Fahrenheit 451
Complete Literature Guide
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. About This Literature Guide ........................................................................................... 3
How to Use Our Literature Guides .................................................................................. 4
Sample Agenda ............................................................................................................... 5
Standards Focus: Elements of Fiction ............................................................................. 7
Literary Terms to Know ..........................................................................................................................7
Exploring Expository Writing .........................................................................................8
Author Biography: Ray Bradbury......................................................................................................... 8
Standards Focus: Exploring Expository Writing ........................................................... 10
Standards Focus: Historical Context.............................................................................. 11
The History of Book Burning as a Form of Censorship....................................................................... 11
The Most Frequently Banned or Challenged Books of the 20th Century.............................................12
Standards Focus: Allusions and Terminology to Know ................................................. 13
Vocabulary List ..............................................................................................................17
Anticipation/Reaction Activity...................................................................................... 18
Note-Taking and Summarizing .....................................................................................20
Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander ................................................................... 21
Note-Taking and Summarizing ............................................................................................................21
Comprehension Check........................................................................................................................... 22
Standards Focus: Characterization and Character Motivation ........................................................ 23
Standards Focus: Setting, Tone, and Mood ........................................................................................ 25
Assessment Preparation: Word Roots..................................................................................................27
Assessment Preparation: Vocabulary in Context ............................................................................... 29
Part Two: The Sieve and the Sand ................................................................................. 31
Note-Taking and Summarizing ............................................................................................................31
Comprehension Check........................................................................................................................... 32
Standards Focus: Poetry Analysis ....................................................................................................... 33
Standards Focus: Figurative Language.............................................................................................. 35
Assessment Preparation: Word Origins—Etymology .........................................................................37
Assessment Preparation: Vocabulary in Context ............................................................................... 40
Part Three: Burning Bright ........................................................................................... 42
Note-Taking and Summarizing ........................................................................................................... 42
Comprehension Check........................................................................................................................... 43
Standards Focus: Developing Style ..................................................................................................... 44
Standards Focus: Author’s Style ...........................................................................................................47
Assessment Preparation: Word Parts ................................................................................................. 49
Assessment Preparation: Literal and Figurative Meaning ............................................................... 52
Part One Quiz................................................................................................................ 54
Part Two Quiz ............................................................................................................... 56
Part Three Quiz............................................................................................................. 58
Final Test ......................................................................................................................60
Final Test: Multiple Choice ........................................................................................... 62
Teacher Guide............................................................................................................... 65
Summary of the Novel .......................................................................................................................... 65
Vocabulary with Definitions ................................................................................................................ 68
Pre-Reading Ideas and Activities......................................................................................................... 70
Post-Reading Extension Activities and Alternative Assessment......................................................... 71
Essay/Writing Ideas ..............................................................................................................................73
Project Rubric A .....................................................................................................................................74
Project Rubric B .....................................................................................................................................75
Response to Literature Rubric ..............................................................................................................76
Answer Key................................................................................................................... 78
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
About This Literature Guide
Secondary Solutions is the endeavor of a high school English teacher who could not seem to find
appropriate materials to help her students master the necessary concepts at the secondary level. She
grew tired of spending countless hours researching, creating, writing, and revising lesson plans,
worksheets, quizzes, tests and extension activities to motivate and inspire her students, and at the
same time, address those ominous content standards! Materials that were available were either
juvenile in nature, skimpy in content, or were moderately engaging activities that did not come close
to meeting the content standards on which her students were being tested. Frustrated and tired of
trying to get by with inappropriate, inane lessons, she finally decided that if the right materials were
going to be available to her and other teachers, she was going to have to make them herself! Mrs.
Bowers set to work to create one of the most comprehensive and innovative Literature Guide sets on
the market. Joined by a middle school teacher with 21 years of secondary school experience,
Secondary Solutions began, and has matured into a specialized team of intermediate and
secondary teachers who have developed for you a set of materials unsurpassed by all others.
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Before the innovation of Secondary Solutions, materials that could be purchased offered a
reproducible student workbook and a separate set of teacher materials at an additional cost. Other
units provided the teacher with student materials only, and very often, the content standards were
ignored. Secondary Solutions provides all of the necessary materials for complete coverage of the
literature units of study, including author biographies, pre-reading activities, numerous and varied
vocabulary and comprehension activities, study-guide questions, graphic organizers, literary analysis
and critical thinking activities, essay-writing ideas, extension activities, quizzes, unit tests,
alternative assessment, online teacher assistance, and much, much more. Each Guide is designed to
address the unique learning styles and comprehension levels of every student in your classroom. All
materials are written and presented at the grade level of the learner, and include extensive
coverage of the content standards. As an added bonus, all teacher materials are included!
As a busy teacher, you don’t have time to waste reinventing the wheel. You want to get down to the
business of teaching! With our professionally developed teacher-written Literature Guides,
Secondary Solutions has provided you with the answer to your time management problems,
while saving you hours of tedious and exhausting work. Our Guides will allow you to focus on the
most important aspects of teaching—the personal, one-on-one, hands-on instruction you enjoy
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Secondary Solutions®—The First Solution for the Secondary Teacher!®
www.4secondarysolutions.com
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
How to Use Our Literature Guides
Our Literature Guides are based upon the National Council of the Teachers of English and the
International Readers Association’s national English/Language Arts Curriculum and Content Area
Standards. The materials we offer allow you to teach the love and full enjoyment of literature, while
still addressing the concepts upon which your students are assessed.
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. These Guides are designed to be used in their sequential entirety, or may be divided into separate
parts. Not all activities must be used, but to achieve full comprehension and mastery of the skills
involved, it is recommended that you utilize everything each Guide has to offer. Most importantly,
you now have a variety of valuable materials to choose from, and you are not forced into extra work!
There are several distinct categories within each Literature Guide:
• Comprehension Check: Exploring Expository Writing—Worksheets designed to
address the exploration and analysis of functional and/or informational materials.
9 Author Biography
9 Biographies of non-fiction characters
9 Relevant news and magazine articles, etc.
• Comprehension Check—Similar to Exploring Expository Writing, but designed for
comprehension of narrative text—study questions designed to guide students as they read the
text.
• Standards Focus—Worksheets and activities that directly address the content standards
and allow students extensive practice in literary skills and analysis. Standards Focus activities
are found within every chapter or section. Some examples:
9 Figurative Language
9 Irony
9 Flashback
• Assessment Preparation—Vocabulary activities which emulate the types of vocabulary/
grammar proficiency on which students are tested in state and national assessments.
Assessment Preparation activities are found within every chapter or section. Some examples:
9 Context Clues
9 Connotation/Denotation
9 Word Roots
• Quizzes and Tests—Quizzes are included for each chapter or designated section; final tests
as well as alternative assessment are available at the end of each Guide. These include:
9 Multiple Choice
9 Matching
9 Short Response
• Pre-Reading, Post-Reading Activities, Essay/Writing Ideas plus Sample
Rubrics—Each Guide also has its own unique pre-reading, post reading and essay/writing ideas
and alternative assessment activities.
Each Guide contains handouts and activities for varied levels of difficulty. We know that not all
students are alike—nor are all teachers! We hope you can effectively utilize every aspect our
Literature Guides have to offer—we want to make things easier on you! If you need additional
assistance, please email us at info@4secondarysolutions.com. For specific information on how our
Guides are directly correlated to your state’s content standards, please write us an email including
the name of your state to: contentstandards@4secondarysolutions.com. Thank you for choosing
Secondary Solutions®!
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Sample Agenda
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Our Literature Guides are designed to be used in their sequential entirety, or may be divided into
separate parts. Not all activities must be used, but to achieve full comprehension and mastery of the
skills involved, it is recommended that you utilize everything each Guide has to offer. Below is a
sample unit plan integrating all aspects of this Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide. This agenda
assumes students have the time to read together as a class. It will need to be modified if you intend
to have your students read on their own at home or have them complete a combination of reading in
class and at home.
Week One
Day One: Begin introducing themes, elements of the novel through Pre-Reading Activities;
introduce the Elements of Fiction (page 7), complete the Author Biography activity (pages 810), and/or any of the Pre-Reading Ideas (page 70). One idea is to open each day’s reading
with a journal/discussion using the quotes on page 70.
Day Two: Review Elements of Fiction (page 7), discuss Ray Bradbury’s life and how it may
have influenced his writing, review The History of Book Burning (page 11) and The Most
Frequently Banned or Challenged Books (page 12); discuss findings as a class, including
reasons books may have been banned or challenged, and whether or not they have read any
books on the lists; discuss whether they agree with the ban/challenge.
Day Three: Finish discussion if necessary; read and discuss the Allusions and Terminology (pages
13-16) as well as the Vocabulary List (page 17) for reference. You may want to have students
write definitions for the vocabulary words. You can either have them find their own definitions
in a dictionary, or read the definitions to them, using pages 68-69 for reference. Have students
individually complete the Anticipation/Reaction Activity on pages 18-19. Discuss responses
as a class, including the implications of the novel, predicting what they think the novel will be
about.
Day Four: Introduce/explain use of Note-Taking and Summarizing Activity on page 20.
Begin reading Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander. Read as much as you deem useful
for the class period. Approximately 10 minutes before the end of class, have students begin
answering the Comprehension Check questions (page 22) and completing their Note-Taking
and Summarizing chart (page 21), making sure students are completing the chart accurately.
Day Five: Continue reading, completing the Comprehension Check and Note-Taking Chart.
Week Two
Day One: Continue reading, completing the Comprehension Check and Note-Taking Chart.
Day Two: Continue reading, completing the Comprehension Check and Note-Taking Chart.
Day Three: Have students complete Standards Focus: Characterization and Character Motivation
(pages 23-24).
Day Four: Complete Assessment Preparation: Word Roots (pages 27-28).
Day Five: Complete Standards Focus: Setting, Tone, and Mood (pages 25-26).
Week Three
Day One: Complete Assessment Preparation: Vocabulary in Context (pages 29-30).
