Literary Unit for Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 Literary Terms to Know
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
o Exposition- the beginning of a story in which the main characters, conflicts, and
setting are introduced
o Rising action- the action that takes place before the climax; the plot becomes more
complicated, leading to the climax
o Climax- the turning point of the story; emotional high point for the protagonist
o Falling action- the action that takes place after the climax, leading to the resolution
o Resolution- the end of a story; problems are solved, and the characters’ futures are
foreshadowed
• Conflict- the struggle(s) between opposing forces, usually characters
o Internal conflict- a character’s struggle with himself or his conscience
o 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
o Protagonist- the central character in a story; struggles against the antagonist
o 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
o Physical- the physical environment in which a story takes place; this includes the
social and political environment, as well as the mood or atmosphere
o 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
o Narrator- the “voice” that tells a story; may or may not reflect the opinions and
attitudes of the author himself
o 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.
o 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
o 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
2 Exploring Expository Writing
Author Biography: Ray Bradbury
Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious and anything selfconscious 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 wellknown 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
3 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.
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
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
modern- day life is astounding. According to Bradbury, he was considering the impact of radio and the
newly- invented 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
4 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.
Standards Focus: Exploring Expository Writing
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.
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2. Ray Bradbury was greatly influenced by environmental circumstances in his very early life. Cite
some of those influences as mentioned in the article.
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3. In three or four sentences, give a brief explanation of how the incident with Mr. Electrico changed
Bradbury’s life. ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________
4. If you were given the opportunity to interview Ray Bradbury, what two questions would you ask
him?
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______________________________________________________________________
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.
5 Standards Focus: Historical Context
The History of Book Burning as a Form of Censorship
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.
6 Standards Focus: Historical Context
The Most Frequently Banned or Challenged Books of the 20th Century
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.
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 & 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 and the Rye by J.D. Salinger
11. The Giver by Lois Lowery
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 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
1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark
Twain
2. Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck
3. Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
4. Forever by Judy Blume
5. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Peterson
6. Alice (series) by Phylliss Reynolds Naylor
7. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea
Newman
8. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln
Collier and Christopher Collier
9. The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger
10. The Giver by Lois Lowery
11. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
12. Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine
13. A day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton
Peck
14. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
15. Sex by Madonna
16. Earth’s Children (series) by Jean M. Auel
The 10 Most Frequently Challenged
Books of the 21st Century (2000-2005)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Alice (series) by Phylliss Reynolds Naylor
Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya
Angelou
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
Forever by Judy Blume
Source: American Library Association www.ala.org
7 Standards Focus: Allusion and Terminology to Know
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 if 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.
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.
8 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-theblank” 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.
Part 2: The Sieve and the Sand
1. “A dwarf on a giant’s shoulders sees the
furthest of the two”: from Welsh poet, orator,
and priest George Herbert’s *(1593-18633)
Jacula Prudentum
2. “The folly of mistaking a metaphor for a
proof...”: from French poet Paul Valéry’s
(1871-1945) Introduction to the Method of
Leonardo da Vinci. The quote is actually: “The
folly of mistaking a paradox for a discovery, a
metaphor for a proof, a torrent of verbiage for a
spring of capital truths, and oneself for an
oracle, is inborn in us.”
3. “A kind of excellent dumb discourse,
Willie!”: from Shakespeare’s Tempest, Act III,
scene iii, “A kin/Of excellent dumb discourse.”
4. “A little learning is a dangerous thing...”:
from Alexander Pope’s (1688-1744) An Essay
on Criticism.
5. “All's well that is well in the end”: refers to
Shakespeare's comedy All's Well that Ends Well.
6. “Carcasses bleed at the sight of the
murderer”: from Robert Burton’s (1577-1640),
Anatomy of Melancholy.
7. “Consider the lilies of the field...”: from the
New Testament of the Bible, the book of
Matthew, Chapter Six, verse 28. “Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not,
neither do they spin.” From Jesus’s Sermon on
the Mount.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
“Dover Beach”: a poem by British poet and
critic Matthew Arnold (1822-1888).
“half out of the cave”: refers to Plato’s The
Republic, Book Seven, in which the idea
“things may be beyond what they seem.” This
idea created using an allegory in which people
are imprisoned in a cave and only see shadows
of the truth of what is actually casting the
shadows. To them, however, the “truth” is the
shadows.
“He is no wise man who will quit a certainty
for an uncertainty”: quote by Samuel
Johnson (1709- 1784) from “The Idler,” a
series of essays published from 1750-1760.
“Job and Ruth and Willie Shakespeare:
refers to the Book of Job (see number 40), the
Book of Ruth from the Old Testament of the
Bible, and William Shakespeare.
“Knowledge is more than equivalent to
force!”: quote by Samuel Johnson (17091784) from his fictional prose Rasselas, in
which a Prince and three others travel in
search of happiness.
