Various questions

Yikes, are you sure you don't have any more questions?

I'll try to answer a few, and hopefully other posters can answer some as well.

3. Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper burns, and it is important because Montag is a fireman who burns books. Thus the meaning of the title is that it represents censorship, i.e. book burning.

4. see GradeSaver's theme section for a good run-down of the technology used in the book.

8. Censorship is the predominant theme, and it is hammered into the reader over and over again. All the other themes, such as ignorance versus knowledge or life and death, are offshoots of this main theme.

Answer to number five (5)

Describe Mildred and contrast her to Montag and Clarisse.

Mildred is not a very kind, warm-hearted lady; she does not have a "real" personality. She, as a character does not stand out; Mildred is just... there. She does not think, the seashell thinks for her.

Mildred and Clarisse are opposites in a way. Clarisse has hope, and passes this on to Montag. At the beginning of the narrative, Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse is introduced. Clarisse is in fact, a very thoughtful girl and inspires Montag to do things he would never have thought of doing. She questions him, with the flower and if he ever tasted the rain. Once she left, Montag did taste the rain, he (in a way) looked up to Clarisse. Montag feels attracted to Clarisse, not in a way that is love, but friendship. Clarisse encourages Montag. Clarisse asks outrageous questions, Clarisse asks Montag if he is happy. Montag thinks. She inspires him; Clarisse is the main reason for his changing: a fireman to a thinker and a reader.

Clarisse is a total different character than Mildred. Towards the end of Fahrenheit 451, when Montag is running from the firemen, he thinks to him self: Mildred (Millie) Clarisse, Faber. These three characters have their importance in Montag’s life. Mildred taught him that they do not love each other, for they do not even remember where they met, later Montag remembers but Mildred never does. Clarisse, even though her death had some what an impact on Montag, she was the reason for his change. Mildred was somewhat, fake. She never did say ‘I love you’ to Montag, or words that inspired Montag, Clarisse did.

-Hope that helped.

2. Make a list of the people in the novel who contribute to Montag's growing self-awareness and explain what they teach him.

Clarisse, Faber and Granger are the main people who help encourage Montag to change all through out Fahrenheit 451.

Clarisse: even though she is young, she still is wiser than Montag at the beginning of the book. People say... ‘With age, comes wisdom’. Clarisse is in her teens and Montag is 30. Clarisse seems older than Montag because she has read books and thinks of her existence. Montag never thought ‘why’ or ‘how’ things are the way they are. Clarisse did, she said she THINKS. Clarisse gave Montag the encouragement and made him think WHY things are the way they are. Clarisse had a big impact on Montag’s development all through out Fahrenheit 451.

Faber: Faber is an old man that has been in his home, reading, inventing, creating, thinking and listening. He passes many of those things down to Montag. Faber says he is a 'coward', he is not. Faber helped Montag become something else, something MORE, and important. Faber is also a friend to Montag; Faber helps him escape when he is running from the 'law'.

Granger: Granger is a big influence to Montag. Granger speaks of his Grandfather and how every person is meant to 'leave a mark' on the earth before they die. This encourages Montag in some ways. Granger remembers books that he has read and inspires Montag to have courage. Granger’s main reason was teaching Montag a lesson: that as long as you leave a mark on the earth your life was important.

-Hope that helped.

2. Make a list of the people in the novel who contribute to Montag's growing self-awareness and explain what they teach him.

The main people are the woman who committed suicide and Clarisse. I think those are the only people because faber didn't really say anything in his ear and faber caused him to kill beatty. Mildred just held him back. Beatty was no help. The ladies just called the police and helped the readers understand more about the society. Granger arrived so late on her didn't really have an impact. There are really no other characters.

Clarisse: She opened him up to new things. She told him that if you rub a dandelion on your chin and it rubs off your in love. That told him that he wasn't really in love with Mildred. She told him all these things about her uncle. She said that billboards weren't always that long. She said that people didn't always used to die so often. She asked him why he was a fire man that he didn't seem like the type. He actually talked to her and usually firemen didn't. That kind of told him that he wasn't supposed to be a fireman. The his wife told him she died and acted like it was no big deal and so he realized that she didn't really care if someone died.

The Woman Who Committed Suicide: She told him that the firemen didn't care if someone died. She gave him the Bible, which led him to Faber and that was the book Mildred found under his pillow. Which made him tell her about the book, which made her pull the alarm, which made him run, which made him safe from the bomb. That's all a chain reaction. Also it got him thinking that people die for books so they must be a big deal.

I know you posted last November but hopefully you will get something out of this material

Here is one of the answers:

15. Explain the importance of the phoenix symbol to the novel.

I believe the reason Ray Bradbury chose to use the phoenix in his novel is because the man, like the phoenix, keeps burning itself up, or breaking itself down, and then is born all over again. When the character Granger talks about the phoenix, he says that humans must be the first cousin to the bird, because they both do the same thing over and over. Phoenix in a way is also a symbol of Montag, because for a while Montag seems to make the same mistakes over and over again. First he shows his books to Mildred, and then to her friends, but like the phoenix, he seems to also get another chance enough times to escape the mess he has created. The phoenix is a very strong symbol in the novel because of how closely it ties it with the theme of burning in Fahrenheit 451.

