FAHRENHEIT 451 Q&A

Part 1
 1. Describe the society (a fictional America) that Montag lives in. In what ways is it similar to, but more extreme than, our society? What signs are there that it is a “dystopia” (the opposite of a utopia, an ideal society)?
- The society that Montag lives in doesn't like the idea that people ask questions (find information) and doesn't want them to think for themselves. In a way it's similar to our society because we have to go to school and we only learn about certain things in a specific way (the teachers way). We are in a "dystopia" society because not everyone benefits from how they are taught so they end up failing because they aren't taken in consideration.
2. What makes Clarisse so special — so different from most people in her society? What qualities does Montag have that make him receptive to her influence?
-Clarisse is special because of the way she approaches things. That makes her different from most people in her society because she asks why things happen not how. The qualities that make Montag receptive to her influence are curiosity and friendliness.
3. Why do you think the mechanical hound has been programmed to react to Montag?
-The hound has been programmed to react to Montag because he gave Beatty the suspicion that he was guilty of owning books, so Beatty programmed it to react to Montags chemical complex as a warning of what will happen if he doesn't get rid of them. 
4. Why do you think the woman chooses to burn herself along with her books? Why does this have such a powerful effect on Montag — what does it mean to him?
-The woman chooses to burn herself with her books because they were her precious treasure and she would rather die with them than be alive without them because then there wouldn't be really anything to live for. It has a powerful effect on Montag because he admires how much courage she had to sacrifice herself along with her books and makes him start to think with a different perspective like how books must really have things worth knowing if you are willing to sacrifice yourself for them.
5. What is the point of Bradbury’s description of the kind of television show that Mildred likes to watch (p. 44 - 46)? [“ sound and fury, signifying nothing”]
-The point of Bradbury's description of the kind of television that Mildred likes to watch is so that we know why she calls them her family because it makes you feel like you are part of the parlor, but in reality she is so into it that she is ignorant about her real life and her actual family.
6. What is shocking and disturbing about the way Montag finds out what happened to Clarisse? What does this tell us about Mildred and about their society?
-What's shocking and disturbing about how Montag finds out about Clarisses death is that if he wouldn't have mentioned Clarisse to Mildred she wouldn't have ever remembered to tell him that she was dead. It tells us that they live in a fantasy world where their life revolves around material things like the walls and they tend to forget reality and what is really important.
7. Why does Montag get “sick” and try to avoid going to work?
-Montag gets "sick" and tries avoiding going to work because the evening before that he had witnessed a lady burn herself with her book so he took one of the books and he was really nervous and scared that he was going to get caught.
8. What does the revelation that Montag has so many books hidden in his home tell us about him? Why do Montag’s hands seem to have a mind of their own — what does this actually mean?
-The revelation that Montag has so many books hidden at home tell us that he is serious about trying to find out about the meaning behind them and that he is also curious about finding the meanings out. Montag's hands seem to have a mind of their own because he doesn't think before taking a book he just takes it and then later kind of regrets it and just blames it on his hands.
9. What is Beatty’s explanation for the current state of their society?
-Beatty's explanation for the current state of their society is that books were band for a reason because people thought that they were written towards a certain audience and they felt insulted by that.
10. What do you think of Mildred’s claim that she is happy, and why? How do you define happiness? Is being happy always the most important goal of life?
-Mildred says she's happy but if she were to actually think about it, start experiencing important things, and stopped being ignorant then she would know that in reality she isn't happy. Happiness is something that you enjoy doing like helping others. Many people believe that being happy is an important goal in life so they do things that they think make them happy (crowd followers), but really don't. A thing that makes a certain person happy doesn't necessarily make everyone else happy and sometimes you do things that make you happy without noticing you are happy.
11. What events trigger Montag’s transformation from aloof, unthinking fireman to passionate, philosophical rebel?
-The event that triggers Montag's transformation is when a lady commits suicide by burning herself with her precious books. After that it makes him curious as to what is so meaningful about books that she wanted to die with them, so he decides to find out and ends up enjoying learning about the past.
12. Find three examples of foreshadowing in Part 1.
-Three examples of foreshadowing in part 1 are the mechanical hound, the ventilator, and when Beatty mentions if Montagu has any enemies.
13. Like Hemingway, Bradbury sometimes writes in an elliptical style, giving us bits of information from which we must infer what is happening, what the characters are thinking and feeling. Find one example of this in Part 1.
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14. Choose one paragraph or passage from Part 1 that is an example of Bradbury’s unusual writing style (e.g. p. 17/18, p. 24) and interpret its meaning.
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15. What predictions might you make about later events in the story?
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Part 2 
1. What does Mildred say about why the television is better than books? What does she mean? Do you agree with her? Why or why not? What is the essential difference between books and television?
-Mildred believes television is better than books because you can see the television without having visualize anything and book you have to read then visualize what's going on. I don't agree with her because sometimes it's good your to use your imagination to help develop critical thinking skills  
2. Why do you think Faber gave Montag his name and phone number?
-Faber gave Montag his name and number because he trusts Montag and can see potential in him to try to get books.
3. How do you think Montag would respond to Mildred’s question about which is more important — her, or Montag’s books?
-He would most likely answer that his books are more important because with them he actually finds things out and being with her is just a waste of time because she doesn't respect him or give him time, and he doesn't know much about her either.
4. What do you think is the meaning of the title of Part Two (“The Sieve and the Sand”)?
-The meaning of the title "The Sieve and the Sand" is important because it talks about Montag trying to take in all the information in from a book before turning it in to Beatty and he relates that to a story about a sieve and sand from when he was younger  
5. Why does Montag visit Faber?
-Montag visits Faber to ask how he knows what the book are trying to tell people like how to know what they mean and how that makes them important.
6. What does Montag mean when he tells Faber that his wife is dying?
-Montag means that his wife is dying because she is so caught up on the walls that she doesn't really know about anything else around her.
7. What three things does Faber say are missing from their society? Explain the importance of these things.
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8. What has Faber invented, and why is it important?
-Faber has invented seashells that help him communicate with Montag when he tries reading the book to Mildred's friends.
9. What disturbing things do the women in Montag’s parlor say to each other?
-The way they talk about children is disturbing because they act like they weren't children at one point and how they are to lazy to bond with them that they just stick them in front of a wall to make them ignorant like them.
10. Why does Montag start reading poetry to the women? How do they react, and why?
-He starts reading poetry because he wants to share the feeling of knowing important things. They react by freaking out screaming, and crying because at first they think it's a joke, but find out it's not. Also because books are strictly prohibited.
11. What does Beatty say to Montag after he shows up at the firehouse? What is he trying to do? What does he know about Montag that gives him an advantage?
-Beatty starts quoting things from books to try to get Montag to crack but Montag doesn't. He knows that Montag has books and Mildred and her friends have called to complain so they have to burn Montag's books.