“Knowledge is power!”: a quote by British
Lawyer, philosopher, and essayist Francis
Bacon (1561-1626) from Meditationes Sacrae.
“Oh God, he speaks only of his horse”: from
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice; a
variation from Portia’s complaint about the
Neapolitan prince: “Ay, that’s a colt indeed,
for he doth nothing but talk of his horse.” Act
1, scene 2, lines 39-40.
“Remember, Caesar, thou art mortal.”:
Roman Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44
BC), known for his pomposity and disregard
to “Beware the ides of March” in
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar; killed by his
friends and colleagues, the Roman Senators.
Could also refer to Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s
(1809-1892) poem “The Ancient Sage”—
“Thou canst not prove thou art immortal, no /
Nor yet that thou art mortal—
“sheep returns to the fold”: possible
reference to Irving Berlin’s (1888-1989) song
“When the Black Sheep Returns to the Fold.”
From his father and mother to roam / Through
his travels he may be misguided / But when
fin'lly the black sheep comes home / Ev'rything
that he did is forgotten/ And they welcome him
back to the fold; based upon the “Parable of
the Lost Sheep” from Luke 15: 3-7 of the New
Testament.
9 17. “Sweet food of sweetly uttered knowledge”:
from Philip Sidney’s (1554-1586) “The Defense
of Poesy” in which Sidney argues the need for
literature to inspire action.
18. “That favourite subject, Myself”: Quote from
a letter to Sir William Temple by James
Boswell, dated July 16, 1763.
19. “The Devil can cite Scripture for his
Purpose”: also from Shakespeare’s The
Merchant of Venice, Act I, scene 3, line 93; a
reference to using what you can to make your
point work to your advantage
20. “The dignity of truth is lost with much
protesting”: from Ben Jonson’s (1572-1637),
Cateline: His Conspiracy, Act III, scene 2
21. “They are never alone that are accompanied
with noble thoughts”: from Sir Philip Sidney’s
(1554-1586) Arcadia.
22. “This age thinks better of a gilded fool than of
a threadbare saint in wisdom's school”: from
Old Fortunatus by Thomas Dekker (1572-1632),
an English playwright.
23. “Truth is truth, to the end of reckoning”: a
line from Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure,
Act V, Scene i, line 45.
24. “Truth will come to light, murder will not be
hid long”: from William Shakespeare’s The
Merchant of Venice.
25. “We cannot tell the precise moment when
friendship is formed...”: Quote by James
Boswell (1740-1795), a lawyer, friend, and
biographer of Samuel Johnson (1709-1784),
who wrote the Dictionary of the English
Language in 1755. Quote comes from The Life
of Johnson, Volume 3.
26. “Words are like leaves and where they most
abound...”: from Alexander Pope’s (16881744) An Essay on Criticism, a series of poems
contending that bad criticism is worse than bad
poetry.
27. Antaeus: a God from Greek mythology, known
for his strength as long as he was on the ground;
Hercules found out the source of his power and
lifted him off the ground until he died
28. Caesar’s praetorian guard: the Praetorians
were soldiers who protected Rome and the
Emperor; known for their unusual control over
those they were supposed to protect; believed to
have murdered Caligula and replaced him with
Claudius.
29. Caesarian section: a surgical incision
performed to deliver a baby; named from the
belief that Julius Caesar was born by this
operation
30. Cheshire Cat smiles: refers to a fictional cat in
Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland; known for
its wide grin, philosophical debate, and
disappearing body (leaving only his grin). The
Cheshire grin also hints at a sense of hidden
mischievousness and mystery
31. Hercules: the Roman equivalent of Greek
mythology’s Heracles; known for his inhuman
strength and brawn
32. Milton: John Milton (1608-1674); an English
poet and civil servant best known for his epic
poem Paradise Lost, which contemplates the
punishment of Hell, and his Areopagitica, which
condemns censorship.
33. Milton: John Milton (1608-1674); an English
poet and civil servant best known for his epic
poem Paradise Lost, which contemplates the
punishment of Hell, and his Areopagitica, which
condemns censorship.
34. Mr. Thoreau: Henry David Thoreau (18171862), an American author and philosopher
known for Walden and Civil Disobedience, the
latter an argument for individual resistance
against government.
35. Pirandello: Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936),
influential Italian playwright and novelist known
for Six Characters in Search of an Author, and
The Imbecile; won the Nobel Prize for Literature
in 1934.
36. Plato: Greek philosopher (427-347BC), a
brilliant writer believed to have been a student of
Socrates. Known for his dialogues and The
Republic, which includes the famous allegory of
the cave.
37. Shakespeare: William Shakespeare, English
poet and playwright (1564-1616); known for his
plays and sonnets read throughout the world,
such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth,
Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
and more.
38. Shaw: George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950),
famous Irish playwright known for his harsh
social & political criticism; known for such
works as Pygmalion, Major Barbara, Arms &
the Man, Man &Superman,& Heartbreak House.
