated; in reality, Montag becomes more and more nervous. Both the Beatty of the dream and the Beatty retelling the dream are gleeful in their victory over Montag.