Day Two: Give Quiz: Part One (page 54) and Vocabulary Quiz: Part One (page 55).
Day Three: Begin reading Part Two: The Sieve and the Sand. As with Part One, have students read
and complete Comprehension Check (page 32) and Note-Taking Chart (page 31).
Day Four: Continue reading, completing the Comprehension Check and Note-Taking Chart.
Day Five: Continue reading, completing the Comprehension Check and Note-Taking Chart.
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Week Four
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Day One: Complete Standards Focus: Poetry Analysis (pages 33-34). Note: If students need more
time to read, have them read after completing each Standards Focus or Assessment Preparation
activity.
Day Two: Complete Standards Focus: Figurative Language (pages 35-36).
Day Three: Complete Assessment Preparation: Word Origins-Etymology (pages 37-39).
Day Four: Complete Assessment Preparation: Vocabulary in Context (pages 40-41).
Day Five: Give Quiz: Part Two (page 56) and Vocabulary Quiz: Part Two (page 57).
Week Five
Day One: Begin reading Part Three: Burning Bright. As with Parts One and Two, have students
read and complete the Comprehension Check questions (page 43) and Note-Taking Chart
(page 42).
Day Two: Continue reading, completing the Comprehension Check and Note-Taking Chart.
Day Three: Continue reading, completing the Comprehension Check and Note-Taking Chart.
Day Four: Have students complete Standards Focus: Developing Style (pages 44-46). Note: If
students need more time to read, have them read after completing each Standards Focus or
Assessment Preparation activity.
Day Five: Complete Assessment Preparation: Word Parts (pages 49-51).
Week Six
Day One: Complete Standards Focus: Author’s Style (pages 47-48).
Day Two: Complete Assessment Preparation: Literal and Figurative Meaning (pages 52-53).
Day Three: Give Quiz: Part Three (page 58) and Vocabulary Quiz: Part Three (page 59).
Day Four: Review for Final Test
Day Five: Give either version of the Final Test (pages 60-61, or 62-64) Some alternates to these
tests are a project from the Post-Reading Ideas (pages 71-72), an essay exam from the
Essay/Writing Ideas on page 73 or any combination of the three test types. Two Project
Rubrics are on pages 74 and 75 and a Response to Literature Essay Rubric is on pages 76-77.
Notes for the Teacher
As mentioned on page 4, not all activities and worksheets in this Guide must be used. They are here
to help you, so that you have some options to work with. Feel free to use all or only a few of the
worksheets and activities from this Guide. Here are a few notes about this Guide:
1. Both the Note-taking and Summarizing activities and Comprehension Check questions are there
to help your students get the most out of the novel. Depending upon your students and their
needs, you may want to have them only take notes, or only do the Comprehension Check questions,
or alternate.
2. Post-Reading and Alternative Assessment ideas are located on page 71. Again, these are
suggestions only. These project ideas can be used in addition to a written test or in place of it.
Project rubrics are located on pages 74 and 75. Please note that the rubrics are slightly different:
Project Rubric A is recommended for projects that have a small written element that does NOT
have to be researched. Project Rubric B is recommended for projects that include a research
component in which sources must be cited.
3. Essay ideas are located on page 73. Often, having students choose ONE topic from 2-3 essay
topics in addition to their written test works well. Many of these options can also work well for a
process essay or writing project. A Response to Literature Rubric is on pages 76-77.
©2007
Secondary Solutions
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Standards Focus: Elements of Fiction
Literary Terms to Know
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. In the study of literature, it is important to remember that a story consists of several elements: plot,
characters, setting, point of view, conflict, symbol, and theme. In the realm of fiction, the author can
place an emphasis on any one or more of these elements, or conversely, de-emphasize any one or
more of these elements. For example, one cannot analyze a story looking at only setting, but some
authors may want the reader to focus on the plot, so the setting of the story may not be emphasized.
It is important when analyzing a piece of literature that you look at all of the elements and how they
work together to create an entire story.
™ Plot - the related series of events that make up a story
Exposition- the beginning of a story in which the main characters, conflicts, and
setting are introduced
ƒ Rising action- the action that takes place before the climax; the plot becomes
more complicated, leading to the climax
ƒ Climax- the turning point of the story; emotional high point for the protagonist
ƒ Falling action- the action that takes place after the climax, leading to the
resolution
ƒ Resolution- the end of a story; problems are solved, and the characters’ futures
are foreshadowed
Conflict- the struggle(s) between opposing forces, usually characters
ƒ Internal conflict- a character’s struggle with himself or his conscience
ƒ External conflict- a character’s struggle with an outside force, such as another
character, nature, or his environment
Characters - the individuals involved (either directly or indirectly) in the action of the
story
ƒ Protagonist- the central character in a story; struggles against the antagonist
ƒ Antagonist- the conflicting force against the protagonist; can be another character,
a force of nature, or the protagonist struggling against himself
Setting - the time and place, or where and when, the action occurs
ƒ Physical- the physical environment in which a story takes place; this includes the
social and political environment, as well as the mood or atmosphere
ƒ Chronological- the time in which a story takes place (includes the era, season, date,
time of day, etc.)
Point of View - the perspective from which a story is told
ƒ Narrator- the “voice” that tells a story; may or may not reflect the opinions and
attitudes of the author himself
ƒ First person- a narrator that uses the first-person pronouns (I, me, my, myself,
etc.) when telling the story; focuses on the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of a
particular character
ƒ Third person limited- a narrator that uses the third-person perspective with the
third person pronouns (he, she, it, they, etc.); observes the action as an outside
observer, revealing the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of only one character
ƒ Third person omniscient- like third-person limited, the third-person omniscient
narrator uses the third-person perspective with the third person pronouns (he,
she, it, they, etc.); however, this type of narrator observes the action as an outside
observer, revealing the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of several characters
Theme - the main idea behind a literary work; the message in the story
ƒ
™
™
™
™
™
©2007
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Exploring Expository Writing
Author Biography: Ray Bradbury
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious and anything self-conscious is
lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things. -Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury is considered a great American icon whose writings continue to influence and inspire
readers as they have for over sixty years. Bradbury espouses a wealth of knowledge and judgment on
political and social issues, especially education. He believes that every child should learn to read and
write by first grade, and adamantly proclaims that the educational system in the U.S. is a “disaster.” He is
a self-professed cat lover with a fear of flying, who never learned to drive, and who has a well-known
aversion to computers and the Internet, yet remains one of the most prolific, well-respected, and beloved
authors in history.
Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois on August 22, 1920 as Rae Douglas Bradbury, the third son of
Leonard Spaulding Bradbury and Esther Marie Moberg Bradbury. In the small town in Northern Illinois,
he lived on the same block with three other Bradbury families—his own relatives. Growing up he often
visited his grandparents’ vast library to read stories like Alice in Wonderland, The Grimm Fairy Tales,
and The Wizard of Oz. At an uncle’s house, he had access to books about Mars and Tarzan, and to
authors like H.G. Wells, Edgar Allen Poe, and Jules Verne. Although at one point Bradbury wanted to be
a magician, he loved to read and write. At a young age, his mother often took him to the movies, where he
was engrossed in such movies as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Phantom of the Opera and The
Lost World and learned to recognize and develop his own creative spark.
One of the turning points in Bradbury’s life occurred when he was twelve. A carnival had come to
Waukegan, and a magician, Mr. Electrico, was the talk of the town. Since Bradbury wanted to be a
magician, he insisted on going to the carnival. The next day, Bradbury attended the funeral of an uncle
that had recently died. On their way to the wake, Bradbury begged for his father to skip the wake and go
back to the carnival. Hesitantly, his father let him out of the car, and Bradbury went to visit Mr. Electrico.
After showing Bradbury around, Mr. Electrico told Ray that he knew him—that he was the soul of a long
lost friend—and told Bradbury to “live forever.” That gave Bradbury something to live for. He now had a
past and a future, and he was determined to live his life to the fullest. A few days later, he began to write
seriously, and has written every day of his life since then. He later said about the incident: “I could teach
everyone to ... get out of bed someday and look, as I looked when I was 12, on the fuzz on the back of my
hand, and I said, I'm alive! Why didn't someone tell me?! So I would tell every person to really know
you're alive, as a gift ... that would really be the most important thing... in my life or anyone else’s.”
In 1934, the Bradbury family moved to Los Angeles, California. He attended Los Angeles High School,
and was active in the drama club. After his teachers saw his writing abilities, he was encouraged to
become a writer. He began to write for magazines, joined the local Science Fiction League, and his high
school’s Poetry Club.
After graduating from high school in 1938, Bradbury sold newspapers and continued to write. His first
publications, published in 1938 and 1939, were short stories printed in his own fan magazine called
Futuria Fantasia. He wasn’t paid for his work, however, until 1941 with the publication of his story
“Pendulum” in the magazine, Super Science Stories. By 1943, he began writing full-time, after leaving his
job selling newspapers. His short story “The Big Black and White Game” was chosen in 1945 for Best
American Short Stories, an anthology published every year since 1915. His short stories would again
make the distinction of this list in 1946, 1948, and 1952.
In 1946 he met his future wife Marguerite "Maggie" McClure, a graduate of UCLA. Ray and Maggie were
married in Los Angeles on September 27, 1947, and were together for over fifty years. In that same year,
Bradbury’s first collection of short stories, Dark Carnival, was published. Bradbury became further
acclaimed for The Martian Chronicles, a series of short stories exploring the widespread fear of nuclear
war and the threat of foreign political powers that plagued Americans in the 1950s.
©2007
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
In 1949, the first of the Bradburys’ four daughters, Susan, was born. It is reported that the Bradburys
only had $10 in the bank at the time they found out they were expecting. Later, daughters Ramona (born
in 1951), Bettina (born in 1955) and Alexandra (born in 1958) joined the Bradbury family.
