Fahrenheit 451 Unit Test Study Guide ANSWER KEY
PART I. SHORT ANSWER.
Directions: Answer each question correctly. (does NOT have to be a complete sentence)
Part 1: The Hearth and the Salamander
1. What is the significance of Montag seeing his reflection in Clarisse’s eyes?
Montag sees himself as he really is for the very first time—unhappy.
2. Clarisse causes Montag to recall a childhood memory in which a wish was embedded. What was the
significance of the memory and the wish?
Montag wished that the power wouldn’t come back on because he had enjoyed the time spent in the
candle light talking to his mother. It is a significant wish because it shows his loneliness and longing
for true human communication and connection.
3. What two observations does Clarisse make about Montag’s conversational mannerisms?
First, she notices that Montag laughs when she wasn’t trying to be funny. He laughs because he is
uncomfortable being asked to think and talk. Second, she notices that Montag doesn’t stop to think
about his answers before he gives them.
4. What things do the McClellans do which cause them to be classified as peculiar?
The McClellans talk to each other.
5. What final question does Clarisse ask Montag on the night of their first encounter? Why is the
question important to the plot?
Clarisse asks Montag if he is happy. The question is important to the plot because it is the catalyst
which gets him thinking for the very first time. He realizes that he is not happy at all.
6. When Montag enters his home, he stares at the blank wall, but in memory sees Clarisse. What
extended simile describes how he sees her?
Montag describes her face as being like the dial of a small clock.
7. Find two further similes Montag uses to describe Clarisse. Do the similes serve any purpose other than
to characterize Clarisse?
First, Montag compares Clarisse’s face to a mirror. Next he says that Clarisse is like the “eager
watcher of a marionette show, anticipating each flicker of an eyelid, gesture of his hand, each flick
of a finger, the moment before it began” (Bradbury 11). These comparisons characterize Clarisse
as curious and observant, but they also tell the reader that she causes Montag to begin to reflect
back on himself and his own life.
8. Describe the bedroom which Montag enters. Whom does the setting characterize?
The bedroom is dark and has two separate single beds in it on opposite sides of the room. The
setting characterizes Mildred who is the epitome of the isolated society.
9. At this point of realization, what happens to the smile on Montag’s face, and what is his answer to
Clarisse’s question?
After Montag has his moment of realization, his smile fades and he knows that he is not happy.
10. What event occurs that night which provides Montag with an impression of the state of society? What
is that impression?
That night he walks into his bedroom and his wife Mildred has overdosed on pills in an attempt to
commit suicide. The technicians who come to pump her stomach tell her that this happens 8 or 9
times a night, which tells Montag that society as a whole is very unhappy and depressed.
11. In contrast, what does Montag next hear and long for?
Montag hears the laughter and chatter coming from Clarisse’s house. He longs for that kind of
communication.
12. What test of love does Clarisse give Montag, and how does he respond to it?
Clarisse holds a buttercup under his chin and claims that if it reflects yellow, then he is in love. The
buttercup doesn’t show yellow and so she says he must not be in love. Montag gets angry and tries
to argue that he loves his wife very much.
13. Describe Clarisse’s personality.
Clarisse is a talkative, curious girl who is considered “antisocial” by society because of her refusal
to follow by society’s rules.
14. What observations does Clarisse make about how Montag differs from other firemen?
Montag looks at her when she speaks to him (eye contact). Others would walk off and leave hear
talking or threaten her. Montag puts up with her (Bradbury 23).
15. Describe the mechanical hound.
The mechanical hound is a robotic dog that has 8 legs and a very sensitive nose. It is the weapon
the firemen use to hunt down criminals. It kills by inserting a needle full of morphine into its
victims.
16. What does “antisocial” mean? What does it mean in the society of Fahrenheit 451? To whom is the
term applied?
“Antisocial” in our modern world means that someone doesn’t like to socialize or speak with
others. In the society of Fahrenheit 451, “antisocial” is someone who doesn’t follow societies norms
such as watching tv all day. “Antisocial” people are concerned with talking and communicating
with others. The term is applied to Clarisse at school.
17. What does Clarisse say people talk about? Find some examples of representative conversations
throughout the book.
Clarisse says that people talk about nothing of importance. For example, when Montag is at the gas
station before he crosses the highway at the end of the novel, the men at the station discuss engines,
the money owed, and the gas instead of the war that was just declared over the radio. Other
examples include any time Mildred speaks or the conversations Mildred has with her neighbors.
18. During the card game at the fire station, what question does Montag ask? What does it contribute to
the plot?
Montag asks about firemen from the past and what it would feel like to have his house or his books
burned. This is foreshadowing for the end of the novel when Montag’s house and books are
burned.
19. What is the significance of the refrain repeated by the woman whose house was burned? What did it
mean? What is its effect on Montag?