39. Sophocles: Sophocles (495-406BC) was one of
the great Greek philosophers and tragedians
(along with Aeschylus and Euripides); known for
his famous plays Oedipus and Antigone.
40. The Book of Job: a Book from the Old
Testament of the Bible; tells the stories of Job
being tested by God— essentially questions the
idea “Why do bad things happen to good
people?”
10 41. trench mouth: An infectious disease producing
mouth ulcers in the mucus membranes of the
mouth and throat
42. Vesuvius: a volcano near Naples that erupted
August 24, 79 AD, burying the citizens of
Pompeii.
Part 3: Burning Bright
1. “And on either side of the river was there a
tree of life...”: from Revelations 22:2-3 “On this
side of the river and on that was the tree of life,
bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit
every month. The leaves of the tree were for the
healing of the nations. There will be no curse any
more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be
in it, and his servants serve him.”
2. “atom-bomb mushroom”: refers to the atomic
bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945.
3. “coat of a thousand colors”: from Genesis 37:3–
4; refers to a coat given to Joseph by his father
Jacob; Joseph’s brothers are jealous of the coat
and pour goat’s blood on it to ruin it.
4. “Don’t judge a book by its cover”: an
American idiom, stating that one should not
judge the contents of a person’s character inside
by what he looks like on the outside
5. “Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun and
now that he’s burnt his damn wings, he
wonders why”: alludes to the Icarus myth from
Greek mythology: Icarus was warned by his
father Daedulus not to fly too close to the sun,
since his wings were made of wax; Icarus was
very curious, however, and ended up falling into
the sea to his death because his wings melted.
6. “stuff of dreams”: possible allusion to The
Tempest, Act 5, by Shakespeare “We are such
stuff / As dreams are made on; and our little life /
Is rounded with a sleep.
7. “There is no terror, Cassius, in your
threats...”: Brutus’s line from Act IV, scene 3, of
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
8. “To everything there is a season”: from
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
9. Abraham Lincoln: (1809-1865) American
politician and 16th president of the United States;
best known for his work in abolishing slavery and
for his untimely assassination in a theater.
10. Albert Schweitzer: (1875-1965), a German
philosopher, physician, and humanitarian;
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952.
11. Aristophanes: (448-525BC), a Greek dramatist
known for his comedies Lysistrata, The Birds,
and The Frogs.
12. Bertrand Russell: (1872-1970) a British
philosopher and mathematician awarded
Nobel Laureate in Literature in 1950.
13. Book of Ecclesiastes: a part of the Old
Testament; contains the reflections of “the
Preacher” in which the idea of striving for
anything is in vain, since we all are going
to die.
14. Book of Revelation: The last book of
the New Testament; in this book, the
violent end of the world is foretold.
15. Burning Bright: From William
Blake's(1757-1827) poem, "The Tiger":
“Tiger, tiger, burning bright / in the forests of
the night / What immortal hand or eye / Could
frame thy fearful symmetry?”
16. Byron: Lord George Gordon Byron (17881824); an English poet known for his creation
of the Byronic Hero.
17. cardamom, and moss, and ragweed: a series
of plants which are highly aromatic and may
be used for spice or flavoring in foods.
18. Charles Darwin: an American scientist
(1809-1882) whose theories explained the
origin of species and natural selection; wrote
On the Origins of Species in 1859.
19. Christ: Jesus Christ, the central figure of
Christianity
20. Confucius: (551-479BC) a famous Chinese
social philosopher; hugely influential on
Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Korean
thought.
21. Constitution: The Constitution of the United
States, the fundamental law framed in 1787,
then ratified in 1789, and since amended many
times throughout history.
22. Dark Age: the European Early Middle Ages,
from about 476-1000; known for its lack of
written literature, scientific advancements, and
cultural achievements.
23. Gutama Budda: (562-483BC) a spiritual
leader and teacher from ancient India and the
founder of Buddhism.
24. Keystone comedy: a short film of the silent
movie era, featuring “Keystone Kops,” which
were a team of comic policemen known for
their antics and slapstick humor.
25. Machiavelli: Niccolò di Bernardo dei
Machiavelli (1469-1527); a key figure of the
Italian Renaissance, known for The Prince, a
landmark work on the history of political
power.
11 26. Magna Carta: an English charter written in
27.
28.
29.
30.
1915, considered one of the greatest
achievements toward democracy and an
influence on the Constitution and Bill of
Rights.
Mahatma Ghandi: (1869-1948) a major
political and spiritual leader in India; known
for his promotion of non-violence and truth
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: four
gospels of the New Testament narrating the
life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Schopenhauer: Arthur Schopenhauer (17881860), a German philosopher best known for
his work The World as Will and Reputation.
status quo: the existing condition or state of
affairs.