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Another of Bradbury's best-known works, Fahrenheit 451, was published in 1953 in Galaxy Science
Fiction magazine as the short story “The Fireman.” According to Bradbury, the inspiration for the book
came from an incident in Los Angeles in 1949 when he and a friend were stopped and questioned by
police for no reason. At the time, a great paranoia had America by the throat—a period of extreme
censorship and accusations of what were perceived as “anti-American” activities.
Viewed as one of the most prophetic books of all time, Fahrenheit 451’s eerie similarity to our modernday life is astounding. According to Bradbury, he was considering the impact of radio and the newlyinvented television when he wrote the book. He also explored lack of education, stating that he foresaw a
time in the future when teachers no longer taught reading so books were no longer a necessity. He
describes a fictional future in which people are bombarded with sensation and stimulation—which
ultimately takes the place of thinking.
Bradbury’s love for theater also motivated him to become involved in Hollywood. He wrote several
screenplays, including the movie Moby Dick, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1953. He
developed his own cable series entitled Ray Bradbury Theater, which ran from 1986 to 1992, where he
adapted over sixty of his short stories for television. His works have also been seen in such television
shows as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, and Night Gallery.
In all, Bradbury has written over 500 short stories, plays, screenplays, novels, and essays. His more
notable include: Dark Carnival (1947), The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951),
Fahrenheit 451 (1953), The Golden Apples of the Sun (1953), Dandelion Wine (1957), Something Wicked
This Way Comes (1962), Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity (1991), and A Chrestomathy of
Ray Bradbury: A Dramatic Selection (1991). More recently, Bradbury wrote From the Dust Returned,
which was selected as one of the Best Books of the Year by the Los Angeles Times in 2002, The Cat’s
Pajamas (2004), and Bradbury Speaks (2005), each of which is a collection of short stories and essays,
both old and new.
Bradbury's work has won numerous honors, including the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin
Franklin Award, the Aviation-Space Writer's Association Award for Best Space Article in an American
Magazine, the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Grand Master Award from the Science
Fiction Writers of America, the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and the
National Medal of Arts. One of Bradbury’s most unusual, yet flattering awards was from an Apollo 15
astronaut who named a moon crater “Dandelion” after Bradbury's novel, Dandelion Wine.
Bradbury worked as an idea consultant for the World’s Fair in 1964, helped to design Spaceship Earth for
Disney World, and later contributed to the conception of the Orbitron space ride at Euro-Disney in
France.
In November 1999, Bradbury suffered a stroke which hospitalized him. Despite his subsequent
confinement to a wheelchair, Bradbury still continued to write. Arguably his most striking personal blow,
however, came in 2003, when Maggie, his wife of 56 years, passed away.
Bradbury currently lives in Los Angeles with his much-adored cats, still writing every single day.
©2007
Secondary Solutions
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Standards Focus: Exploring Expository Writing
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: Based upon the article about Ray Bradbury, answer the following questions using
complete sentences.
1. Respond to the quote which begins the article. What do you think Bradbury means? Do you
agree or disagree? Explain.
2. Ray Bradbury was greatly influenced by environmental circumstances in his very early life. Cite
some of those influences as mentioned in the article.
3. In three or four sentences, give a brief explanation of how the incident with Mr. Electrico
changed Bradbury’s life.
4. If you were given the opportunity to interview Ray Bradbury, what two questions would you ask
him?
5. Referring to the information from the article, use the back of this paper or a separate sheet of
paper to draw a timeline of the important milestones in Bradbury’s life. Be sure to include dates
for each event.
©2007
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Standards Focus: Historical Context
The History of Book Burning as a Form of Censorship
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. One of the first libraries in the world was founded between 300-290 BC in Alexandria, Rome. This
site became the largest collection of writings in the world. This historic library of nearly 500,000
texts was reportedly burned to the ground several times, although the reasons for the destruction are
unknown. What has been reported, however, has been that throughout time those in power wanted
their subjects to remain ignorant. By destroying books, they destroyed knowledge and history, and
therefore kept their people under their control.
Perhaps the most famous incidents of book burning took place during the Holocaust. The Nazis
viewed their enemies and their enemies’ beliefs and ideologies as the ultimate evil. On May 10, 1933,
millions of texts were destroyed. Anything written that was against Nazi thought was ordered to be
burned. Official lists of banned authors were compiled, the homes of those who were found in
possession of the books written by these condemned authors were raided, and the books were
burned.
From these organized bans and burnings, the Nazis effectively structured an extreme form of
censorship and control. According to reports, many authors burned their own books to save
themselves from persecution. Many were exiled from Germany and other countries; others
committed suicide. The Third Reich publicly denounced opposition and threatened its people
through propaganda.
During the 1950s Cold War, an intense fear of Communism spread across America. Those who were
suspected of being Communists or Communist sympathizers were viewed as the ultimate enemy of
the democratic beliefs of the United States. President Harry Truman’s administration banned access
to certain magazines and newspapers in the United States. Literature viewed as “anti-American” was
pulled from the shelves of colleges and universities across the nation. In 1953, Senator Joseph
McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee compiled a list of authors who were
viewed as threats, prompting libraries nationally and internationally under American control to
remove, and in some cases, even burn books by these “forbidden” authors.
More recently, the Harry Potter series has prompted numerous groups to protest, ban, and even
burn these books because of references to anti-Christian beliefs such as witchcraft and sorcery. After
the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Patriot Act was passed, outlining fifteen provisions toward
protecting homeland security. One of those provisions allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) to monitor and search the reading habits, including use of the Internet, email, and voice mail,
of American citizens.
According to the American Library Association’s website, the FBI issued 140,000 requests to seize
library information from 2003-2005. In 2005, the Library Connection, a group of non-profit
libraries in Connecticut, received an official letter from the FBI to search and seize library records,
along with a “gag order” to keep the entire incident quiet. The Library Connection sued and won in
2007 over the unconstitutionality of the gag order.
Even today, the struggle between intellectual freedom and censorship continues.
©2007
Secondary Solutions
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Standards Focus: Historical Context
The Most Frequently Banned or Challenged Books of the 20th Century
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. From time immemorial, books have been banned or challenged. According to the American Library
Association, challenges are defined as “formal, written complaints filed with a library or school
requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.” Today, books
continue to be challenged, as parents and community members the world over find reasons they
would like books to be removed from library shelves. The reasons throughout time are varied and
numerous. Books have been banned or challenged for profanity, sexual explicitness, morbidity or
violence, and mature themes, but also because books have “encouraged” lying, cheating, stealing,
going against authority, and the use of magic and witchcraft.
In 2005, a total of 405 challenges were made against books. Reasons included sexual content,
religious viewpoint, abortion, offensive language, unsuitability for age group, anti-family ideas,
homosexual content, racism, and more.
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by
Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine
Paterson
10. Alice (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea
Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James
Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert
Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth's Children (series) by Jean M. Auel
The 20 Most Frequently Challenged
Books of 1990–1999
1. Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by
Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by
Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Forever by Judy Blume
8. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine
Paterson
9. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea
Newman
10. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
11. The Giver by Lois Lowry
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James
Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
14. Alice (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
15. Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine
16. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert
Newton Peck
17. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
18. Sex by Madonna
19. Earth’s Children (series) by Jean M. Auel
20. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine
Paterson
The 10 Most Frequently Challenged
Books of the 21st Century (2000-2005)
1. Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
2. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
3. Alice (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
4. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by
Maya Angelou
6. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
7. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
8. Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
9. Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
10. Forever by Judy Blume
The 20 Most Frequently Challenged
Books of 1990–2000
1. Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by
Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
©2007
Secondary Solutions
Source: American Library Association
www.ala.org
- 12 -
Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Standards Focus: Allusions and Terminology to Know
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander
1. “It is computed that eleven thousand persons
have at several times suffered death, rather than
submit to break their eggs at the smaller end.”:
from Gulliver’s Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift; a satire
attacking England’s social and political problems.
2. “Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day
light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as
I trust shall never be put out.”: a quote attributed to
Hugh Latimer (1470-1555) a Protestant reformer who
was burned at the stake; Latimer reportedly spoke these
words to Bishop Nicolas Ridley immediately before their
execution.
3. 451: refers to 451 degrees Fahrenheit—the temperature
at which the paper in books burns.
4. Benjamin Franklin: (1706-1790) an American
statesman, printer, inventor, scientist, and writer;
Bradbury mentions that Ben Franklin was the first
fireman in the newly established Firemen of America;
later Beatty points out that the “rule books” have
inaccurate information. According to Beatty, the
Firemen were not organized until the Civil War, or when
“photography came into its own.”
5. condensations: “Condensed” or shortened versions of
larger texts or full-length literary works.
6. Dante: Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), an Italian poet
known for his epic poem The Divine Comedy, which is
Dante’s metaphorical trip through Hell; on his journey he
sees those who have committed evil receiving justified
torture.
7. digests: Reader’s Digest, founded in 1922, a family
magazine which eventually (1934) focused on condensed
versions of full-length novels from the 1930s to today;
has been translated into over 20 languages and is
distributed to over one million readers.
8. Faulkner: William Faulkner (1897-1962) American
novelist and poet; won the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1949; known for his complex use of literary devices and
for his discussion of racism in the South; it is also
believed that he was an alcoholic.
9. Hamlet: a tragedy by William Shakespeare (1564-1616);
Hamlet avenges his father’s murder after learning that
his uncle murdered his father.
10. hearth: a brick- or stone-lined fireplace used for
cooking and/or heating.
11. Little Black Sambo: a children’s book written by Helen
Bannerman in 1899; the story of a little boy who has to
sacrifice his clothes to tigers, but ends up outwitting
them; the story has been considered controversial
because of the word “Sambo,” which has become a racial
slur in America.
12. Marcus Aurelius: Marcus Annius Verus (AD 121-180),
a Roman Emperor and philosopher, known for his
collection of personal writings, or Meditations, which
focused on the idea of stoicism, which is surrounded by
the idea that men should be free from passion, pleasure,
or pain, and submissive to the natural laws of the
universe.