The quote is significant because it becomes a motivational quote that propels Montag into no longer
wanting to be a fireman and realizing what they are doing is wrong. The quote is talking about
lighting a fire (sparking an idea) that will hopefully be so strong that it will never go out. The effect
on Montag is that it sparks a fire in him to learn what is really in these books that is deemed so
dangerous.
20. What does Montag think his feelings would be if his wife were to die?
He doesn’t think he would even cry.
21. What are Montag’s comments about the people in the walls?
Montag strongly dislikes the people from the parlor walls. He calls them family because they are a
constant presence in his home, yet they talk of nothing and are just simply loud.
22. What does Montag think about the old woman and all the books he has destroyed?
Montag thinks that the old woman must have known there was something in those books that made
her think they were worth dying for. He regrets burning books in the past.
23. Summarize Beatty’s explanation of how the need for firemen arose.
Beatty explains that firemen became the method of purging the world of anything that made them
sad or uncomfortable. The firemen would burn books and knowledge and slowly thinking would
be eradicated from the world leaving only the “fun” stuff like TV and driving too fast behind.
Part 2: The Sieve and the Sand
24. What is the meaning of the title of Part 2?
The title of part 2 references a childhood event of Montag’s. Montag’s cousin told him he would
give him a dime if he could fill the sieve with sand. Of course no matter how much sand he put in
the sieve he could never fill it because the sand fell through the gaps. This is a metaphor for how
Montag feels about knowledge. He worries that no matter how much he reads, the words will still
fall out of his mind. This causes him to begin his task of memorizing a book.
25. What is the importance of the dentrifice commercial?
The Dentrifice commercial represents the rest of society and how they hear the commercials and
memorize them as they are played loudly through the train. The people are remembering
something worthless and it frustrates Montag as he is trying to fill his mind with something
important.
26. Why does Montag go to see Faber?
Montag goes to see Faber because he is seeking his help. He wants to know what is so important
about books. He also wants Faber to help him spring a trap on all the firemen of the city in the
hopes of eradicating the job forever.
27. What does Faber tell Montag about books?
Faber tells Montag that it is not books he is looking for, but the information that the books
contained that allowed people to put pieces of the universe together in order to gain understanding.
28. What are the three things which Faber says are missing from society?
Faber says that quality of information, leisure time to think and digest the quality information, and
the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two, are what
is missing from society.
29. Describe the parlor women, their views, their conversational concerns.
The parlor women do not communicate with each other. They are completely absorbed in the
parlor walls. They become nervous and twitchy when Montag turns off the televisions. The women
have no opinions on the coming war, in fact they count on their husbands to do all the worrying for
them. Their only conversations are about what happens on the television.
30. Why does Montag read “Dover Beach” aloud to the ladies?
Montag hopes to scare the women into feeling or thinking about something that is truly important.
31. How do the women react?
They leave immediately. At least one of the women phones in a call to the fire station to report
Montag.
Part 3: Burning Bright
32. What is Mildred’s main concern as she runs out of the house?
Mildred is concerned about the family from the parlor walls. She is upset because they are gone.
33. What feelings does Montag have about the burning house?
Montag enjoys burning his house because he feels like he is getting a clean start.
34. While Montag was in flight from the scene of Beatty’s murder, what thought occurred to him about
Beatty?
Montag realizes that Beatty wanted to die.
35. What is the explanation which Montag and Faber arrive at for how so very much could have happened
within one week?
Montag and Faber decide that this had been coming for a long time.
36. What are Montag’s impressions of the land across the river?
Montag is overwhelmed by the countryside and its smells, sounds, and sights.
37. When Montag complained about being unable to remember Mildred, what explanation did Granger
give him?
Granger explains that in order for someone to be remembered they must have made an impression
or changed the world in some way. Mildred just existed, but did not make an impact on anyone
while she was around, therefore Montag cannot remember her.
38. What was Granger’s philosophy on life, taught to him by his grandfather, and handed on to Montag?
Granger’s philosophy on life was to remember that we are just a tiny part of this planet and not to
get caught up in our own self-importance.
39. Describe the effects of the war as Montag imagined them.
The city was destroyed in mere moments. The world was turned upside down and then returned to
earth as ashes.
40. What is the promise at the end of the novel?
The promise at the end of the novel is to always remember so that the new society can hopefully
learn from the mistakes of the past.
PART II: FILL IN THE BLANK.
Quotes.
Identify the speaker of the following quotes. Each speaker is used once.
Clarisse
Guy
Mildred
Beatty
Faber
1. “There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning
house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”
__Guy____________________
2. “Out of the nursery into the college and back to the nursery; there’s your intellectual
pattern for the past five centuries…” __________Beatty____________
3. “Oh, just my mother and father and uncle sitting around, talking. It’s like being a pedestrian, only
rarer. My uncle was arrested another time – did I tell you? – for being a pedestrian. Oh, we’re most
peculiar.” _____Clarisse_________________
4. “She’s nothing to me; she shouldn’t have had books! It was her responsibility; she should’ve thought
of that. I hate her.” ______Mildred________________
5. “If you put it in your ear … I can sit comfortably home, warming my frightened bones, and hear and
analyze the firemen’s world, find its weaknesses without danger. I’m the Queen Bee, safe in the hive.