31. Thomas Love Peacock: (1785-1866) An
English satirist known for his satire in the
realm of novels, plays, poetry, and essays
32. Thomas Paine: (1737-1809) an American
revolutionary and intellectual radical known
best for his pamphlet Common Sense.
33. Thoreau’s Walden: Walden, or Life in the
Woods, written by Henry David Thoreau (see
#34 in Part Two); one of the most famous
works of non-fiction in American Literature.
34. V-2 Rocket: The first long-range liquid fueled
missile carrying one ton of explosives, used
first by the Germans in WWII.
12 Anticipation/Reaction Activity
Directions: Before reading Fahrenheit 451, you will look at some of the
themes presented in the novel. For each of the following statements,
respond with your own thoughts about the statement. You may “agree”,
“disagree”, or “agree under certain circumstances”. For each, be sure to
explain the reasoning behind your response.
1.
Communication through email, the Internet, or the telephone is just as significant and real as a
face-to-face conversation. Your reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2.
With the invention of technology such as cell phones and the Internet, people are becoming more
self-reliant and secluded. Your reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3.
People are moving faster and faster these days, and do not have time for anyone else. Your
reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
4.
What’s happening in the rest of the world is not important as long as we are happy. Your
reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
5.
It is not important to learn in school anything other than what you will need to use in a job. Your
reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
13 6.
Books do not have anything you can teach or believe, and contain only non-existent people and
figments of imagination. Your reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
7.
How things happen the way they do is not as important as why things happen the way they do.
Your reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
8.
Knowledge is power. Your reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
9.
Not everyone is born free and equal, so it is up to society to make everyone alike and equal. Your
reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
10. Everyone has a deep fear of being inferior. Your reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
11. If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a political question to
worry him; only present him with one side of the argument. Your reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
12. If you pretend you know everything, you will never be able to learn from your mistakes. Your
reaction:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
14 Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Note-Taking and Summarizing
For some students, reading can be a difficult, tedious task. Part of the problem is that many students do not
have the tools to read for meaning, and become disinterested because they cannot follow the action or do not
understand, or cannot relate to, the events or the characters. To develop good reading habits, there are a few
steps that you can take which will help you to understand and appreciate what you are reading.
As you read each section of Fahrenheit 451:
Question—Ask yourself, where is this story or scene, etc. taking place? What has happened before this?
Who are the people involved? What do I not understand? What do I need to re-read? What do I need
my teacher to clarify? Do the Comprehension Check questions or answers leave you with more questions
or problems you need to clarify? Use this section to ask those questions.
Connect—Try to relate to the events or characters in what you are reading. Has this or something like
this ever happened to you? How did you handle this situation? Have you ever known a person like any of
the characters? What other situations come to mind when reading? Why? Are there any lessons or
themes you have seen before?
After you read each section of Fahrenheit 451:
Comprehension Check Notes—Use this space to write notes about important points from the
Comprehension Check questions for each section.
Summarize—Break down the most important information, details, or events of the story. Retell the
events of the story in your own words.
Predict—Try to make a guess or prediction as to what may happen next in the novel. This will help you
to stay focused on what you read next, as you try to unravel the story. What will happen next? What effect
will this event have on those involved?
Reflect—Think about why you are reading the story. What do you think is the theme? What have you
learned so far? Why are you reading this particular text in school? Do you like the story? Why or why
not? Would you want to read or learn more about this author/genre/topic? Why or why not?
To help you become a more successful reader, you will be completing an activity for each section of Fahrenheit
451. Each activity is designed to help you understand the action, conflict, and those involved in the story, and
to eventually appreciate the author’s reasons for writing the novel. Below is a sample of the chart you will be
completing.
Question
In this space, write the names of the people involved, as well as where and when the story is taking
place. Next, write down questions you have about the novel, and any questions about the reading
that you do not understand and/or would like your teacher to clarify. Do the Comprehension Check
questions or answers leave you with more questions or problems you need to clarify?
Connect
In this space, write down anything that you find familiar: either a situation you have
experienced, a character that reminds you of someone, or an event from the story that is similar to
something you have already read.
Comprehension
Check Notes
Use this space to write notes about important points from the Comprehension Check questions for
each section.
Summarize
Retell, in your own words, the action and important details of your reading. Your summary
should not be more than about one paragraph, or 5-7 sentences long.
Predict
In this space, write your prediction of what you think will happen next. What effect will this event
have on those involved?
Reflect
©2007
In this space, write down any quotes, sayings, or moments that affect you in some way.
So far, what do you think is the reason the author wrote this novel? Are there any themes you
recognize? Do you like the novel so far? Why or why not? What changes could be made so that you
understand or connect with the novel better? What else would you like to learn about this
author/genre/topic?
