Fahrenheit 451 - Part Two

Montag and Mildred think someone is at the door. Why doesn’t the door-voice tell them if someone is there?
Because Montag had turned it off before they started reading the books.

What does Mildred think is at the door? What is at the door?
Mildred thinks it is a dog that is at the door. In fact it is the Mechanical Hound which is tracking Montag.

What is Montag talking about when he says he saw a snake?
He is talking about the time when Mildred took an overdose and the men came with a machine to pump her stomach. Montag sees the snake as a symbol of Mildred's deep depression that she is trying to deny. That is why he feels they should read books - they might have the answer to what is missing in their lives and why they feel so empty.

What is a rumor Montag has heard?
He has heard a rumor that while their country (America although this is never stated) is rich and people have so much leisure time they are "entertained" out of their minds, the rest of the world is working hard and starving, perhaps exploited to make rich countries richer and thus the rest of the world hates America. This situation of rich versus poor exists in the world today and it also existed at the time Bradbury was writing his novel. It is interesting that he felt it might continue to exist in the future.

What does Montag remember when he is wondering where to get a teacher?
He remembers meeting a man in a park a year ago and he realizes that he has been thinking about that incident a lot recently. We noticed that too on page 10 and page 34. Perhaps his unconscious mind has been leading him towards Faber.

Who is the English Professor?
He is Professor Faber, who used to teach English at a college. Bradbury named the character after a publishing company (Faber & Faber) and a brand of pencils - both things related to the written word.

Why did the last liberal arts college shut down?
It closed because there were no students and no one was giving it money. This is an important point: the government didn't ban liberal art colleges; people lost interest and stopped studying things like literature because they thought it was boring.

When Faber was about to leave Montag, he said some things. What did Montag think he was reciting?
Montag thought he was reciting a poem.

What does Faber mean by “I don’t talk things, sir. I talk the meaning of things. I sit here and know I’m alive” (p75)?
In Montag's world, people are very superficial; they don't think or talk deeply about anything, and seem to even be scared to do so. Faber, on the other hand, thinks very deeply about everything and what those things mean about us and society as a whole.

What does Faber give Montag at the end of their meeting?
At the end of their first meeting in the park, Faber gave Montag his name and address on a piece of paper and handed it to Montag. Perhaps because Montag didn't arrest him, Faber felt Montag had similar feelings about society and they might meet again.

What are some of the books that Montag asks Faber about?
Montag asks Faber about the Bible, Shakespeare and Plato. All classic pieces of literature and among the most important works in Western culture.

Why is Faber afraid to answer?
Faber thinks Montag is trying to trap him by getting him to admit that he has some copies of these books. In this world, people like Faber have to be very careful who they talk to and what they say, or else they might be arrested and have their house burned down.

Why is Mildred excited?
Mildred gets excited when her friend Ann calls and arranges to come over to watch TV together. Mildred is very relieved to stop thinking about the books they are reading and get back to the TV, something that she knows well and is comfortable with.

What is the name of the show that Mildred plans to watch?
It is called the White Clown. Clowns are usually associated with children, and by choosing this example Bradbury shows us that in Montag's world, adults have become like children in terms of the entertainment they like. There is no thinking involved, just mindess entertainment. Compare this to many of the shows on TV in Japan and other countries today...

What question does Montag ask Mildred?
He asks her if the White Clown loves her. The entertainment Mildred chooses is superficial and meaningless, but the books Montag has read make him feel something. However, while Montag engaged with Clarisse's question about love, Mildred dismisses him as stupid.

While Montag is on the train what does he remember about when he was a child?
He remembers trying to fill a sieve with sand at the beach after his cousin promised him money is he could do it. It was an impossible task. This is a metaphor for the knowledge that he is trying to retain (the sand) and his inability to retain it (the sand pouring through the sieve).










Why is he trying to remember the Bible?
He wants to remember it and then rewrite it so he can hand it back to Beatty. Of course, this is an impossible task and illustrates one reason that books are so vital: to pass on more knowledge that any one person can remember.

What is causing Montag to have a difficult time reading the Bible?
He can't concentrate in the subway because of the very loud and repetitive toothpaste advert playing in the train. This is so common that the other people in the train don't even notice that they are tapping their feet in time to the advert and mouthing the words. Notice the contrast here between the bible (full of meaning) and the meaningless advert which is forcing itself into his mind and forcing the bible out.

