Discussion Questions for fourth reading (pages 71-80) of Fahrenheit 451
As Guy and Mildred read the books, what is Mildred doing, and why? (71)
She is pacing and peering in at the parlor (where the TV-walls are turned off) because she
wants to go back to watching TV.
What is the message of the passage that Guy is reading aloud from a book? (71)
That it is difficult to pinpoint an exact moment when a friendship is formed; it happens
gradually, like filling up a vessel with water drop by drop, until one drop makes it
overflow.
To whom does Guy connect this idea? (72)
Clarisse.
How does Mildred respond to Guy’s attempt to bring up Clarisse? (72)
She says, “She’s dead. Let’s talk about someone alive, for goodness’ sake.”
What line from a book does Mildred say she does understand? (72)
“That favorite subject Myself.”
What does Guy then say about Clarisse, and about the two books he’s holding and the
men who wrote them? (72)
Clarisse’s favorite subject wasn’t herself, it was everyone else. She was the first person in
a good many years he actually liked. She was the first person who looked straight at him
as if he counted. The men who wrote those books have been dead a long time, but their
words point, one way or another, to Clarisse.
What is the scratching at the door? (72)
The Mechanical Hound.
What does Mildred say about the books versus her ‘family’ in the television screens? (73)
Books aren’t people; her ‘family’ (the characters in the TV shows) are people.
When Mildred asks Guy why she should read, how does he respond? (73-74)
He tells her about the machine that pumped her stomach the night of her suicide attempt,
and the old woman who set fire to her own home, and Clarisse, and how he thinks maybe
the books can help them stop making the same damn insane mistakes and no one on TV
is talking about any of this or doing anything to help make the world better than it is …
What does Guy say about the jet fighters in the sky and about war? (73)
He asks how the hell those bombers got up there in the sky every second of their lives,
and talks about how they’ve started and ‘won’ two atomic wars since 1990.
What does Guy say about wealth and poverty, and their nation and the world? (73)
He says he has heard that the rest of the world is poor and starving, and they are hated.
What does Guy remember when he’s trying to think of how he can possibly make sense
of what he’s reading? (74-75)
He remembers having met an old man, a former English Professor named Faber, at a
park, and Faber and he had talked, and he seemed to be saying poems.
What had Faber given to Guy that showed a great deal of trust in him? (75)
Faber wrote his address on a slip of paper and gave it to Guy.
Why do you think Faber trusted a fireman to know his home address, when that fireman
clearly knows he has an illegal book hidden in his coat right at that moment, and can
quote poetry? In their brief interaction, what might have led Faber to believe he could
trust Guy with that information? (74-75)
Guy seemed interested in what he had to say and receptive to having a real conversation,
unlike most people and especially unlike most firemen. He also didn’t ‘bust’ him then.
Why does Guy call Faber on a secondary phone instead of on the main phone line? (75)
He is afraid of Mildred picking up the main line and hearing his conversation; he may
also be paranoid that the other firemen have tapped his main phone line and could be
listening in.
What odd questions does Guy ask Faber over the phone? (75-76)
“How many copies of the Bible are left in this country? How many copies of Shakespeare
and Plato?”
After Mildred tells Guy that the ladies are coming over, what does Guy say to Mildred
about one of the books he has, and what is her immediate response? (76)
He says “This is the Old and New Testament” and she says “Don’t start that again!”
When Guy tells Mildred that the Bible he has may be the last one left in this part of the
world, what does she remind him about? (76)
She reminds him he’s got to hand it in to Beatty tonight.
What does Guy tell Mildred about what Beatty knows and what he does not know? (76)
He tells her that Beatty knows he has a book, but not which book he has.
What moral dilemma does this create for Guy? (76)
He has to choose which book to turn in to placate Beatty: the Bible, or a substitute, such
as a book written by Thomas Jefferson, or Henry David Thoreau. He has to decide which
book is ‘least valuable.’
Why is Guy nervous about turning in just one particular book to Beatty? (76)
If he picks a substitute and Beatty does know which book Guy stole, he’ll guess that they
have an entire library there.
What does Guy visualize will happen when he brings a book to Beatty? (76-77)
He visualizes Beatty burning the book page by page.
What does Guy think is the only thing left for him to do? (77)
Sometime before he returns the book to Beatty that night, he’s going to have a duplicate
(of the book) made.
What does Guy ask Mildred about her ‘family’ of characters on television, and what is
her reply? (77)
He asks her if her ‘family’ loves her, loves her very much, with all their heart and soul?
She says, “Why’d you ask a silly question like that?”
What does Mildred’s last comment to Guy before he leaves the house tell us about her
character? (77)
She says, “If you see that dog outside, give him a kick for me” and this shows us again
her lack of empathy and how cold-hearted and casually cruel she is.
What mean trick had a cruel cousin of his played on Guy when he was a child, and why
does Guy mentally compare that memory to what he’s trying to accomplish on the
suction train before he gets to the firehouse and Captain Beatty? (78)
The cousin had told him to fill a sieve with sand and he’d get a dime. The faster he
poured the sand through the sieve the faster it sifted through. He thinks that trying to
memorize the contents of the book is like trying to pour that sand into the sieve and fill it;
the words keep slipping away. He can’t memorize the book on the way over to hand it
over to Beatty. The words just fall through his mind like the sand fell through the sieve.
As the suction train goes along, what makes it nearly impossible for Guy to concentrate
on the phrase “Consider the lilies of the field” that he’s reading in the Bible? (78)
He keeps hearing ads for “Denham’s Dentifrice.”
How do the other people on the train react to Guy’s outburst where he tells the train’s
radio to shut up, and says “Lilies, I said!”? (79)
The people stare; someone calls a guard. They see him as crazy.
How do you feel when you’re in a public space, such as an airport, a doctor’s or dentist’s
office, or a grocery store checkout line, and there is a TV screen there (or there are
several TV screens there), and/or audio broadcasts all competing for your attention, often
featuring advertisements?
Answers will vary.
Can you relate to Guy’s general feeling that a lot of the time the people on television are
not actually saying anything when they talk? What are some current examples of this
from news broadcasts, ‘reality’ TV shows or scripted shows featuring fictional
characters, or commercials?
Answers will vary.
Throughout the book so far we have seen that quite often in this society, just like the
people on TV, people in real life also talk without really saying anything important. Do
you think that is often the case right now?
See if any of these sound familiar to you:
(mentally fill in the blanks with celebrity names)
_____ has a ‘beef’ with or ‘slams’ ________ … details next!
Will _____ go with ______ or _________?
Did ____ steal _____ from _____?
Is the marriage of ______ and ________ in trouble?
Has _______ put on weight?
Is _____ anorexic?
Did _____ have an affair?
Is ____ back on drugs?
____’s legal battle/legal problems continue(s)!
Now, see how quickly you can name five celebrities who have recently been embroiled in
controversies or scandals, and then see how long it takes you to name five judges
currently sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Answers will vary.
Now try to remember as much of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as you
can, then see how much you remember of the lyrics to a popular pop song that is
currently playing everywhere.
Answers will vary.
Now see if you can name this state’s two senators, our governor, and one of your own
district’s representatives, and the name of this school district’s superintendent, and any
member of the school board. Now see if you can remember six advertising jingles or
slogans.
Answers will vary.
In general, how easy is it for you to think of important things versus trivial entertainment
and product-related things?
Answers will vary.