Secondary Solutions
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
15 Name _____________________________________
Period _______
PartOne:
One: The
the
Salamander
Part
TheHearth
Hearthand
and
the
Salamander
Note-Takingand
andSummarizing
Summarizing
Note-taking
Question
Connect
Comprehension
Check Notes
Summarize
Predict
Reflect
©2007
Secondary Solutions
- 21 -
16 Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander
Comprehension Check
Directions: To give you a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the novel,
chooser 10 of the following questions to answer for Part One on a separate sheet of
paper.
1. At the beginning of the story, how does Montag feel about his job? Give specific
examples to support your response.
2. What is your first impression of Clarisse?
3. What memory does Montag’s encounter with Clarisse arouse?
4. What is Montag’s reaction to Clarisse’s question: “Have you ever read any of the books
you burn?”
5. What do Clarisse and Montag argue about? What does Clarisse tell Montag that firemen
used to do?
6. Explain the significance of Clarisse’s speech about “blurs.” Why are billboards 200 feet
long?
7. Why was Clarisse’s uncle arrested? What does this indicate about the society in which
they live?
8. What question finally offends Montag?
9. What does his encounter with Clarisse remind him of?
10. What do you think the author meant when he said “How rarely did other people’s faces
take of you and throw back to you your own expression, your own innermost trembling
thought”? What does this question reveal about Montag’s state of mind?
11. How does the author describe Montag’s home?
12. Why do you think Montag did not want to open the curtains or windows?
13. What does Montag find under the bed?
14. Describe the machines. What do they do to Mildred? How do the men treat their
“patient”? Why is it so “routine” to them?
15. What does Montag hear after the men leave? What is his reaction?
16. Mildred’s ear pieces have been described as “electronic bees,” “mosquito hums,” and
“hidden wasps.” What are these earpieces? Why does she always have one in her ear?
Why do you think Bradbury compares these devices to insects?
17. How does Mildred react when Montag tells her what happened the night before?
18. What is Mildred’s “script” about? What part does she play? Why does she want to buy a
fourth wall?
19. Why does Clarisse insist that Montag is not like the others?
20. Describe the Mechanical Hound. What is its purpose? How does Montag feel about the
Hound?
21. Why is Clarisse considered “anti-social”? How do the kids in this society entertain
themselves? What is your reaction to this?
22. What do people talk about in this society? How is this different from our own society?
Why do you think Clarisse has such a problem with everything being “abstract”?
23. What does Montag continually hear overhead?
24. Why do you think the woman stays in her house while it is burning?
17 25. What does Montag take from the burning house? Why? What does he do with it
afterward?
26. What does Montag ask Millie about their past?? Why do you think he asks her this
important question?
27. What does Montag realize about his relationship with his wife?
28. How does Mildred feel toward the characters in the parlor? Why is this disturbing to
Montag?
29. What does Mildred tell Montag about Clarisse? How does she deliver this news?
30. Describe Montag and Mildred’s relationship.
31. What does Montag learn about Beatty from his visit?
32. What does Beatty tell Montag about how books disappeared? What is your reaction to
his explanation?
33. From Beatty’s speech, what does Bradbury reveal about his own fears about society?
What ideas/concepts are true in our modern society?
34. How do you feel about Bradbury’s predictions of school? Are there any truths to this
assessment?
35. According to Beatty, who is to blame for the banishment and burning of books?
36. What are the people in this society allowed to read? What is the purpose of reading in
this society?
37. According to Beatty, what is the firemen’s primary job? What is the ultimate goal in this
society?
38. What do the firemen do if one of their own “accidentally” steals a book?
39. Why are there no longer front porches in this society?
40. What does Montag show Millie? What is her immediate reaction?
18 Part One –Standards Focus: Setting, Tone, and Mood
Setting is the time, place, and atmosphere in which the action of a story takes place. Setting
can include time of day, weather, season, era, location, and social or political atmosphere; for
example: The year is 1914. It is early morning, outside the barn on Foster’s farm in Glenn,
Kansas. The sun is rising slowly, and the animals begin to flutter about, welcoming a new day.
Tone is the author’s attitude toward his subject; a clever writer can use a sympathetic tone to
make the reader feel sorry for a character, for example. Conversely, writers can use a distant,
detached tone to keep the reader from relating to or feeling sentiment for a character. Some
words to describe tone are: somber, sarcastic, bitter, matter-of-fact, sentimental, etc.
Mood is the general emotional response that a reader feels when reading. Writers use
figurative language, details, dialogue, and foreshadowing to help set the mood in a piece of
literature. Mood is often expressed in adjectives which describe how the writer intends to
make you feel, like: tense, serene, somber, optimistic, dark, and depressed. In Part One,
Bradbury creates a mood of tension and unrest from the very first sentences of the novel: “It
was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened
and changed.” By equating the idea of “pleasure” with burning and fire, we immediately feel
uneasy. Our conscience tells us that something on fire is generally a bad thing. Directions: For each of the quotes from the text, underline the words that reveal the
setting, including clues about time, place, and atmosphere, then on the line labeled “setting,”
explain how these particular words indicate specifics about the setting. Next, explain the
tone Bradbury uses to create mood. Include comments on the use of figurative language,
imagery, etc., if apparent. Finally, describe the mood of the excerpt using as many details
and appropriate adjectives as possible. An example has been done for you.