Answer to number: 6. What does the old lady represent to Montag and how does she affect him?

The old lady really was the character that pushed Montag to break the rules and read. He sees that this lady is giving her life for books and it hits him that books must have something worthwhile in them for this old woman to give her life for them. When Montag goes to Faber wanting someone to talk to he says he needs a friend to talk to. He talks about how everyone he could talk to is dead. He says that the lady in the house could have been a friend. She affected him deeply, and like most of the characters that affected him she died soon after she was introduced.

#5: Describe Mildred and contrast her to Montag and Clarisse.

Mildred is the complete opposite of Montag and Clarisse. She is so caught up in her electronics it's like she's not even a person. We even see later on in the book that she doesn't really have feelings for Montag at least she never shows it. This helps Montag realize that maybe he doesn't really love Mildred either. She's not a very caring person, the only things she shows feelings towards are her seashells and her "family". As Delia said she doesn't even think, her seashell thinks for her. She spends all of her time with her seashell and her "family". She also never questions her society and the way things are and were. Mildred goes along with it. It's like she's a robot and is being controlled.

Montag and Clarisse on the other hand do question the way things are and the society, there curious. At the beginning of the book we get the impression that Montag is like Mildred, doesn't ever really think about things and goes with the flow. Later we find out that Montag had already stolen and hid some books, he had been wondering about things for awhile. Then when Montag meets Clarisse and she starts questioning him, it really starts making him think. She was a huge influence on Montag, where as Mildred could never be. Also Clarisse shows feelings towards things. She cares about people, like Montag. Her whole family seems very close, we know this because in the beginning of the book not long after Montag had just met her and she was walking up to her front door. All the lights were on inside and you could hear people talking, which was unlike how family's were "supposed" to be. Mildred could never be like Montag and Clarisse. Montag even tried to change her but no mater how hard he tried he realized she could never change.

#6: What does the old lady represent to Montag and how does she affect him?

The day Montag had gone to the old lady's house to burn it, was the day he realized that what he was doing was wrong. The old lady had such a great love for her books she gave up her life. This showed Montag that books must be very special since the old lady decided to commit suicide because she knew she would never have the books again. She, like Clarisse encourages him, in a way, to take that next step and read the books ( which he does). I believe this event affects him emotionally because he witnesses the old lady's death and seems to be the only one that cares. Plus I think he feels that he was the reason for her death because the firemen (him) were the ones who caught her house on fire and started everything. The other people who witnessed the death just brushed it off their shoulders, which is how the society has been set up by the government, but it finally occurs to Montag that this is a big deal all thanks to the old lady.

Answer to #13:

One reason that this novel might be classified as a tragedy is because in the end, nothing is resolved. Books still continue to be burned, Montag is still a fugitive, (well not after they capture the man they thought was him) Clarisse is still dead, and their society is still as horrific as it was in the beginning. The only "small ray of hope", I find, is in this group of men that Montag stumbles across when he is fleeing. They are a ray of hope because books are being burned and history and great literature is being ruined but they are carrying it on. They are reading books and literature and then burning them. They are passing it along as an oral tradition which is the one thing the government cannot restrict. The government can't prosecute you for the knowledge that you possess. So I believe this was the little bit of hope left for their society...and for Montag.

Anwser to #12

The way Bradbury builds suspense in the novel is by the nature of the events that happened and how they affected Montag. There were so many negative things happening to Montag that the suspense was built by having the reader wait for something positive to happen. Things like Clarisse dying, Mildred's suicide attempt, and Mildred turning Montag in for his posession of books. All these things are going on and you are waiting for a change to happen or at least for Montag to get caught. The reader is waiting for something positive or the climax to happen and that was what builds the suspense.

5.Mildred a perfect example of conforming to what society expects of her. Unlike Clarisse and Guy Montag she doesn't question authority. her sense of the world is very simple. she thinks that there is a clear line between right and wrong and that wherever the government says the line is, that is where it is. She has no thirst to obtain greater knowledge, her world is contained within her parlor and the 'family', she never loved Montag or anything else for that matter.

yeah, mr. "tank you", I'm not doing your english homework for you. People who do this kind of thing are only solidifying the ideas Bradbury was trying to get across about our society. Read the book. Even if you already turned the homework in.

Granger: Granger is a big influence to Montag. Granger speaks of his Grandfather and how every person is meant to 'leave a mark' on the earth before they die. This encourages Montag in some ways. Granger remembers books that he has read and inspires Montag to have courage. Granger’s main reason was teaching Montag a lesson: that as long as you leave a mark on the earth your life was important.

-Hope that helped.