©2007
Secondary Solutions
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13. Mechanical Hound: the Mechanical Hound is
a machine that is “alive but not alive”; it is
programmed to seek out anyone in the way of
the firemen; it kills its prey by injecting the prey
with morphine or other lethal substances.
14. Millay: Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) an
American poet and playwright; the first woman to
receive a Pulitzer Prize for poetry, known for her
unconventional lifestyle, feminist views, and
political philosophy.
15. moonstone: a luminous blue gemstone which is
believed to be a holy, magical “dream stone,”
thought to bring good dreams and beautiful
visions.
16. phoenix: from Greek mythology, the phoenix is
said to die in its nest, which it then lights on fire;
from the ashes, a young, new phoenix is born.
17. radio shows (15 minute): fifteen minute radio
shows are radio programs lasting fifteen minutes
long; broadcast from the 1920s to 1950s, popular
before the invention of television; shows included
stories of adventure, comedy, drama, horror,
mystery, musical variety, romance, music
concerts, farm reports, news, and weather.
18. salamander: the mythological salamander is a
reptile resembling a lizard; said to live in the
depths of fire; according to mythology is able to
endure fire without burning.
19. Seashell: small radio-like devices that people
put in their ears to listen to a constant stream of
music and talking.
20. Swift: Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), an Irish
satirist known best for Gulliver’s Travels, and A
Modest Proposal, both of which attack the
political and social problems of his time.
21. tabloids: newspapers in a small format, giving
the news in a condensed, often sensationalized
way.
22. Uncle Tom’s Cabin: a novel written by
American author Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852;
one of the best-selling books of all time, the story
is believed to have had an extremely profound
effect on the view of slavery in the 19th century.
23. wall television: wall televisions are walls made
up of television panels; these televisions take the
place of real family, and in turn, real conversation;
the television stations “fill-in-the-blank” with the
customer’s name so that they really feel like they
are a part of the action surrounding them.
24. Whitman: Walt Whitman (1819-1892) an
American poet known for his break from the
traditional poetry of his time to poetry written
with a lack of meter, rhyme, or rhythm; his lack of
conventionality and “rude” graphic depictions of
human sexuality caused several of his poems to be
banned.
Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Techniques: _________________________________________________________
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3. Nowhere. There was nowhere to go, no friend to turn to, really. Except Faber. And then
he realized that he was, indeed, running towards Faber’s house, instinctively.
My version:__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Techniques: _________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4. He washed his hands and face and toweled himself dry, making little sound. He came out
of the washroom and shut the door carefully and walked into the darkness and at last
stood again on the edge of the empty boulevard.
My version:__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Techniques: _________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
5. He decided not to count his steps. He looked neither left nor right. The light from the
overhead lamp seemed as bright and revealing as the midday sun and just as hot.
My version:__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Techniques: _________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
©2007
Secondary Solutions
- 46 -
Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Part Three
Standards Focus: Author’s Style
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Style is a literary technique used by an author to create a piece of literature that reveals the author’s
uniqueness. Word choice, figurative language, imagery, rhythm, sentence structure, foreshadowing,
symbolism, use of dialect, and other literary devices, all work together to make an author’s writing
distinctive. The style in which an author writes influences how well we understand and identify with
the literature, and reveals an author’s biases and beliefs.
Ray Bradbury uses numerous techniques of style which helped to make Fahrenheit 451 such a
literary success. He uses long, wordy sentences, short, choppy sentences, difficult vocabulary, and
figurative language extensively.
Directions: Identify the elements of style that are being used in each of the following excerpts,
choosing from the box below. Elements may be used more than once, and there may be more than
one right answer for each. Once you have identified the elements of style that have been used,
explain the effect that these techniques have on the reader. An example has been done for you.
figurative language
short, concise sentences
stream of consciousness
use of allegory
use of dialect
imagery
repetition
complex vocabulary
long, wordy sentences
formal tone
clear rhythm pattern
flashback
sensory images
symbolism
plain, simple vocabulary
conversational tone
foreshadowing
Ex. Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun and now that he’s burnt his damn wings, he wonders
why.
a. Elements of style: use of figurative language in “wanted to fly near the sun and now that
he’s burnt his damn wings”; use of allegory, since the reference is to the Icarus myth of Greek
mythology; conversational tone; plain, simple vocabulary
b. Effect: The use of the figurative language continues the theme of “fire” which is throughout
the entire book. While I was not familiar with the allegory, I knew there was something
unusual about the words Beatty used, so I looked it up in the list of allusions on pages 13-16;
the sentence also has a conversational tone with simple, clear vocabulary
1. Montag’s face was entirely numb and featureless; he felt his head turn like a stone carving to
the dark place next door, set in its bright border of flowers.
a. Elements of style: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
b. Effect: __________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
©2007
Secondary Solutions
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
2. He burnt the bedroom walls and the cosmetics chest because he wanted to change everything,
the chairs, the tables, and in the dining room the silverware and plastic dishes, everything that
showed that he had lived here in this empty house with a strange woman who would forget him
tomorrow, who had gone and quite forgotten him already, listening to her Seashell Radio pour
in on her and in on her as she rode across town, alone.
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. a. Elements of style: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
b. Effect: __________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. And then he was a shrieking blaze, a jumping, sprawling gibbering mannikin, no longer
human or known, all writhing flame on the lawn as Montag shot one continuous pulse of
liquid fire on him.
a. Elements of style: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
b. Effect: __________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
4. Two dozen [police helicopters] flurried, wavering, indecisive, three miles off, like butterflies
puzzled by autumn, and then they were plummeting down to land, one by one, here, there,
softly kneading the streets where, turned back to beetles, they shrieked along the boulevards
or, as suddenly, leapt back into the air, continuing their search.
a. Elements of style: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
b. Effect: __________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
5. The beetle was rushing. The beetle was roaring. The beetle raised its speed. The beetle was
whining. The beetle was in high thunder. The beetle came skimming. The beetle came in a
single whistling trajectory, fired from an invisible rifle.
a. Elements of style: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
b. Effect: __________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
©2007
Secondary Solutions
- 48 -
Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Part Three Vocabulary
Assessment Preparation: Word Parts
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Did you know that you actually know more words than you think you do? There are common prefixes and
suffixes that you use on a daily basis that can help you to figure out words you may have never seen before.
For example, we have all heard or seen the word swimmer. This word breaks down into the base word swim,
plus the suffix –er. The suffixes –er or –or mean someone or something that undergoes an action. Therefore,
the word swimmer means “someone or something that swims.” Similarly, the word baker means “someone or
something who bakes.” What does the word motivator mean?
Adding a prefix or a suffix can also change the part of speech or the tense of a word. For example, the word
invite is a verb. If we add the suffix –tion to the word, the suffix changes the word from the verb invite to the
word invitation, which is a noun. The tense of a verb changes from present tense to past tense when –ed is
added, for example, ignore to ignored. There are many prefixes and suffixes that you use regularly that can
help you figure out the vocabulary words from Part Three.
Directions: Use the chart of prefixes and suffixes below and on the next page to help you figure out the
vocabulary words from Part Three. Be careful—there may be both a prefix and a suffix, or even two suffixes!
Finally, be aware of spelling changes.
Once you have figured out a word meaning, look up the word in the dictionary to find out how close your
definition was. In the “response” portion of the question, write down how close you were, what your
problems were when trying to figure out the word meaning, or whether you were right on! An example has
been done for you.
Common Prefixes
Prefix
antiautodisinilimirintermispostpreproresubsupertransun-
©2007
Meaning
Examples
against or opposite to
antibiotic, anti-inflammatory
self
autobiography, automatic
not, or away
dissimilar, disconnect
not
insane, inhuman
not
illogical, illegal
not
immature, improbable
not
irrelevant, irregular
between
international, intermarry
wrong
misunderstand, misspell
after
postnatal, postscript
before
prenatal, prehistoric
for, or forward
propose, pro-British
again, or back
rewrite, reconsider
under
submarine, substandard
above
supervisor, superhuman
across
transport, transplant
not, or in reverse
unfinished, unbutton
Secondary Solutions
- 49 -
Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Common Suffixes
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. How Suffix Changes
Meaning of
Suffix
Examples
-ance, -ence, -ency,
-dom, -hood, -ship,
-ness, -ment, -ure, ty, -sion, -tion,
ion, -ary
changes word to a NOUN
state or quality of
being
repentance, violence, fluency, wisdom,
childhood, sponsorship, sharpness,
resentment, licensure, vanity, conversion,
sensation, tension, stationary
-er, -ar, -or, -ist,
-ess, -ard
changes word to a NOUN
one who is, one
who practices
swimmer, beggar, actor, typist, waitress,
drunkard
-ism
changes word to a NOUN
theory of
classicism, fanaticism
changes word to a NOUN
study of
biology, theology
-ial, -al, -ian, -ic,
-ical
changes word to an
ADJECTIVE
relating to
bestial, banal, barbarian, fanatic,
fantastical
-tive, -acious, -ant,
-ative, -ent, -ish,
-ive
changes word to an
ADJECTIVE
inclined to
active, gracious, repentant, representative,
abhorrent, sheepish, responsive
-able, -ible
changes word to an
ADJECTIVE
can be
bendable, credible
-ily, -ly
changes word to an
ADJECTIVE
in what manner
easily, quickly
changes word to an
ADJECTIVE
without
careless, thoughtless
-ful, -ous, -ulent
changes word to ADJECTIVE
full of
wonderful, fabulous, virulent
-s, -es
changes word to PLURAL;
also indicates singular
subject/verb agreement
more than one
toys, boxes; says, plays
changes word TENSE
change in time
turned, taken, beginning
Suffix
-ology
-less
-ed, -en, -ing
Ex. bombardments
prefix: none
suffix: –ment, -s
Analysis: state or quality of being bombed more than one time
Definition: attacks by bombs or artillery fire
Response: I knew that –ment meant state or quality of being, and I knew that –s meant more than one, but I
wasn’t sure what bombard meant. Now I see that bombard has to do with bombs, so I was right!___
1. desolation
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. doused
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. fragmentary
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
©2007
Secondary Solutions
- 50 -
Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
4. gingerly
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. 5. incessantly
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
6. incomprehensible
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
7.
incriminate
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
8. insomnia
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
9. prattled
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
10. processions
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
11. ricocheted
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
12. squanders
prefix: ____________
suffix: ____________________
Analysis: __________________________________________________________________
Definition: _________________________________________________________________
Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
©2007
Secondary Solutions
- 51 -
Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Part Three Vocabulary
Assessment Preparation: Literal and Figurative Meaning
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. One of the most captivating aspects of good literature is the use of figurative language, or ideas communicated
beyond their literal meaning to create an image in the reader’s or audience’s mind. For example, “The pillow was
a cloud.” The figurative meaning is that the pillow was soft, fluffy, etc. Literally, this means you were actually
up three thousand feet in the air, laying your head on a cloud in the sky. Authors often use figurative language to
make the reader picture an image. Had the author simply said “the pillow was soft” we might wonder exactly
how soft? Like soft-serve ice cream? Like a fuzzy rabbit’s foot? Like soggy mud? You get the idea.