Ex. “The autumn leaves blew over the moonlit pavement in such a way as to make the girl who was
moving there seem fixed to a sliding walk, letting the motion of the wind and the leaves carry her
forward.”
a. Setting: It is autumn, after dark. It is windy and leaves are thrown into the air as the girl walks
along.
b. Tone: distant, detached, ominous, threatening, eerie; the tone makes us feel as if there is no one
else around, and the girl appears with the gust of wind, almost with a ghostly quality
c. Mood: lonely, uneasy, skeptical, suspicious
1. “It was like coming into the cold marbled room of a mausoleum after the moon has set. Complete
darkness, not a hint of the silver world outside, the windows tightly shut, the chamber a tomb world
where no sound from the great city could penetrate. The room was not empty.”
a. Setting: _____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
b. Tone:
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
c. Mood:
19 2. “Without turning on the light he imagined how this room would look. His wife stretched on the bed,
uncovered and cold, like a body displayed on the lid of a tomb, her eyes fixed to the ceiling by
invisible threads of steel, immovable....The room was indeed empty. Every night the waves came in
and bore her off on their great tides of sound, floating her, wide-eyed, toward morning.”
a. Setting: _____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
b. Tone:
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
c. Mood:
3. “As he stood there the sky over the house screamed. There was a tremendous ripping
sound as if two giant hands had torn ten thousand miles of black lines down the seam...The
jet bombers going over, going over, going over, one two, one two, one two, six of them, nine of
them, twelve of them, and one and one and one and another and another and another, did all
the screaming for him.”
a. Setting: _____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
b. Tone:
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
c. Mood:
4. “Laughter blew across the moon-colored lawn from the house of Clarisse and her father and
mother and the uncle who smiled so quietly and so earnestly. Above all, their laughter was
relaxed and hearty and not forced in any way, coming from the house that was so brightly lit
this late at night while all the other houses were kept to themselves in darkness. Montag heard
the voices talking, talking, talking, giving, talking, weaving, reweaving their hypnotic web.”
a. Setting: _____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
b. Tone:
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
c. Mood:
20 Name _____________________________________
Period _______
PartTwo:
One: The
and the
the Salamander
Part
TheHearth
Sieve and
Sand
Note-Takingand
andSummarizing
Summarizing
Note-taking
Question
Connect
Comprehension
Check Notes
Summarize
Predict
Reflect
©2007
Secondary Solutions
- 21 -
21 Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Part Two: The Sieve and the Sand
Comprehension Check
Directions: To give you a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the novel, answer 10 of the
following questions for Part Two on a separate sheet of paper.
1.
In the beginning of Part Two, Montag remembers Clarisse. Why do the two books remind him of
Clarisse?
2. What is waiting outside Montag’s door? Why?
3. Describe the flashback of Montag meeting the old man. Why does he remember this incident?
Why do you think he saved the old man’s name for so long?
4. Explain Montag’s memory of the sand dune. Why do you think the title of this part of the novel is
named “The Sieve and the Sand”?
5. What is the significance of Montag’s trip on the underground train? What commercial interrupts
his thoughts? Why does it appear as if he argues with the commercial? What aspect of this society
is he arguing against?
6. Why does Montag tell Faber that his wife is “dying”?
7. How is Christ portrayed in this society? Why?
8. Faber lists three things that are missing from society. What are they?
9. According to Faber, why are books hated and feared?
10. What is Montag and Faber’s “plan”?
11. Why does Montag say “Can you help me in any way tonight, with the Fire Captain? I need an
umbrella to keep off the rain. I’m so damned afraid I’ll drown if he gets me again”? What do you
think he means?
12. What did Faber invent? Why?
13. Who are Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles? What do you think about their reactions to their husbands
going off to war?
14. How does this society feel about children and motherhood?
15. Montag reads a poem called "Dover Beach." How do the women react after Montag reads the
poem?
16. Why do you think Montag feels that he has to wash his hands twice while the firemen play poker?
17. What do you think Beatty means when he says “the sheep returns to the fold”?
18. Why do you think Beatty keeps quoting texts from which he has read?
19. Where do the firemen go at the end of this section?
20. Why do you think the firemen are suddenly called?
22 Name _____________________________________
Period _______
Part Two
Part
Two Focus:
— Standards
Focus: Poetry Analysis
Standards
Poetry Analysis
In Part Two, Montag reads a poem called “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold (1822-1888). Arnold’s
In Part Two, Montag reads a poem called “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold (1822-1888). Arnold’s
poem is considered one of the most important of the 19thth Century, as it explores the emptiness of the
poem is considered one of the most important of the 19 Century, as it explores the emptiness of the
self-indulgent Victorian Era in England: a time when machines and industry took the place of manual
self-indulgent Victorian Era in England: a time when machines and industry took the place of
labor, Darwinism and science questioned religious views, and epidemics of cholera and typhus killed
manual labor, Darwinism and science questioned religious views, and epidemics of cholera and
thousands.
