Characters
This is the main character, a fireman who begins to question his job.
Who is Guy Montag?
This is the temperature at which paper burns (and the title of the book).
What is 451 degrees Fahrenheit?
This is the machine that hunts people who own books.
What is the Mechanical Hound?
The novel strongly criticizes this practice of controlling what people can read or know.
What is censorship?
“It was a pleasure to burn.” These are the opening words of the novel and refer to Montag’s early feelings.
What does Montag feel about his job at the start?
She is Montag’s wife who is obsessed with her parlor “family” and takes sleeping pills.
Who is Mildred
Montag meets this free-thinking teenage girl who makes him start questioning everything.
Who is Clarisse McClellan?
Books are compared to these flying creatures that Montag “kills” with the flamethrower.
What are pigeons
Technology in the book often isolates people instead of bringing them together. This is an example of that theme.
What is the danger of technology / technology replacing human connection?
Clarisse asks Montag if he is this, which surprises him.
What is “happy”?
This is the fire captain who knows a surprising amount about books and tries to stop Montag.
Who is Captain Beatty?
Montag hides books in this location in his house after he starts stealing them.
what is vent
This is the name of the seashell radios that people wear in their ears all day.
What are Seashells
Bradbury warns that when people stop thinking and questioning, society becomes this.
What is ignorant / empty / controlled / dystopian?
This old man is a former English professor who becomes Montag’s secret mentor and helps him plan.
Who is Faber?
After killing Beatty, Montag flees the city and this major event destroys the city behind him.
What is the atomic bomb
Mildred and her friends represent this dangerous idea: people who are “happy” but...... inside.
What is emptiness / mindless entertainment?
Montag’s journey shows the importance of this over blind obedience and entertainment.
What is knowledge / critical thinking / individual thought?
These are the people who live outside the city and memorize books so knowledge isn’t lost.
Who are the Book People / the “hobos”?
This is the final thing Montag and the other book people plan to do after the war ends
What is rebuild society / remember the books / start over?
The phoenix is a major symbol in the book. Explain what it represents about society.
What is rebirth / the cycle of destruction and renewal of society?
The book suggests that real happiness and freedom come from this, not from constant entertainment and conformity.
What is thinking for yourself / reading / meaningful human connection / facing reality?