Directions: For each of the following vocabulary words from Part Three, use the figurative meaning in the
context of the story to determine the literal meaning of the word. Once you have determined the literal
meaning of the word, look up the word in the dictionary to find the correct definition in the context of the
sentence. An example has been done for you.
Ex. “… if you lifted my skull, by God, in the convolutions of my brain you’d find the big ridges of his
thumbprint.”
Literal meaning: ___wrinkles, ridges______________________________________________
Definition: _____curves, coils, or twists____________________________________________
1.
…the sweat of his hand hung from the doorknob, invisible but as numerous as the jewels of a small
chandelier, he was a luminous cloud, a ghost that made breathing once more impossible.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
2.
And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every
day, sleeping its life away.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
3.
And there on the small screen was the burnt house, and the crowd and something with a sheet over it and
out of the sky, fluttering, came the helicopter like a grotesque flower.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
4. He saw a great juggernaut of stars form in the sky and threaten to roll over and crush him.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
5.
He saw Faber stop up his own breath for fear of drawing that ghost into his own body, perhaps, being
contaminated with the phantom exhalations and odors of a running man.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
6.
He shouted to give himself the necessary push away from this last house window, and the fascinating
séance going on in there.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
7.
The bombardment was to all intents and purposes finished once the jets had sighted their target, alerted
their bombardier at five thousand miles an hour; as quick as the whisper of a scythe the war was finished.
©2007
Secondary Solutions
- 52 -
Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Literal meaning:
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Definition: _______________________________________________________________
8.
The most important single thing we had to pound into our heads is that we were not important, we
mustn’t be pedants; we were not to feel superior to anyone else in the world.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
9.
He stood there and he had only one leg. The other was like a chunk of burnt pine log he was carrying
along as a penance for some obscure sin.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
10. There was a hiss like a great mouthful of spittle banging a red-hot stove, a bubbling and frothing as if salt
had been poured over a monstrous black snail to cause a terrible liquefaction and a boiling over of yellow foam.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
11. The procaine needle flicked out and in, out and in. A single clear drop of the stuff of dreams fell from the
needle as it vanished in the Hound’s muzzle.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
12. A great nuzzling gout of fire leapt out to lap at the books and knock them against the wall.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
13. …the city stood, rebuilt and unrecognizable, taller than it had ever hoped or strived to be, taller than man
had built it, erected at last in grouts of shattered concrete and sparkles of torn metal into a mural hung like a
reversed avalanche, a million colors, a million oddities…
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
14. … one of the rare few times he discovered that somewhere behind the seven veils of unreality, beyond the
walls of the parlors and beyond the tin moat of the city, cows chewed grass and pigs sat in warm ponds…
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
15. The house fell in red coals and black ash. It bedded itself down in sleepy pink-gray cinders and a smoke
plume blew over it, rising and waving slowly back and forth in the sky.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
16. We know all the damn silly things we’ve done for a thousand years and as long as we know that and
always have it around where we can see it, someday we’ll stop making the goddamn funeral pyres and jumping
in the middle of them.
Literal meaning:
Definition: _______________________________________________________________
©2007
Secondary Solutions
- 53 -
Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Fahrenheit 451
Part One Quiz
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: Match the characters from the novel with the correct action, description, or quote.
1. Montag
________
a. arrested for being a pedestrian
2. Clarisse
________
b. the dead beast, the living beast
3. Mildred
________
4. Beatty
________
c. “I’ve got to go see my psychiatrist now…He says I’m a
regular onion! I keep him busy peeling away all the layers.”
5. Clarisse’s uncle ________
6. Mechanical Hound ________
d. “Didn’t sleep well. Feel terrible…God, I’m hungry. I can’t
figure it.”
e. “Any man’s insane who thinks he can fool the government
and us.”
f. His hands had been infected, and soon it would be his arms.
He could feel the poison working up his wrists and into his
elbows and his shoulders, and then jumpover from shoulder
blade to shoulder blade like a spark leaping a gap. His hands
were ravenous.
Directions: Answer the following questions using complete sentences. If you need more room, use a
separate piece of paper.
7. What is the significance of the title of the novel? __________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
8. Describe Millie. In what condition is she first introduced in the novel? What had she done?
How does she get better? __________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
9. Describe Clarisse. What effect does she have on Montag? What happens to her at the end of this
section? How does it affect Montag? __________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
©2007
Secondary Solutions
- 54 -
Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Fahrenheit 451
Part One Vocabulary Quiz
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: Match each vocabulary word with the correct definition or synonym. Write the letter of
the correct response on the lines provided.
1.
_______ abstract
a.
a case for a blade
2. _______ abyss
b. a deep commitment of love
3. _______ ballistics
c.
4. _______ bestial
d. a device that separates substances
5. _______ bewilderedly
e.
a device to circulate fresh air
6. _______ cacophony
f.
a feeling of darkness and gloom
7.
g.
a furnace for burning trash
_______ centrifuge
a deep gorge or chasm; a vast empty space
8. _______ cinders
h. a language used by a specialized group
9. _______ condemnation
i.
a large tomb
10. _______ devotion
j.
a powerful rush of water
11. _______ drear
k. a pronouncement of guilt
12. _______ fathoms
l.
13. _______ feigning
m. ability to view things without emotion or prejudice
14. _______ flue
n. an outlet for smoke or heat
15. _______ gorging
o. an unpleasant combination of sounds
16. _______ illumination
p. burned wood or fuel
17. _______ incinerator
q. crushed into a powder or dust
18. _______ jargon
r.
depths of water
19. _______ luminescent
s.
eating greedily and to excess
20. _______ marionette
t.
faking; pretending
21. _______ mausoleum
u. feeling or causing sadness
22. _______ melancholy
v.
23. _______ noncombustible
w. lacking human feelings of pity or remorse
24. _______ objectivity
x.
making something visible or lit
25. _______ olfactory
y.
natural tendencies to behave in a certain way
26. _______ proclivities
z.
not concrete; theoretical
27. _______ pulverized
aa. poisonous
28. _______ seized
bb. relating to the sense of smell
29. _______ sheath
cc. relating to the sense of touch
30. _______ stratum
dd. several layers of something, usually land
31. _______ tactile
ee. able to emit light by means other than heat
32. _______ torrent
ff. the study of projectiles or firearms
33. _______ venomous
gg. to float gently through the air
34. _______ ventilator
hh. took hold of something quickly and firmly
35. _______ waft
ii. unable to catch fire easily
©2007
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a wooden puppet
in a confused manner
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Fahrenheit 451
Part Two Quiz
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
1. Explain what Faber meant when he said to Montag “No, no, it’s not at all the books you’re
looking for!”
2. How are children and family viewed in this society?
3. What did Montag do in the women’s presence, despite Faber’s harsh warnings? What was
the result?
4. Explain the significance of Montag’s memory of the sieve and the sand dune. What do you
think is the reason this section of the novel is titled “The Sieve and the Sand”?
5. According to Faber, what is missing from society? Hint: He lists three things.
©2007
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Fahrenheit 451
Part Two Vocabulary Quiz
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: Match each vocabulary word with the correct definition or synonym. Write the letter of
the correct response on the line provided.
1.
_______ agony
a.
a hill of sand
2. _______ beatific
b. a large, uncultivated stretch of land
3. _______ cadenced
c.
4. _______ chaff
d. a substance that gives off a pleasant smell when burned
5. _______ consoling
e.
a toilet, especially a communal one at a military base
6. _______ contemptible
f.
an abundance; a large amount
7.
g.
average; adequate, but not very good
_______ cowardice
a small biting fly
8. _______ discourse
h. blissful; heavenly
9. _______ dispersing
i.
blocked or dodged the effect of a weapon or a violent attack
10. _______ diverted
j.
changed something’s route or path
11. _______ dune
k. conducting a thorough search; investigating
12. _______ dwindled
l.
13. _______ enameled
m. delicate decorative design made from silver, gold, or other metal
14. _______ ferrets
n. deserving to be treated with hatred
15. _______ filigree
o. domesticated furry animals kept as pets
16. _______ gibbering
p. done as a matter of duty or custom, without feeling or interest
17. _______ gnat
q. filled with energy or vitality
18. _______ honed
r.
given a glassy covering or protective coating
19. _______ hysterical
s.
great pain or anguish
20. _______ incense
t.
improved something to a state of completion or excellence
21. _______ insidious
u. in a state of uncontrollable laughter or grief
22. _______ intuitively
v.
