Fahrenheit 451 Discussion Questions pgs. 1-29
Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander
1. How does Bradbury establish that the story is
set in a futuristic society in the first ten pages
of the novel?
2. Why does it take Montag so long to discover
that Mildred is unconscious?
3. How do the emergency workers react to
Mildred’s case? What does their behavior
indicate about the society in which Montag
lives?
4. What is the significance of the name “Guy
Montag”? (Research for homework)
5. What is the significance of Clarisse’s name?
(Research for homework)
6. What is Mildred’s reaction when Montag tells
her what happened the next morning? What
does Montag think happened? (p. 17)
7. Describe the Mechanical Hound. What about
Montag’s interaction with the Hound or (lack
thereof) suggests that Montag is already
questioning his own way of life?(p. 22, 23, 24)
8. In Montag’s conversation with Clarisse, what
does she do and say that demonstrates she is
out of step with modern society? How do you
think Montag’s exchanges with Clarisse have
already changed him? (p. 5, 6, 7)
9. How does Montag react to Clarisse’s
disappearance?
Fahrenheit 451 Discussion Questions pgs. 29-66
Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander
1. As Montag sits in the firehouse, how can the reader tell
his perception of his world has changed since he was first
introduced in the novel? (p. 31-32)
Montag actually notices things around him, like the fire-worn faces of his colleagues.
He also notices that they all have similar appearances, with “charcoal hair and sootcolored brows and bluish-ash-smeared cheeks where they had shaven close” (p. 30).
He wonders about the past and asks Clarisse’s question: “Didn’t firemen prevent fires
rather than stoke them up and get them going?” (p. 31). The history of firefighter as
described on page 32 of the novel is totally false instead Benjamin Franklin founded
the first fire company (which put out fires) in Boston in 1736. Montag once
unquestioningly accepted everything he was told, but now he has learned to wonder.
2. How does the woman with the match affect Montag? (p.
34, 48)
Montag shudders on his way into the house, since he is accustomed to the “victim”
already being gone when he arrives. Montag initially feels irritation rather than pity
because he feels the woman is “spoiling the ritual” (p. 34), and all the firemen react to
her “accusing” presence by joking loudly. However, soon Montag begins to view her
books as living things, such as birds and fish, as they fall in flames around him. He
describes the woman standing below the firemen “like a small girl, among the bodies”
(p. 34). As the firemen prepare to ignite the house itself, only Montag tries to lead the
woman to safety. He’s shocked when she lights fire to herself. Later, when Montag
tries to tell Mildred about the event, he links the woman’s death to the value of
books” “There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a
woman stay in a burning house…You don’t stay for nothing (p. 48).
3. Why does Montag attempt to watch one of Mildred’s
parlor shows? How does he react to what he sees? (p.
42)
Montag is worried about his failing marriage and also likely curious about why
Mildred is obsessed with the parlor shows. The dialogue he hears makes no sense to
him; though the characters’ words sound urgent, there is no real storyline or
connection between them. Montag feels watching the show “bombarded him at such
an immense volume that his bones were almost shaken from their tendons…his jaw
(vibrating), his eyes (wobbling) in his head. He was a victim of concussion” (p. 42).
4. Describe Mildred’s account of what happened to Clarisse.
What is Montag’s reaction, and why does he react this
way? (p. 44)
Mildred mentions that Clarisse is “gone,” but she cannot remember the details of
what she heard. She says, vaguely, “Whole family moved out somewhere. But she’s
gone for good…Run over by a car. Four days ago. I’m not sure” (p. 44). Her stilted
speech is almost similar today’s texting shorthand. Montag is shocked, not only at the
thought that Clarisse might be dead, but also that Mildred attaches so little
importance to the death of a person.
5. How does Mildred treat her husband while he is ill?
What do you think made Montag ill? (p. 48)
Mildred forgets to bring Montag the aspirin he requests and seems more concerned
about the condition of the rug than her sick husband. Though Montag has physical
symptoms (e.g. chills, fever, vomiting), his illness is likely brought on by stress over
recent events such the disappearance of Clarisse and the death of the woman
defending her books. Montag seems to know his illness is psychosomatic, since he
feels Captain Beatty will think he is a “child feigning illness” (p. 48).
6. Why do you think Beatty comes to Montag’s home in
person? (p. 50-51)
Beatty arrives before Montag even calls that he will be not be coming in to work.
Although Montag was already late for his shift, Beatty’s remark, “I’ve seen it all. You
were going to call for a night off” (p. 50) suggests that he suspects Montag is beginning
to doubt the validity of his job. Beatty also says that “Every fireman…hit this” (p. 51)
and seems to hint that he knows Montag stole a book. Beatty seems to have come to
Montag’s house to convince him of the validity of his job by reciting the history of the
profession (as it has been fabricated in their society).
7. Why did people stop reading, according to Captain
Beatty? (p. 56-60)
Captain Beatty claims the rise of a mass audience and an increase in minorities
required literature to be simplified to avoid differences of opinion. Everything was
also eventually shortened, condensed, or abridged for efficiency’s sake. Eventually,
this shortened, inoffensive form of literature became so bland that no one bought
books anymore, since the public preferred mindless forms of entertainment. Captain
Beatty also claims that it is human nature for people to desire equality, with no
intellectuals to look down upon less-educated people.
8. Do you think Captain Beatty is the novel’s villain? Do you
think his character expresses Bradbury’s views of society
and history? (Use details from the story to support both
answers.)
Captain Beatty is a surprisingly complicated character—
not a simple villain at all. He upholds laws but does not seem to be an unthinking tool
of the government. He has significant knowledge about literature, despite the fact
that his job duties are to destroy literature. He knows much more history than most
people in his society. He has a plausible and thoughtful theory about society turning
against literature, and his views seem tested by experience: “Any man who can take a
TV wall apart and put it back together won’t be measured or equated without making
man feel bestial and lonely. I know, I’ve tried it; to hell with it” (p. 58). It does not
seem that Bradbury intended readers to think his views are projected through Captain
Beatty since Bradbury usually depicts Beatty talking through a cloud of pipe smokesignaling “cloudy” erroneous (incorrect) thinking. It seems likely that Bradbury
expects his readers to react against Captain Beatty’s extreme statements throughout
the novel.
9. Why do you think Montag chooses this time to reveal his
hidden books to Mildred? (p. 63, 64)
Aside from the fact that Mildred just discovered the book Montag hid behind his
pillow, Montag’s frame of mind seems to have changed by this time. Despite Captain
Beatty’s lecture, Montag refuses to return to his previous way of thinking. He thinks
of Clarisse, which may indicate her ideas have superseded Beatty’s in his mind. He
feels impassioned against what Beatty said and feels he needs to somehow save his
relationship with Mildred saying: “We’ve got to start somewhere here, figuring out
why we’re in such a mess, you and the medicine nights, and the car, and me and my
work. We’re heading right for the cliff, Millie. God, I don’t want to go over”.