Name:
Fahrenheit 451 Study Guide
Part 1: The Hearth and the Salamander
Vocabulary:
Abruptly (9)—suddenly, unexpectedly
Immense (11) (37)—vast, huge
Imperceptibly (11)—do in a way that is not noticeable, very slight
Earnestly (17)—with great sincerity of feeling
Trajectory (26)—the curve described by a projectile, rocket, or the like in its flight (a certain path)
Abstract (31)—referring to a type of art: emphasizing lines, colors, generalized or geometrical forms
Momentarily (32)—for a moment, briefly
Odious (35)—highly offensive, disgusting
Accusation (37)—the charge of wrongdoing
Condemnation (39)—unfavorable judgment, disapproval
Abyss (41)—a deep, immeasurable space
Significant (44)—important
Luminescent (48)—glowing, radiant
Feigning (50)—to fake, or to imitate to deceive
Digest (n) (54)—condensed literature (noun)
Melancholy (56)—sober thoughtfulness, pensiveness
Controversy (57)—a dispute or argument
Dictum (58)—an authoritative pronouncement
Titillation (59)—to excite or arouse agreeably
Insistently (68)—earnest in demanding something, persistent
Study Questions:
1) Who are we introduced to in the first two pages? What do we know about him so far?
Guy Montag- he is a firefighter.
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He is happy and proud of what he does
The firefighters’ number is 451
He is always smiling at this point (grinning)
He is very happy about his work
He was feeling extremely happy about burning the books and the house down
He goes to bed with a smile on his face
2) On Page 5, we meet a young girl. What color is associated with her? Write out 2 examples of
this.
Clarisse- the color white is associated with her- the color white represents purity and innocence.
 “her face was slender and milk white”
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She had a pale expression
She is wearing a white dress that whispers
3) On Page 8, we learn more about Montag’s job. As a fireman, what exactly does he do? Why?
Montag cannot read any of the books he burns b/c books and reading them is illegal—against
the law. Montag is 30 years old and he has been a fireman for 10 years.
The houses in this society are fireproof—which means that houses can’t catch on fire, but the
books inside them can. In this society, the firemen start the fires, instead of put them out.
4) Clarisse and her family seem to be really different. Write 2 examples of things that they do that
are very surprising to Montag.
 Her uncle was arrested for being a pedestrian
 He also likes to drive slowly—40 mph—on the highways
 Her house is brightly lit at night because all the lights are usually on; her family likes to
talk to each other!
5) Clarisse tells us about a lot of “normal” things in her society. Give 2 examples of things that are
normal in Clarisse and Montag’s society that are very different from our current way of life.
 The firemen start fires instead of putting them out; Clarisse has been told by her family
that firemen used to put out fires, but Montag says that firemen have never been
needed for that b/c houses have always been fireproof.
 Reading books is illegal
 Billboards are 200 feet long! They used to be only 20 feet long but because cars would
zoom by them so fast, they needed to be bigger so people could actually see them.
6) What question does Clarisse ask Montag on page 10 that seems to really bother him?
“Are you happy?” (Bradbury 10). After Clarisse asks him this, he realizes that he is NOT happy.
7) There is an important simile on page 12. Write the simile here and explain its meaning.
“He wore his happiness like a mask” (Bradbury 12). This means that Montag has been trying to
cover it up and pretend like he’s happy, but deep down inside, we realize he is not happy.
8) We meet Montag’s wife on pages 12-13. What is her name? What is she like?
Her name is Mildred, and she overdoses on sleeping pills. This suggests that she is not happy
w/her life. While she sleeps, she wears headphones and listens to the radio.
9) Montag discovers an “emergency” situation in his home. What has happened?
Mildred overdosed on sleeping pills.
10) When the specialists come to Montag’s house, what do we learn about situations like this?
What does this tell us about the society he lives in?
The specialists pumped out Mildred’s blood and gave her clean blood. The specialists say that
overdoses happen a lot. The two men are not doctors; their only job is to go around and clean
people’s blood. They’re like plumbers. Because overdoses are so common, it seems that people
are depressed and unhappy with their lives. Society clearly has problems.
11) Montag and Mildred have some interesting technologies in their home. List and describe two
devices that they have that we do not currently have in the year 2010.
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To go inside his house, Montag puts his hand in a glove hole, and the door slides open.
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The toaster grabs the toast and butters it for them.
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A machine that cleans out the blood
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Mildred’s TV show has a missing part, which she gets to play. The TVs are entire walls, and
people have up to four full walls of TV.
12) On page 24, we have a description of the internal conflict that Montag is enduring. Write the
quote that describes the war inside of him here:
“He felt his body divide into a hotness and a coldness, a softness and a hardness, a trembling
and a not trembling”
13) Why is it important that Montag opens his mouth to taste the rain? What does this tell us about
his character?
It shows how he’s becoming open-minded. He didn’t use to stop and try things, but now he
does.
14) Why does Montag think that the Mechanical Hound does not like him? When he asks the
Captain, how does the Captain respond?
The hound growled at Montag when Montag moved near it. However, the captain explains that
the hound is just a machine, it doesn’t like or dislike. So it’s impossible for it to dislike Montag.