23. _______ invigorated
w. lack of courage
24. _______ latrine
x.
dropped in pitch or tone of voice
25. _______ mediocre
y.
providing comfort in a time of need
26. _______ moor
z.
reduced in number or amount
27. _______ parried
aa. scattering; disappearing
28. _______ perfunctorily
bb. seed coverings; strips of metal; something unimportant
29. _______ phosphorescent
cc. serious speech or piece of writing
30. _______ probing
dd. slowly and subtly harmful and destructive
31. _______ profusion
ee. spread over or through something with light or color
32. _______ rebut
ff. talking or making sounds unintelligibly
33. _______ strewn
gg. thrown about carelessly
34. _______ suffused
hh. to be full of; overflowing
35. _______ teem
ii. to deny the truth of something by presenting arguments against it
©2007
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continuing to emit light; glowing
knowing something instinctively
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Fahrenheit 451
Part Three Quiz
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
1. Explain how Beatty died. How did Montag realize that Beatty wanted to die? Explain.
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2. Explain how Montag “got back” at one of the firemen.
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3. Why did the search end at the river? Explain how the police eventually caught “Montag”.
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4. According to Granger, how do the people on the outskirts of town preserve literature? What
do they do with the books when they are done with them? Why?
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5. What did the men see in the city? Who did Montag think of? Why?
________________________________________________________________
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6. What is the first thing Granger wants to build? Why?
________________________________________________________________
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Fahrenheit 451
Part Three Vocabulary Quiz
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: Match each vocabulary word with the correct definition or synonym. Write the
correct letter on the line provided.
1. _______ bombardments
a. a crushing force that is relentless and destructive
2. _______ convolutions
b. a disease of the joints; a large blob of something
3. _______ desolation
c. a feather; a rising column of smoke, dust, or water
4. _______ doused
d. a ghost; unreal
5. _______ erected
e. a local anesthetic
6. _______ fragmentary
f.
7. _______ gingerly
g. a pile of burning materials, especially wood
8. _______ gout
h. a slow-moving mammal; laziness
9. _______ grotesque
i.
a tool for mowing or reaping
10. _______ incessantly
j.
a wide waterway or ditch acting as a barrier
11. _______ incomprehensible
k. assaults; attacks
12. _______ incriminate
l.
13. _______ insomnia
m. consisting of or reduced to fragments; broken
14. _______ juggernaut
n. continuing without interruption; ceaselessly
15. _______ liquefaction
o. curves, twists, or intricacies
16. _______ luminous
p. deprivation of companionship; loneliness
17. _______ moat
q. emitting light
18. _______ pedants
r. extinguished; immersed in liquid
19. _______ penance
s. fails to take advantage of
20. _______ phantom
t.
21. _______ plume
u. impossible to understand or comprehend
22. _______ prattled
v. misshapen, especially in a strange or disgusting way
23. _______ procaine
w. self-punishment for committing a sin
24. _______ processions
x. sleeplessness
25. _______ pyre
y. people concerned with rules and details
26. _______ ricocheted
z. talked in a foolish or simple-minded way
27. _______ scythe
aa. the motion of an object bouncing off something
28. _______ séance
bb. the process of liquefying or turning to a liquid state
29. _______ sloth
cc. to accuse of or present proof of a crime
30. _______ squanders
dd. with great care or caution
©2007
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a meeting, usually to speak to the dead
built; raised
groups moving along or forward
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Fahrenheit 451
Final Test
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Part One: Matching
Directions: Match the character with the correct action, description or quote. Write the letter of the
correct answer on the line provided.
1. _______ Montag
2. _______ Clarisse
3. _______ Mildred
4. _______ Beatty
a. cried when Montag read a poem
b. “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as
the Constitution says, but everyone made equal.”
c. didn’t want to know how something was done, but why
d. “My ‘family’ is people. They tell me things: I laugh, they
laugh! And the colors!”
5. _______ Faber
e. “I don’t talk things, sir. I talk the meaning of things. I sit
6. _______ Mechanical Hound
7. _______ Granger
here and know I’m alive.”
f.
“I plunk the kids in school nine days out of ten. I put up
with them when they come home three days a month; it’s
8. _______ Mrs. Phelps
not bad at all.”
9. _______ Mr. Black
10. _______ Mrs. Bowles
g. “You’re not important. You’re not anything.”
h. the object of Montag’s conspiracy to frame firemen
i.
“That’s the good part of dying; when you’ve nothing to lose,
you run any risk you want.”
j.
slept but did not sleep
Part Two: Multiple Choice
Directions: Write the letter of the correct response on the line provided.
11. _____ What are the earplug radios in the novel called?
a. Parlor radios
c. Seashell radios
b. Green bullets
d. Eavesdroppers
12. _____ To what animal did Montag compare the pumping machine used on Mildred in Part One?
a. snake
c. bear
b. worm
d. salamander
13. _____ How did Millie claim Clarisse was killed?
a. she was killed by the Mechanical Hound
c. she died of an overdose
b. she was run over by a car
d. she drowned herself in a lake
14. _____ Who was the greatest influence on Clarisse?
a. Granger
c. Montag
b. her uncle
d. her grandfather
15. _____ According to the Beatty, who was the first fireman?
a. George Washington
c. Benjamin Franklin
b. Abraham Lincoln
d. William Shakespeare
©2007
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
16. _____ In the novel, the river serves as a symbol of:
a. destruction
c. rebirth
b. evil
d. energy
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. 17. _____ In the novel, fire is as a symbol of:
a. cleansing
b. heat
c. hope
d. serenity
18. _____ In the novel, books symbolize each of the following EXCEPT:
a. enlightenment
c. freedom
b. power
d. conformity
19. _____ Which of the following mythical creatures is able to endure fire without burning?
a. phoenix
c. viper
b. salamander
d. eagle
20. _____ Each of the following are quoted by characters in the novel EXCEPT:
a. the Bible
c. Shakespeare
b. Alexander Pope
d. Aldous Huxley
21. _____ Books are compared to each of the following in the novel EXCEPT:
a. birds
c. moths
b. beetles
d. fireflies
Part Three: True/False
Directions: For each statement, write out the word “true” if the statement is true, “false” if it is false.
22. __________ The Mechanical Hound is able to track his prey through a strong sense of sight.
23. __________ Faber was once a professor at a liberal arts college.
24. __________ The fire truck is often referred to as the Phoenix.
25. __________ Mrs. Bowles turned in the alarm against Montag.
26. __________ The firemen are considered the “Happiness Boys.”
27. __________ Montag is the not the first fireman to steal a book from a home.
28. __________ The only reading materials allowed are those that keep the people happy or
informed of news or procedure.
Part Four: Short Response
Directions: Answer each of the following questions on a separate piece of paper using as much
detail as possible. Be sure to write in complete sentences.
29. The concept of suicide is brought up numerous times within the novel. Mildred tries killing
herself with a bottle of pills, the lady whose house was called on struck the match that killed her
in her home, a reference is made to a man setting a Mechanical Hound loose to kill himself, and
more. Discuss why suicide or the attempt at suicide is such an issue in this society. Why might
these characters have wanted to die in such a manner? Discuss the implications of such actions.
30. Explain Granger’s statement: “We're going to go build a mirror factory first and put out nothing
but mirrors for the next year and take a long time to look at them.” Why does he think of the
story of the mythical creature, the Phoenix, at the end of the novel? Explain the significance.
©2007
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Fahrenheit 451
Final Test: Multiple Choice
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: On your answer sheet, fill in the bubble of the correct response.
1. Who cried when Montag read a poem?
a. Clarisse
c. Millie
b. Mrs. Phelps
d. Mrs. Bowles
2. Who said: “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but
everyone made equal”?
a. Beatty
c. Faber
b. Granger
d. Montag
3. Who didn’t want to know how something was done, but why?
a. Montag
c. Faber
b. Clarisse
d. Beatty
4. Who said: “My ‘family’ is people. They tell me things: I laugh, they laugh! And the colors!”?
a. Mrs. Phelps
c. Mrs. Black
b. Millie
d. Clarisse
5. Who said: “I don’t talk things, sir. I talk the meaning of things. I sit here and know I’m alive”?
a. Faber
c. Beatty
b. Granger
d. Montag
6. Who said: “I plunk the kids in school nine days out of ten. I put up with them when they come
home three days a month; it’s not bad at all”?
a. Mrs. Bowles
c. Mrs. Phelps
b. Mrs. Montag
d. Mrs. Black
7. Who said: “You’re not important. You’re not anything”?
a. Beatty
c. Mildred
b. Granger
d. Faber
8. Who became the object of Montag’s conspiracy to frame firemen?
a. Captain Beatty
c. Mr. Black
b. Mr. Phelps
d. Mr. Bowles
9. Who said: “That’s the good part of dying; when you’ve nothing to lose, you run any risk you
want”?
