Fahrenheit 451
Burning Bright
Review
“He stepped into the bedroom and fired twice and
the twin beds went up in a great simmering
whisper, with more heat and passion than he would
have supposed them to contain” (116).
• Said by narrator.
• Montag is burning his bedroom.
• Symbolic of his cold, dead relationship with
Mildred.
• Montag returns to his old self—it was a pleasure
to burn.
“Beatty wanted to die” (122).
• Said by Montag.
• Montag realizes that Beatty provoked him to do it.
• Beatty loved knowledge and probably read books.
Perhaps he wanted to end his life because he was
forced to burn the very books that he loved.
“I wonder if they were the ones
who killed Clarisse?” (126).
• Said by Montag.
• Montag realizes that the kids in the car were out
for a joy ride just to kill someone.
• Clarisse was reported to have been run over.
• Effect of a society with no empathy and no
consequences.
“I feel alive for the first time in years. I feel I'm
doing what I should've done a lifetime ago. For a
little while I'm not afraid. Maybe it's because I'm
doing the right thing at last” (131).
• Said by Faber.
• Montag is rubbing off on Faber. He is becoming
more active and involved in the resistance.
• He feels like less of a coward.
“He floated on his back…the river was mild and
leisurely, going away from the people who ate
shadows for breakfast and steam for lunch and
vapors for supper” (140).
• Said by Montag.
• River is a symbol of rebirth. Montag is becoming
his true self.
• He is leaving the superficial, empty people of the
cities behind.
“So if he burnt things with the firemen and the sun
burnt Time, that meant that everything burnt!”
(141).
• Said by Montag.
• Montag realizes that all everyone does is destroy.
• Society has to stop destroying and start saving.
• Montag decides that he will stop burning.
“He stood breathing, and the more he breathed the
land in, the more he was filled up with all the
details of the land. He was not empty. There would
always be more than enough” (144).
• Said by Montag.
• Montag becomes a Transcendentalist of sorts. He
realizes a spiritual connection with nature.
• Nature is nourishing and invigorating (apple,
pear, glass of milk).
• Nature accepts him as one—he becomes
Emerson’s “transparent eyeball.”
What are some important symbols in Burning
Bright? Know how they function in the novel.
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Bedroom and parlor
The River
Chicago
Harvard Degrees
Milk, apple, and pear
Railroad tracks
Discuss the purpose of the book people.
What is their plan, according to Granger?
• The intellectuals are “book burners” too, but they
read and memorize the books first.
• Thousands of people have memorized books.
• Soon the destruction will end, and the saving will
begin.
• Each person will be called to recite their book.
• People are books because when you read
something, it changes who you are and how you
see the world.
What “book” is Montag? What does he
remember from it? Discuss the meaning.
• The Book of Ecclesiastes and part of Revelation
from the Bible.
• He remembers “And on either side of the river
there was a tree of life…” p165.
• This quote is about healing, re-birth, and hope.
• The river is a symbol of re-birth.
• The fruit is a symbol of nourishment and
protection
• “The healing of the nations” describes a future
where people will work together
What is the phoenix myth? How does this
apply to the novel? To Montag?
• The phoenix is a mythical creature that was said to
burn himself, being re-born from the ashes.
• Granger applies this to mankind, always destroying
himself with war, only to rebuild later.
• Mankind, however, remembers how terrible war is.
• Montag is like the phoenix:
– He burned his previous life /career
– Is reborn in the river
– Becomes a new man with a new purpose