15) Why doesn’t Clarisse go to school?
She’s afraid because all of her friends have been dying, and there is a lot of bullying. Her friends
were either shot or died in a car accident. Also, they say that she’s antisocial. In our society,
social means talking to people and making friends, but in her society, it’s the opposite. Social in
their society is talking about the same stuff and participating in fun parks and racing cars. All
their activities are violent, and it’s all okay as long as you have insurance.
In school, they play sports and don’t learn that much. Instead of asking questions, the teacher
just lectures and feeds them info. They watch TV and watch the film teacher. They have abstract
art.
16) How does Montag feel when Clarisse fails to meet him one day on his walk to work?
Montag feels sad and her not being there changes the ruin. He says that he feels diseased and
empty.
17) On page 33, what realization does Montag have about firemen?
All firemen look alike: have black hair, black brows and a fiery face. Perhaps they look the same
because they have a serious look. Plus, a group that looks the same is more intimidating and it’s
more difficult to pick out individuals. Creating this fear makes people obey the law.
18) According to the Rule Book, what did the original firemen do?
The firemen burned English-influenced books in the colonies.
19) On pages 36-37, the firemen go on a call, but something is different about this call. What is the
difference between this call and other calls?
The woman was home when the firemen arrived.
20) What ends up happening at this specific call?
The woman ended up burning her own house instead of the firemen starting the fire. She also
dies in the fire with her books.
21) What surprising information do we learn about Captain Beatty on the drive back from the call?
We learn that Captain Beatty is very smart- he knows a lot of information about history that he
must have learned by reading books. He even says that it’s not a big deal, though, because he’s
a fire captain and he needs to know that kind of stuff. It’s not legal for him to read, but he
obviously does!
22) Why is it so important to Montag that he remembers where and when he met his wife?
If she can remember when and where they met, it will prove that they really truly know each
other. It will also prove that they love each other because at this point, it doesn’t seem that
they have a very healthy relationship at all.
23) Why doesn’t Montag like the TV walls?
He feels that the TV walls are a barrier between him and Mildred. The TV shows aren’t even
about anything and they don’t have any true content. Mildred is so engrossed by them that he
feels they don’t really know each other.
24) What shocking news does Mildred tell Montag as they are lying in bed that night?
Clarisse is dead because she was hit by a car four days ago.
25) Describe Montag and Mildred’s marriage.
They have an unhealthy marriage; they don’t talk very much. They don’t remember where they
met. When they do talk, they don’t seem to listen to each other. They have opposite views
towards media. Montag seems to question if they should be married or not.
26) Montag and Mildred have a conversation about the woman that was burned. What conclusions
has Montag made based on the incident of the previous night?
He realizes that a man had to create each book. A book takes time to create, and in just a few
minutes, Montag and the firemen destroy all of the author’s work. Books must be special
because a woman died for her books. Each book represents a man’s heart, thoughts, brain, etc.
Books have value.
27) Beatty has a long conversation with Montag about the history of firemen. Explain the history of
how books came to be burned, according to Beatty:
More media showed up, like TV and radio, which caused people to be less interested in books.
People have less time, so books became shorter and shorter. A full length book would become a
summary, then a few words in a dictionary.
Beatty says that the people made the decision to stop reading books; the government didn’t
make the decision.
The purpose of firemen is to keep things equal by burning books and taking away the things
(information) that make people feel unequal.
28) What happens at the same time that Beatty is explaining the history of book burning to
Montag?
Mildred continues to fix Montag’s pillow and finds the hidden book behind it. She almost pulls it
out from behind the pillow, but Montag stops her by yelling at her and pushing his back against
her hand.
29) What does Beatty tell Montag about Clarisse’s family?
The whole family is antisocial, and the family is very rare and not like other families. He
confirms that Clarisse is dead.
30) On Page 61, Beatty gives Montag a nickname for firemen. What is it, and why would it be
appropriate according to Beatty’s explanation?
He calls the firemen the “happiness boys”, which is appropriate because burning books brings
people happiness and peace because there is nothing to disagree or feel sad about.
31) It seems as if Beatty knows Montag’s secret. What does Beatty say happens to firemen who
“accidentally” take a book?
Beatty says the fireman has 24 hours to burn the book and taking a book is normal, but if the
fireman doesn’t burn it w/in 24 hours, the other firemen burn it for him.
32) On page 65, Montag claims that he is not happy, but Mildred claims that she is. How do we
know this is not true?
In the beginning of the novel, Mildred overdosed on sleeping pills, which makes it seem like she
tried to kill herself. Clearly, she’s not happy.
33) What is Mildred’s reaction when she sees Montag’s books? Why does she react this way?
She yells at him, cries, and tries to run away. She even tries to burn one of them because she
doesn’t want to get into trouble and lose their house and everything.
34) What does Montag want to do with all of the books he has collected? Why does he want to do
this?
He wants to read them because if Beatty is telling the truth and if books have any value.
35) Montag read a quote from a book on page 68. What is the quote, and what does it mean?
They would rather die than change the way they do things or give up their beliefs: “It is
computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than
submit to break their eggs at the smaller end” (68).