a. Faber
c. Montag
b. Clarisse
d. Granger
10. What are the earplug radios in the novel called?
©2007
a. Parlor radios
c. Seashell radios
b. Green bullets
d. Eavesdroppers
Secondary Solutions
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
11. To what animal did Montag compare the pumping machine used on Mildred in Part One?
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. a. snake
c. bear
b. worm
d. salamander
12. How did Millie claim Clarisse was killed?
a. she died of an overdose
c. she was killed by the Mechanical Hound
b. she was run over by a car
d. she drowned herself in a lake
13. Who was the greatest influence on Clarisse?
a. Granger
c. Montag
b. her grandfather
d. her uncle
14. According to the Beatty, who was the first fireman?
a. George Washington
c. Benjamin Franklin
b. Abraham Lincoln
d. William Shakespeare
15. In the novel, the river serves as a symbol of:
a. destruction
c. energy
b. evil
d. rebirth
16. In the novel, fire is as a symbol of:
a. cleansing
c. hope
b. heat
d. serenity
17. In the novel, books symbolize each of the following EXCEPT:
a. enlightenment
c. freedom
b. power
d. conformity
18. Which of the following mythical creatures is able to endure fire without burning?
a. phoenix
c. viper
b. salamander
d. eagle
19. Each of the following are quoted by characters in the novel EXCEPT:
a. the Bible
c. Shakespeare
b. Alexander Pope
d. Aldous Huxley
20. The Mechanical Hound is able to track his prey through a strong sense of:
a. smell
c. sight
b. touch
d. mental telepathy
21. The fire truck is often referred to as a/an:
a. eagle
c. viper
b. salamander
d. phoenix
22. Who turned in the alarm against Montag?
©2007
a. Beatty
c. Mrs. Blake
b. Mildred
d. Mrs. Bowles
Secondary Solutions
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
23. According to Beatty, the firemen are considered each of the following EXCEPT:
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. a. “Happiness Boys”
c. “the Dixie Duo”
b. “White Clowns”
d. “Caesar’s praetorian guards”
24. The people of this society are allowed to read each of the following EXCEPT:
a. comic books
c. trade journals
b. essays on history
d. sex magazines
25. Faber invented an earpiece called a/an:
a. Seashell radio
c. Blue Bullet
b. Queen Bee
d. Green Bullet
26. The novel’s climax is when:
a. Montag kills Beatty
c. Montag calls Faber
b. an alarm is called on Montag
d. Montag arrives at the river
27. According to Faber, no one in this society has the desire to read because:
a. they don’t even know what a book is
c. they know the war will kill them anyway
b. they are having too much “fun” doing other things
d. they don’t know how to read
28. The novel explores all of the following themes in depth EXCEPT:
a. knowledge versus ignorance
c. the disadvantages of technology
b. conformity versus individuality
d. the threat of Communism
29. Which of the following characters symbolizes the society in this novel?
a. Faber
c. Montag
b. Mildred
d. Beatty
30. What incident was a major turning point in Montag’s life?
a. when he first met Faber
b. when he realized Beatty wanted to die
c. when he watched the old woman kill herself with her books
d. when he watched Mildred get poison pumped from her
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Teacher Guide
Summary of the Novel
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander
Guy Montag, a fireman, revels in the sight of the power of fire. He grins with pride as he fuels the
fire, and ends his evening satisfied and proud of his job. On his way home from work, he meets
Clarisse McClellan, his teenaged neighbor. Clarisse engages Montag in conversation, and Montag is
fascinated and at the same time, repulsed by her inquisitiveness, love of nature, and defiant banter.
Montag returns home to find his wife, Mildred, sleeping. As he looks at his wife in bed, his foot hits
an empty bottle of sleeping pills. He calls the paramedics, who show up to “detoxify” his wife of the
poison, and is disgusted and appalled at the impersonal, invasive techniques of literally sucking the
poison from her body and replacing her blood with new blood.
The next morning, his wife remembers nothing and denies trying to overdose. Millie is a very distant,
shallow woman who entertains herself with her Seashell radio and parlor “family.” She and Montag
are extremely disconnected, and Montag begins to really question whether he is happy—a question
Clarisse had asked him the night before.
Again, Montag and Clarisse meet, and Clarisse questions Montag about his work as a fireman. She
tells him that he is different from the other people she meets—he “looks” at her. Montag arrives at
work and we are introduced to the Mechanical Hound—a machine designed to paralyze and kill
those who rebel against the rules of society. Montag fears the Hound, and feels as if it “knows”
something. The Fire Captain, Beatty, is introduced, and attempts to assuage Montag’s fear of the
Hound.
For the next week Montag and Clarisse meet every day, and Montag finds that he is actually looking
forward to their discussions. One day, Clarisse disappears without a trace. Montag becomes
unusually depressed and begins to question his life and work. That evening, he is called to a home in
which a woman refuses to leave her home and books. Left alone, Montag steals a book and hides it
in his uniform. Insisting on dying with her beloved books, the old woman strikes a match and kills
herself. Disturbed by the woman’s violent death and his own sense of guilt, Montag returns home,
shaken. Montag hides the book under his pillow, then tries to stir a meaningful conversation with
his wife. She is so out of touch and shallow, she is unable to hold even the lightest conversation
without mentioning the Parlor Walls or her “family.” He asks her about Clarisse, and his wife
nonchalantly tells him that Clarisse was run over by a car a few days ago and her family moved away.
The next morning, Montag feels sick and decides not to go to work. Captain Beatty arrives, knowing
why Montag is “sick.” Beatty tells Montag that others have stolen books in the past, and he has 24
hours to satisfy his curiosity and destroy the book. Beatty lectures Montag in the ways of their
current society. He is well-read, ironically, and knows much about the history of their world and is
able to quote several literary classics. After Beatty leaves, Montag decides to show Millie the myriad
of books that he has stolen over the years. She panics, and hysterically begins to throw the books in
the incinerator. With the Mechanical Hound threatening outside their door, Montag calms Millie
and begins to read aloud to her.
Part Two: The Sieve and the Sand
Montag continues reading as Millie sits idly by, uninterested and slightly disgusted. He is reminded
of Clarisse as he reads, and continues to question the ways of the world. He is reminded of a time
when he sat next to an old man at a park who recited poetry to him, then gave him a piece of paper
with his name and phone number “for his files.”
©2007
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
As Millie chats on the telephone about one of her mindless television programs, Montag decides to
look up the file with the old man’s name. He calls Faber, and while Faber is shocked and suspicious,
he can tell that Montag is truly interested in the “other” world of books. Montag wants to give Beatty
a different copy of the book so that he is able to have his own copy. He leaves to see Faber and get
the books. On the subway, his every thought is bombarded by a commercial for “Denham’s
Dentifrice.” This brief but highly stressful account gives us a true sense of the propaganda and
mindlessness of the society.
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Montag arrives at Faber’s house. Montag asks Faber to help him understand a time when books
were read and individual thought was accepted. Faber tells him that it was not the government who
set out to ban books, but that society became more interested in instant gratification and lost
complete interest in anything that required thought or introspection. Faber tells Montag three
things the world needs: the information found in books, the time and leisure to absorb that
information, and the freedom to act on that information. Montag tells Faber of his plan to plant
books in firemen’s houses and call alarms on them, so that they eventually destroy themselves.
Faber disagrees, insisting that the impending war will change everything. Finally, Faber gives him
his invention of a green bullet, which is an inconspicuous earpiece so that Faber can talk discreetly
into Montag’s ear, directing and guiding him.
Montag returns home and is interrupted by Millie and her friends, who have come over to watch a
favorite television show. The women discuss the war, their husbands, children, and politics. We
learn about their lack of concern for their husbands fighting in the war, and their disinterest in
raising children. Montag cannot take their banter any longer, and interrupts them, showing them a
book of poetry. Millie tells the women that the firemen are allowed to take home one book per year.
Despite Faber’s warnings, Montag reads the poem Dover Beach to the women. The poem brings Mrs.
Phelps to tears and Mrs. Bowles reacts with anger. The women leave, and Millie, shaken with her
husband’s antics, indulges herself in a bottle of sleeping pills.
Before leaving for work, Montag searches for his books to hide them, and realizes that Millie has
been secretly burning them. He takes the remainder and hides them in the backyard. With Faber
discreetly in his ear, he returns to work. Visibly nervous, Montag tries to calm himself by handing
over a book to Beatty and sitting down to play cards. An alarm suddenly sounds, and the men head
for their destination. The firemen have been called to Montag’s own home.
Part Three: Burning Bright
Realizing the alarm has been called on him, Montag stands in disbelief. He watches as Millie,
suitcases in hand, escapes into a beetle. He realizes that it is his own wife who has betrayed him.
Beatty makes Montag torch his own home, and Montag strives to destroy everything. Beatty
continues to tease Montag, berating him about being so bold and careless. Beatty punches Montag,
dislodging the green bullet from Montag’s ear. Beatty continues to rattle Montag, threatening to go
after Faber. Flame thrower in hand, Montag realizes he has no choice, and torches Beatty to death.
Sensing the danger, the Mechanical Hound goes after Montag, paralyzing his leg with his procaine
needle. Hurt, but not completely incapacitated, Montag torches the Mechanical Hound and
struggles to run from the scene.
Montag runs instinctively towards Faber’s house, listening to police sirens and announcements
about himself. After being chased by police cars and even civilians, Montag arrives at Faber’s house.
He tells Faber that he has killed Beatty, and Faber recommends to Montag that he escape to the river,
where he will find others like him. In order to disguise his scent from the new Mechanical Hound
that is now hunting him, Montag takes Faber's old clothes and tells Faber to turn on the airconditioning and sprinklers to douse the trail. Montag runs to the river, where he douses himself
with alcohol and floats down the river to find safety.
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Montag eventually washes up on new land, where he looks for the train tracks Faber told him about.
He reaches a camp where he meets Granger, who recognizes Montag from the televised chase. The
men watch as the search veers inland toward an innocent man they begin to call Montag. They
watch in horror as the man is killed and the announcer declares that Montag is dead.
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Granger introduces the group and Montag learns that each one of them is a “book.” After they
memorize the books, they burn them in order to keep from being found out. They plan to teach the
literature to other generations, in the hope that someday the works will be able to be written and
read again. The next morning, the men watch as bombs destroy the city. Montag thinks of Millie
and Faber and Clarisse. He assumes Millie is now dead, but is reassured that Faber escaped.
Granger tells Montag about his grandfather, who was Granger’s inspiration. Montag thinks of
Clarisse and how she changed his life, and how Millie never made any difference and will be easily
forgotten. The men cook breakfast and wait to return to the remains of the city. Granger tells
Montag that he wants to build a mirror factory so everyone can take a good, hard look at themselves.
Granger also tells him of the symbolic phoenix, who burned itself to ashes, only to be reborn.
Granger, and now Montag, hopes to rebuild the city, with an awareness of their history and a desire
for knowledge.