You will be the drone, the traveling ear.” ______Faber________________
Literary Devices.
Identify the literary devices in the following sentences. Each term is used once.
personification
allusion
simile
metaphor
alliteration
paradox
6. “[T]he flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house.”
____personification__________________
symbol
7. “Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun and now that he’s burnt his damn wings, he wonders why.”
___Allusion___________________
8. “He opened the bedroom door. It was like coming into the cold marbled room of a mausoleum after
the moon has set.” ____Simile__________________
9. “The Mechanical Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live …” ____paradox____________
10. “Denham’s Dandy Dental Detergent, Denham’s Dentrifice …” ____alliteration_________________
11. “The whole culture’s shot through. The skeleton needs melting and reshaping.”
___metaphor___________________
12. “ … she seemed hypnotized by the salamander on his arm and the phoenix disc on his chest …”
___symbol___________________
Theme.
Identify the themes illustrated in the following sentences. Each theme is used once.
conformity
change and transformation
reliance on technology
alienation and loneliness
censorship
13. “But they all say the same things and nobody says anything different from anyone else.”
___conformity___________________
14. “Don’t step on the toes of the dog lovers … Baptists … Texans …. The bigger your market, Montag,
the less you handle controversy! …. Magazines became a nice blend of vanilla tapioca.”
___censorship___________________
15. “He made more soft sounds. He stumbled toward the bed and shoved the book clumsily under the
cold pillow. He fell into the bed and his wife cried out started. He lay far across the room from here, on a
winter island separated by an empty sea.”
____alienation and loneliness__________________
16. “We’ve got to start somewhere here, figuring out why we’re in such a mess, you and the medicine
nights, and the car, and me and my work. We’re heading right for the cliff, Millie. God, I don’t want to
go over. This isn’t going to be easy. We haven’t got anything to go on, but maybe we can piece it
together and figure it and help each other…And if there is something here, just one little thing out of a
whole mess of things, maybe we can pass it on to someone else.” _change and transformation_______
17. “Mildred watched the toast delivered to her plate. She had both ears plugged with electronic bees that
were humming the hour away…. She was an expert at lip reading from ten years of apprenticeship at
Seashell ear thimbles.” ___reliance on technology___________________
PART III. VOCABULARY.
Directions: Match each vocabulary term to its definition.
J 1. Melancholy
G 2. Ballistics
F 3. Imperceptible
I 4. Capillary
H 5. Stolid
C 6. Heresy
D 7. Multifaceted
B 8. Refracted
A 9. Sedative
E 10. Pulverize
T 11. Odious
O 12. Ravenous
R 13. Noncombustible
S 14. Pratfall
Q 15. Cacophony
M 16. Tactile
K 17. Jargon
L 18. Dictum
N 19. Stagnant
P 20. Bestial
U 21. Verbiage
Z 22. Radical
BB 23. Cowardice
AA 24. Cadenced
DD 25. Manifested
CC 26. Receptacle
V 27. Parried
Y 28. Pantomime
W 29. Simultaneously
X 30. Retaliation
A. a substance that induces relaxation by reducing irritability or excitement
B. deflected from a straight path
C. a belief or opinion that does not agree with the official belief of a religion
D. having many faces
E. to reduce to powder
F. impossible to detect using ordinary senses
G. the study of the dynamics of projectiles
H. having little emotion
I. fine, small in diameter
J. sadness; gloominess
K. special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession
L. authoritative pronouncement
M. relating to the sense of touch
N. motionless; having no current or flow and often smelling badly
O. extremely hungry; greedy for gratification
P. resembling a beast, showing lack of human sensibility
Q. a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds
R. does not burn easily
S. humiliating failure
T. arousing strong dislike or displeasure
U. wordiness
V. deflected; avoided
W. at the same time
X. returning like for like
Y. communication by means of gesture and facial expression
Z. one who advocates fundamental or revolutionary changes
AA. with a rhythmic flow
BB. ignoble in the face of danger
CC. a container that holds matter
DD. display or show (a quality of feeling) by one’s acts or appearance
PART IV. SYMBOLISM
Directions: Answer the question: What do each of the following represent in the novel?
Fire – Destruction (inside the city); cleansing; warming (outside the city)
Books – knowledge; ideas
Clarisse – enlightenment; freedom of thought
Mirrors – need to reflect and think; self-awareness
Parlor walls – mind-numbing technology; censorship; the breakdown of the family unit
Mechanical hound – the threat of too much technology; government control