How does Montag begin to behave? What is the reaction from the other riders?
He starts toget angry and stand up and shout with the book in his hands. The other passengers recoil in horror.

Whom does Montag visit?
He visits Professor Faber.

How is Professor Faber described?
He is described as being very old and frail and delicate.

According to Faber, what does Jesus do on the parlor walls?
Faber says that Jesus is now in the parlor TV and is used to advertize products.

According to Faber, why is he a coward?
Because when the colleges were closing and books were disappearing and people were becoming more and more simple, he could see how things were moving but he did nothing about it.

What are the three qualities that Faber says are needed?
Montag says that he feels there is something missing in life and he thinks books might give him the answer. Faber says that he is right, but there are three things missing in life in their society:
First, the quality of information - in their world, the TV and other information is very superficial, it has no quality.
Second, leisure time - Although people have lots of leisure time in their world, they fill it up with things to distract them, so they don't have time to just think.
Third, the freedom to do what we want to do after we get high quality information and have time to think about it.

What idea did Montag have?
Montag thinks they should get a printing press and print extra copies of books.

What is Faber’s reaction to Montag’s idea?
Faber doesn't want to listen, because he knows that if they printed books, they would be arrested or killed.

What idea does Faber suggest to Montag about printing extra copies?
He suggests that the only way to be successful would be to print extra copied of books and then put them in the houses of firemen so that the firemen wouldn't know who to trust. This might lead to the collapse of the whole organization of firemen.

What does Montag do to the Bible to try to get Faber to agree to help?
He starts tearing pages out of the bible. Faber is horrified and agrees to help. Of course, he probably wanted to help anyway, but his natural cowardice held him back.

What does Faber give Montag to help him out with his meeting with Beatty?
He gives him a seashell radio that is a microphone as well as a speaker. This way, Faber can speak to Montag and hear what he is doing and what he says.

Describe the bank.
The bank is open 24 hours a day and has robot staff. Remember, in the 1950s there were no ATMs and banks were very old-fashioned offices.
















Describe the show that Mildred and her friends are watching?
The show has no continuity. It jumps from one thing to the next at high speed and instead of a plot or story, the emphasis is on color, noise, action and violence. At one point 3 clowns chop each other up while people laugh and then car crashes are shown in graphic detail. This is exactly what Faber meant when he talked about a lack of "quality"; this show is pointless.

What does Montag do to the parlor walls?
He pulled out the plug.

What questions does he ask?
He asks about their husbands and their children.

What happened to Gloria’s husband?
He killed himself by jumping off a building.

How did Mrs. Bowles have two children?
She had them by Caesarian section. Although this is common today for women who may have problems during childbirth, the fact that she chose to have them this way reflects her lack of interest in her children and her family; she chose the easiest way to get it over with.

What were Mrs. Bowles’s reasons for having children?
Just to help to continue the population. She didn't really want them personally.

Describe Mrs. Bowles’s way of parenting.
She puts them in bording school most of the time and when they are not at school, she puts them in front of the TV and leaves them there. She shows no love towards her children.

How did the women vote? What did they use for criteria when voting for president?
They voted for the incumbent (the man who is already President). They thought he was the nicest looking candidate. The fact that the other candidate seemed ugly and couldn't speak clearly hints that the media is tightly controlled by the existing President and is purposely showing the other candidate to be a less attractive choice.

What does Montag do after he can’t take the women anymore?
He goes and gets a book to read to them.

What is the name of the poem Montag reads?
It is a poem called "Dover Beach" which expresses the poets deep feelings while looking at the sea and landscape.

What is Mrs. Phelps’s reaction to the poem?
She starts to cry.

What does Montag do with the book after he has read the poem?
He takes it to the incinerator and burns it.

What does Beatty say when he sees Montag in the firehouse?
He calles him a fool, but says that he was sensible to come back and welcomes him back to work.

According to Beatty, why does he quote from the books that Montag clings to?
He wants to show Montag how books are very contradictory, so they cannot be relied on to give him the answers he is looking for.

What house do the firemen go to?
They go to Montag's house.