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Teacher Guide
Vocabulary with Definitions
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander
1. abstract – not concrete; theoretical
2. abyss – a deep gorge or chasm; a vast empty space
3. ballistics – the study of projectiles or firearms
4. bestial – lacking human feelings of pity or remorse
5. bewilderedly – in a confused manner
6. cacophony – an unpleasant combination of sounds
7. centrifuge – a device that separates substances
8. cinders – burned wood or fuel
9. condemnation – a pronouncement of guilt
10. devotion – a deep commitment of love
11. drear – a feeling of darkness and gloom
12. fathoms – depths of water
13. feigning – faking; pretending
14. flue – an outlet for smoke or heat
15. gorging – eating greedily and to excess
16. illumination – making something visible or lit
17. incinerator – a furnace for burning trash
18. jargon – a language used by a specialized group
19. luminescent – able to emit light by means other than heat
20. marionette – a wooden puppet
21. mausoleum – a large tomb
22. melancholy – feeling or causing sadness
23. noncombustible – unable to catch fire easily
24. objectivity – ability to view things without emotion or prejudice
25. olfactory – relating to the sense of smell
26. proclivities – natural tendencies to behave in a certain way
27. pulverized – crushed into a powder or dust
28. seized – took hold of something quickly and firmly
29. sheath – a case for a blade
30. stratum – several layers of something, usually land
31. tactile – relating to the sense of touch
32. torrent – a powerful rush of water
33. venomous - poisonous
34. ventilator – a device to circulate fresh air
35. waft – to float gently through the air
Part Two: The Sieve and the Sand
1. agony - great pain or anguish
2. beatific – blissful; heavenly
3. cadenced – dropped in pitch or tone of voice
4. chaff – seed coverings; strips of metal; something unimportant
5. consoling – providing comfort in a time of need
6. contemptible - deserving to be treated with hatred
7. cowardice – lack of courage
8. discourse – serious speech or piece of writing
9. dispersing – scattering; disappearing
10. diverted – changed something’s route or path
11. dune – a hill of sand
12. dwindled – reduced in number or amount
13. enameled – given a glassy covering or protective coating
14. ferrets – domesticated furry animals kept as pets
15. filigree – delicate decorative design made from silver, gold, or other metal
16. gibbering – talking or making sounds unintelligibly
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
gnat – a small biting fly
honed – improved something to a state of completion or excellence
hysterical – in a state of uncontrollable laughter or grief
incense – a substance that gives off a pleasant smell when burned
insidious – slowly and subtly harmful and destructive
intuitively – knowing something instinctively
invigorated – filled with energy or vitality
latrine – a toilet, especially a communal one at a military base
mediocre – average; adequate, but not very good
moor – a large, uncultivated stretch of land
parried – blocked or dodged the effect of a weapon or violent attack
perfunctorily – done as a matter of duty or custom, without feeling or interest
phosphorescent – continuing to emit light; glowing
probing – conducting a thorough search; investigating
profusion – an abundance; a large amount
rebut – to deny the truth of something by presenting arguments against it
strewn – thrown about carelessly
suffused – spread over or through something with light or color
teem – to be full of; overflowing
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Part Three: Burning Bright
1. bombardments – assaults; attacks
2. convolutions – curves, twists, or intricacies
3. desolation – deprivation of companionship; loneliness
4. doused – extinguished; immersed in liquid
5. erected – built; raised
6. fragmentary – consisting of or reduced to fragments; broken
7. gingerly – with great care or caution
8. gout – a disease of the joints; a large blob of something
9. grotesque – misshapen, especially in a strange or disgusting way
10. incessantly – continuing without interruption; ceaselessly
11. incomprehensible – impossible to understand or comprehend
12. incriminate – to accuse of or present proof of a crime
13. insomnia - sleeplessness
14. juggernaut – a crushing force that is relentless and destructive
15. liquefaction – the process of liquefying or turning to a liquid state
16. luminous – emitting light
17. moat – a wide waterway or ditch acting as a barrier
18. pedants – people concerned with rules and details
19. penance – self-punishment for committing a sin
20. phantom – a ghost; unreal
21. plume – a feather; a rising column of smoke, dust, or water
22. prattled – talked in a foolish or simple-minded way
23. procaine – a local anesthetic
24. processions – groups moving along or forward
25. pyre – a pile of burning materials, especially wood
26. ricocheted – the motion of an object bouncing off something
27. scythe – a tool for mowing and reaping
28. séance – a meeting, usually to speak to the dead
29. sloth – a slow-moving mammal; laziness
30. squanders – fails to take advantage of
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Pre-Reading Ideas and Activities
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Suggested activities prior to the study of Fahrenheit 451:
1. Have students read and answer the questions on Ray Bradbury biography on pages 8-10.
2. Have students read The History of Book Burning as a Form of Censorship on page 11.
3. Have students read The Most Frequently Banned or Challenged Books of the 20th Century on
page 12.
4. Have students review the Allusions and Terminology to Know on pages 13-16.
5. Have students look up and find the definitions for the vocabulary words on page 17.
6. Have students complete the Anticipation/Reaction Activity on pages 18-19.
7. Have students research Banned Books Week by checking out the American Library
Association website at www.ala.org.
8. Have students research the characteristics of science fiction. What qualifies a book as science
fiction? Discuss some examples of famous science fiction authors and the literature they
produced.
9. Have students journal/discuss the quote from the beginning of the novel: “If they give you
ruled paper, write the other way.” (Juan Ramón Jiménez)
10. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “There are worse crimes than burning books. One
of them is not reading them.” (Joseph A. Brodsky, Russian-American poet, 1940-1996)
11. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than
sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1929-1968)
12. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “If your library is not 'unsafe', it probably isn't
doing its job.” (John Berry III, 1917-1999)
13. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “Books and ideas are the most effective weapons
against intolerance and ignorance.” (Lyndon B. Johnson, 1908-1973)
14. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but
unlike charity, it should end there.” (Clare Booth Luce, 1903-1987)
15. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “Every burned book enlightens the world.” (Ralph
Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882)
16. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “If librarianship is the connecting of people to ideas
– and I believe that is the truest definition of what we do – it is crucial to remember that we
must keep and make available, not just good ideas and noble ideas, but bad ideas, silly ideas,
and yes, even dangerous or wicked ideas.” (ALA reviewer Graceanne A. Decandido)
17. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - Who will guard
the guards?” (by Juvenal, Roman satirist)
18. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “The sooner we all learn to make a decision
between disapproval and censorship, the better off society will be.... Censorship cannot get at
the real evil, and it is an evil in itself.” (Granville Hicks 1901-1982)
19. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “This is slavery, not to speak one's thought” (by
Euripides, Greek tragic poet (480 or 485 B.C. - 406 B.C.))
20. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “You see these dictators on their pedestals,
surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police. Yet in their
hearts there is unspoken - unspeakable! - fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts! Words
spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home, all the more powerful because they are forbidden.
These terrify them. A little mouse - a little tiny mouse! –of thought appears in the room, and
even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.” (Winston Churchill 1874-1965)
21. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “What is freedom of expression? Without the
freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” (Salman Rushdie 1947- )
22. Have students journal/discuss the quote: “Once a government is committed to the principle
of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of
increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and
creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” (Harry S. Truman, 1884-1972)
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Post-Reading Extension Activities and Alternative Assessment
©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Cross-Curricular Activities (Multiple Subjects)
1. Research the concept of a utopia versus a dystopia. What would be your ideal utopia? What
would be the your true dystopia? Explain. Create a detailed society and a specific
governmental system. You may use an existing governmental/economic system, or create
one of your own. Consider: democracy, totalitarianism, oligarchy, capitalism, communism,
socialism, etc. Research each and decide on your governmental/economic system. Some
things to consider in the creation of the utopia are a class system, laws, media, personal
freedoms, religion/rituals, values, family, natural resources, imports/exports, etc. Consider
the following: What does the world need more of? What does the world need less of? What
would be the goals or rules for a perfect world? The written report should be at least 2 pages
in length. Finally, draw a map of your utopia, indicating the name of the utopia and the
capital. After projects are complete, each student will choose which utopia they would like to
move to. The project with the most votes can receive extra credit, a homework pass or a
similar reward.
2. Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in 1953, a few years after the end of World War II. The
inspiration for the book came from an incident in Los Angeles in 1949 when he and a friend
were stopped and questioned by police for no reason. At the time, a great paranoia had
America by the throat—a period of extreme censorship and accusations of what were
perceived as “anti-American” activities. Create a PowerPoint presentation or brochure of this
tumultuous time in American history. Be sure to research Joseph McCarthy and the
McCarthy Trials, the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee), the “Red Scare,” the
book burnings in Nazi Germany, and the book bans of the 1950s.
3. Create a newspaper report (or front page of a newspaper) which includes local news (such as
the hunt for Montag), news on the “war”, advertisements, a “fashion” column, gossip, listing
of Parlor Wall shows, announcements, weather, the funny page, and any other propaganda.
Remember, it must follow the rules of this society. Allow only “readable” material.
4. Compare and contrast Fahrenheit 451 with another dystopian novel, such as George Orwell’s
1984 or Animal Farm, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Yevgeny Zamiatin’s We,
Equilibrium by Kurt Wimmer, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Player Piano or
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Anthem by Ayn Rand, or The Giver by Lois Lowry.
5. Fahrenheit 451’s main theme is the destructive effects of censorship. For this task, split into
two teams. Team One: Imagine you agree with the idea that Fahrenheit 451 is destructive in
and of itself. You and your group feel that Montag is a negative role model and that his
defiance of authority is destructive to teen readers. Take on the role of a book censor. In a
well-structured campaign, argue why defiance of authority is detrimental to society. Explore
the consequences and effects of defiance and rebellion. Discuss how the book Fahrenheit 451
destroys the image of authority and encourages teen readers to abandon order and the rules
of society. Team Two: Imagine that you are on the anti-censorship board of the Library
Association. Design a campaign that fights against the banning of Fahrenheit 451 and other
books. Be sure to look at the arguments presented by Team One in order to establish the
arguments in your favor. Once both teams have created their campaign, have a classroom
debate on whether or not Fahrenheit 451 and other books should be banned from our society.
Science/Technology
6. List the technologies of Fahrenheit 451 and describe their use and purpose in this society.
Explore which technologies might be possible and compare them to our technology today.
Are these technologies harmful or destructive as Bradbury has alluded? How might they
become harmful?
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide