Fahrenheit 451-The hearth and the salamander
Page 17 -18 act 1
Montag slows almost to a stop. He turns the corner to see a girl, moving in a way that makes her seem
fixed to a sliding walk in deep thought. He approaches cautiously.
Montag: Who is she?
The girl notices Montag
Clarisse: Good evening.
Montag: Good evening. You must be our new neighbor.
Noticing Montag's fireman symbols
Clarisse : The fireman.
Montag: How oddly you say that.
Clarisse: I'd have known it with my eyes shut.
Montag: So, what are you doing out so late?
Clarisse: Oh, I'm just out for a walk. It's a beautiful night, isn't it?
Montag: Beautiful? I suppose so. But don't you know it's against the law to be out alone at this hour?
Clarisse: Laws don't seem to matter much anymore, do they?
Montag is taken aback by her response, intrigued by her unconventional attitude.
Montag: What do you mean?
Clarisse: I mean, people don't think for themselves anymore. They're too busy with their screens and their
pills to notice the world around them.
Montag is silent, absorbing her words.
Montag: You're different.
Clarisse: So are you.
A moment of silence.
Clarisse: I'm Clarisse McClellan.
Montag: Guy Montag.
Pages 38-39 Act 2
The Hound leapind out, holding its victim, inserting needle and going back to its kennel to die as if a
switch had been turned. Montag touched the muzzle. The Hound growled. Montag jumped back. The
Hound half rose in its kennel and looked at him with green-blue neon light flickering in its suddenly
activated eye bulbs.
Montag (nervously): "Easy there, boy. I'm just passing through."
The hound emits a low growl, its metal frame shifting as it sizes up Montag. Suddenly, it lunges forward,
its jaws snapping shut just inches from Montag's face.
Montag (startled): "Whoa! Easy, easy! I don't want any trouble."
The hound retreats slightly, its eyes still fixed on Montag. It emits a series of mechanical whirrs and
clicks, almost as if it's analyzing him.
Pages 45-46 Act 3
Montag (hesitant): What—was it always like this? The firehouse, our work? I mean, well, once upon a
time...
The captain of the fire department Beatty (suspicious): Once upon a time! What kind of talk is that?
Montag (thinks to himself.): Fool, you’ll give it away.
Montag (speaking as if younger): I mean, in the old days, before homes were completely fireproofed,
didn’t firemen prevent fires rather than stoke them up and get them going?
Beatty (mocking): That’s rich! Boy look at this.A rule book that takes back to the time of Benjamin
Franklin.
It mentioned:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Answer the alarm quickly.
Start the fire swiftly.
Burn everything.
Report back to firehouse immediately.
Stand alert for other alarms.
Pages 48 -54 Act 4
Montag, Beatty, Stoneman, and Black arrive at the house in fireproof slickers. They crash through the
front door. The Old Woman is standing inside, staring at a wall.
Beatty (to the Old Woman): Where are they?
Old Woman: You know where they are or you wouldn’t be here.
Beatty: All right, men, let’s get ’em!
(They rush upstairs, swinging silver hatchets at the doors. Books fall on Montag as he climbs the stairs.)
Montag (to himself): How inconvenient! Always before it had been like snuffing a candle.
(He sees a line from a book: “Time has fallen asleep in the afternoon sunshine.”)
Montag (to himself): Time has fallen asleep...
(He crushes the book to his chest.)
They continue to destroy books one after another
Beatty (to the Old Woman): You know the law. None of those books agree with each other.
Old Woman: You can’t ever have my books.
Beatty: The whole house is going up.
(The men prepare to leave.)
Montag (protesting): You’re not leaving her here?
Beatty: She won’t come. Force her, then!
Montag: “You can come with me.”
Old Woman: No, thank you
Beatty: I’m counting to ten. One. Two.
(The Old Woman reveals a matchstick.)
Beatty: Go on!
(Montag backs away as the Old Woman strikes the match. The fumes of kerosene bloom up about her.
Montag feels the hidden book pound like a heart against his chest.
Pages Act 5
Mildred: You’ve never been sick before.
(Montag closes his eyes against the pain.)
Montag: Will you bring me aspirin and water?
Mildred: You’ve got to get up. It’s noon. You’ve slept five hours later than usual.
Montag: “Will you turn the parlor off?”
Mildred: “That’s my family.”
Montag: “Will you turn it off for a sick man?”
Mildred: “I’ll turn it down.”
She goes out of the room and does nothing to the parlor, then comes back.
Mildred: “Is that better?”
Montag: “Thanks.”
Mildred: “That’s my favorite program.”
Montag: “What about the aspirin?”
Mildred: “You’ve never been sick before.”
Montag: “Well, I’m sick now. I’m not going to work tonight. Call Beatty for me.”
Mildred: “You acted funny last night.”
Montag: “Where’s the aspirin?”
Mildred: “Oh.” “Did something happen?”
Montag: “A fire, is all.”
Mildred: “I had a nice evening.”
Montag: “What doing?”
Mildred: “The parlor.”
Montag: “What was on?”
Mildred: “Programs.”
Montag: “What programs?”
Mildred: “Some of the best ever.”
Montag: “Who?”
Mildred: “Oh, you know, the bunch.”
Montag: “Yes, the bunch, the bunch, the bunch.”
(Silence.)
Montag: “We burned an old woman with her books.”
(Mildred starts cleaning the room.)
Mildred: “It’s a good thing the rug’s washable.” She fetches a mop and works on it. He hears her singing.
Montag: “Mildred?”
She returns, singing, snapping her fingers softly.
Pages 82-83 Act 6
A pile of books surround the pair.
“Mrs. Montag, Mrs. Montag, someone here, someone here, Mrs. Montag, Mrs. Montag, someone here.”
[They both turn to stare at the door, which continues to voice softly.]
Mildred: (whispering) “Beatty!”
Montag: “It can’t be him.”
Mildred: “He’s come back!” (whispers)
[The front door voice calls softly again, “Someone here...”]
Mildred: “We won’t answer.”
The front door voice speaks more insistently, and Montag picks up a single small volume from the floor.
Montag: “Where do we begin?” (He opens the book halfway and peers at it.) “We begin by beginning, I
guess.”
Mildred: “He’ll come in and burn us and the books!”
[The front door voice fades, leaving silence. Montag senses someone beyond the door, waiting and
listening. Then, footsteps recede down the walk and over the lawn.]
Montag: “Let’s see what this is.”
Montag: “ ‘It is computed, that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than
submit to break their eggs at the smaller end.’ ”
Mildred: (confused) “What does it mean? It doesn’t mean anything! The Captain was right!”
Montag: “Here now. We’ll start over again, at the beginning.”