Thethousands.
fact that Montag
reads
particular
to the women
typhus killed
The fact
thatthis
Montag
readspoem
this particular
poemintoFahrenheit
the women451
in is no
accident.
Bradbury
parallels
the problems
the Victorian
Era to of
those
the society
of those
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit
451 is no
accident.
Bradbury of
parallels
the problems
the of
Victorian
Era to
of the
451;
that
the
women
don’t
understand
the
poem
at
all
even
further
exemplifies
the
poem’s
society of Fahrenheit 451; that the women don’t understand the poem at all even further exemplifies
significance.
the poem’s significance.
Directions:
“Dover
Directions:For
Forthis
thisexercise,
exercise,you
youwill
willbebeanalyzing
analyzingthe
thepoem
poem
“DoverBeach.”
Beach.”Next
Nexttotoeach
eachstanza,
stanza,
write
what
you
think
the
poet
is
saying
in
the
poem.
If
you
would
like,
you
may
analyze
it
line
by line,
write what you think the poet is saying in the poem. If you would like, you may analyze it line
by
orline,
summarize
the
message.
When
you
have
finished,
complete
the
tasks
and
answer
the
questions
or summarize the message. When you have finished, complete the tasks and answer the on
the
next page.
questions
on the next page.
Dover Beach
1
The sea is calm tonight,
____________________________________
2
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
____________________________________
3
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
____________________________________
4
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
____________________________________
5
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
____________________________________
6
Come to the window, sweet is the night air!
____________________________________
7
Only, from the long line of spray
____________________________________
8
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
____________________________________
9
Listen! you hear the grating roar
____________________________________
10 Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
____________________________________
11 At their return, up the high strand,
____________________________________
12 Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
____________________________________
13 With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
____________________________________
14 The eternal note of sadness in.
____________________________________
15 Sophocles long ago
____________________________________
16 Heard it on the Agean, and it brought
____________________________________
17 Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
____________________________________
18 Of human misery; we
____________________________________
19 Find also in the sound a thought,
____________________________________
20 Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
____________________________________
©2007
23 Secondary Solutions
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Name _____________________________________
Period _______
21 The Sea of Faith
____________________________________
22 Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
____________________________________
23 Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
____________________________________
24 But now I only hear
____________________________________
25 Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
____________________________________
26 Retreating, to the breath
____________________________________
27 Of the night wind, down the vast edges drear
____________________________________
28 And naked shingles of the world.
____________________________________
29 Ah, love, let us be true
____________________________________
30 To one another! for the world, which seems
____________________________________
31 To lie before us like a land of dreams,
____________________________________
32 So various, so beautiful, so new,
____________________________________
33 Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
____________________________________
34 Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
____________________________________
35 And we are here as on a darkling plain
____________________________________
36 Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
____________________________________
37 Where ignorant armies clash by night.
____________________________________
1. Circle the words in which alliteration is used. (Hint: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant
sounds at the beginning of (usually consecutive) words—this is NOT the same as rhyme!)
2. Underline the words in which assonance is used. (Hint: Assonance is the repetition of vowel
sounds in a line—again, this is not the same as rhyme, and the spelling may be different.)
3. Which of the following BEST describes the author’s tone in this poem? _____
a. sympathetic
c. apathetic
b. disenchanted
d. optimistic
4. Which of the following lines contains a simile? ______
a. The tide is full, the moon lies fair
b. Listen! you hear the grating roar
c. Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled
d. Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light
5. To what is Arnold MOST likely referring with the phrase “Sea of Faith”? ______
a. art
b. poetry
c. science
d. religion
6. Which of the following BEST describes the poem’s theme? _____
a. Man is far more powerful than nature.
b. Nature’s power can be felt in our souls.
c. Faith is disappearing, like the retreat of the waves on a beach.
d. Like a wave covering the sand, time disappears forever.
24 ©2007
Secondary Solutions
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Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Part Two
— Standards
Focus: Figurative Language
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.
There are several types of figurative language, also called figures of speech. For this exercise, you will
use the following figures of speech:
•
•
•
metaphor- a comparison, based upon similarity or resemblance, of two or more objects: “The
pillow was a cloud.” Metaphors can also be more complex: “His recliner was his throne and his
remote, his scepter; with these he ruled his kingdom.”
simile- a comparison made between two unlike objects, using the words “like” or “as” in the
comparison: “The pillow was like a marshmallow.”
personification- giving human qualities or characteristics to non-human objects: “The wind
sang its sad song.” Directions: Read each quote from Part Two. Look at the underlined figure
of speech in the sentence, then decide what type of figure of speech is being used. Finally,
analyze the comparison being made, the object being personified, or the image being created
by explaining the meaning of the figure of speech. An example has been done for you.
