Literary Devices
This device is used when the Mildred is compared to a praying mantis.
What is a simile?
Why does Montag hide a book under his pillow before Beatty arrives?
What is he doesn’t want it discovered?
What is they're illegal
Mildred shows her shallow personality by being more concerned with this than Montag’s illness.
What is the “family” in the parlor/TV programs?
Mildred nearly exposes Montag’s secret by doing this while Beatty is talking.
What is tugging at the pillow hiding his book?
Beatty says, “A book is a loaded gun in the house next door.” This metaphor suggests what about books?
What is that they are dangerous because they can challenge conformity and authority?
What reason does Beatty give for why society abandoned books before censorship was enforced?
What is people preferred comfort and entertainment over deep thought?
Beatty’s calm, persuasive manner characterizes him as both a ______ and a ______.
What is mentor and manipulator/enforcer?
What does Montag’s desperate plea to Mildred to help him with the books reveal about him?
What is that he is vulnerable, desperate for support, and dependent on her partnership?
Montag says, “No, not water; fire…this fire’ll last me the rest of my life.” What does fire symbolize here?
What is guilt, destruction, and memory that will haunt him?
Why does Montag feel physically sick after recalling the old woman’s death?
What is guilt and horror at his role in burning her and her books?
Clarisse is different from Mildred in how she makes Montag feel. How does Clarisse’s influence contrast with Mildred’s?
What is Clarisse makes him think deeply while Mildred distracts herself with shallow entertainment?
What does Mildred’s reaction to the woman’s death reveal about her relationship with Montag?
What is that she is emotionally distant, indifferent, and unable to empathize with him?
In Beatty’s speeches, books are repeatedly given qualities of danger, destruction, or even life. Why might Bradbury personify books this way, and how does this deepen the novel’s theme?
What is that it makes books feel alive and threatening, showing how censorship fears the power of ideas as if they were living beings?
Beatty argues that censorship began because “the people” chose it. What message is Bradbury sending about responsibility in censorship?
What is that censorship doesn’t always come from the government — sometimes people give up their freedoms willingly for convenience and comfort?
How does Bradbury use physical description (Mildred’s “hair burnt by chemicals…flesh like white bacon”) to characterize her not just as a person, but as a symbol of society?
What is that she represents artificiality, emptiness, and the unhealthy effects of conformity/technology?
How does the contrast between Montag’s memory of Clarisse and his interactions with Mildred highlight the central conflict in his marriage?
What is that Clarisse represents thought, connection, and authenticity, while Mildred embodies emptiness and distraction, showing why Montag feels trapped and dissatisfied in his marriage?