Ex. “‘Each page becomes a black butterfly. Beautiful, eh? Light the third page from the second and so
on, chain smoking, chapter by chapter” ...There sat Beatty, perspiring gently, the floor littered with
swarms of black moths that had died in a single storm.”
Figure of Speech: _______metaphor____________________________________________________
Analysis: Bradbury compares the burnt pages of the book to a swarm of black moths, as the
pages lie there, “dead” from the fire._____________________________________________________
1. “She was beginning to shriek now, sitting there like a wax doll melting in its own heat.”
Figure of Speech: _____________________________________________________________
Analysis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. “There were people on the suction train but he held the book in his hands and the silly thought came
to him, if you read fast and read all, maybe some of the sand will stay in the sieve.”
Figure of Speech: _____________________________________________________________
Analysis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. “The train radio vomited upon Montag, in retaliation, a great tonload of music made of tin, copper,
silver, chromium, and brass.”
Figure of Speech: _____________________________________________________________
Analysis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
25 4. “The night I kicked the pill bottle in the dark, like kicking a buried mine.”
Figure of Speech: _____________________________________________________________
Analysis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
5. “[Christ is] a regular peppermint stick now, all sugar-crystal and saccharine when he isn’t making
veiled references to certain commercial products that every worshipper absolutely needs.”
Figure of Speech: _____________________________________________________________
Analysis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
35.
“And the faster he poured [the sand], the faster it sifted through with a hot whispering.”
Figure of Speech: _____________________________________________________________
Analysis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
36.
“‘Don’t ask for guarantees. And don’t look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or
library. Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were headed for
shore.’”
Figure of Speech: _____________________________________________________________
Analysis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
37.
“The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe into one
garment for us.”
Figure of Speech: _____________________________________________________________
Analysis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
38.
“‘Denham’s Denham’s Denham’s,’ the train hissed like a snake.”
Figure of Speech: _____________________________________________________________
Analysis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
39.
“Montag, go home. Go to bed. Why waste your final hours racing about your cage denying
you’re a squirrel?”
Figure of Speech: _____________________________________________________________
Analysis: ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
26 Name _____________________________________
Period _______
PartThree:
One: The
Hearth Bright
and the Salamander
Part
Burning
Note-Takingand
andSummarizing
Summarizing
Note-taking
Question
Connect
Comprehension
Check Notes
Summarize
Predict
Reflect
©2007
Secondary Solutions
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27 Fahrenheit 451 Literature Guide
Part Three: Burning Bright — Comprehension Check
Directions: To give you a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the novel, answer
10 of the following questions for Part Three on a separate sheet of paper.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
Who called the fire alarm about Montag?
Explain Beatty’s feelings about the purpose of fire. Do you agree? Why or why not?
What objects does Montag burn first? Why do you think he chooses to begin with these
particular items?
How does Beatty discover Montag’s green bullet?
What happens to Beatty? How? What does Montag realize when running from the scene?
Do you think Montag is right? Why or why not?
What keeps holding Montag back as he tries to run from the scene of the fire?
To where is Montag instinctively running? Why?
What does Montag hear coming from the Seashell radio?
Who tries to run Montag over? What does this reveal about this society?
Why does Montag hide the books in Mrs. Black’s house?
To where does Faber tell Montag to go? Why? Where do Faber and Montag agree to meet
again?
Why does Montag want Faber to turn on the air conditioning and sprinklers?
What does Bradbury mean when he says, “Twenty million Montags running, soon, if the
cameras caught him”?
What community effort do the Parlor Walls incite?
Why does Montag douse himself with liquor?
What does Bradbury mean by the following: “...going away from the people who ate
shadows for breakfast and steam for lunch and vapors for dinner”?
What does Montag believe is a sign that the world welcomes him now?
How does Montag view fire differently now?
Why does the search for Montag veer inland, away from the river?
How do the police finally catch “Montag”?
What does Granger mean by “Welcome back from the dead”?
According to Granger, why do they still burn books?
What is the most important rule everyone must remember, according to Granger?
What do Granger and the others hope will happen after the war?
Why does Granger tell Montag about his grandfather? What point is Granger trying to
make about Millie?
What does the quote “I hate the Roman named Status Quo” mean?
Describe Millie’s last moments of life, as Montag imagines them.
Granger compares society to the Phoenix. Why does he make this comparison? According
to Granger and his analogy, what is the only way society will ever change?
Where are the people headed at the end of the book? Why do you think they are going
there?
28 Part 3 Vocab – Assessment Preparation: Literal & Figurative Meaning
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: _________________________________________________________________________
29 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.
Literal meaning: ____________________________________________________________________
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: _________________________________________________________________________
30