Burning Questions
(analysis ?s)
(analysis ?s)
Why does Montag start to question his happiness after meeting Clarisse?
She makes him reflect on his empty life and lack of authentic emotion by being so unusual and thoughtful.
"The books lay like great mounds of fishes left to dry."
Simile
"Are you happy?"
Clarisse
Destruction and control; Later, rebirth and the warmth of community
FIRE
👵🏼 🔥 📚
The old woman chooses to die with her books in her home as it burns
Why does Montag trust Faber?
He recognizes Faber's genuine belief in books, knowledge, and truth.
"The parlor was dead, and Mildred kept it alive."
Personification
"We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in awhile!"
Montag
Curiosity, innocence, questioning, and authentic human connection
Clarisse
🛏️ 💊 🐍 👬🏻
Mildred's stomach is pumped after overdosing on sleeping pills
Why does Clarisse disappear from the novel so quickly?
Her absence highlights society's danger to free thinkers.
"With the brass nozzle in his fists, this great python spitting its venomous kerosene..."
Metaphor
"You can't make someone listen to reason if they don't want to."
Faber
Society's obsession with distraction and avoidance. It belongs to Mildred.
Seashell or the screens
👩 📺 📺 📺 👨👩👧
Mildred is obsessed with her TV "family"
What realization does Montag have while floating down the river?
He feels reborn and free from his old identity.
There was a faint whirring, and Montag felt the temperature rise at his back."
Imagery or Onomatopoeia
"Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle."
The old woman that burned with her books
Dehumanized control, calculated responses, and government surveillance
The Hound
🚒 🏠 🔥 🚓
Beatty forces Montag to burn his own home and then places him under arrest
Why does Beatty quote literature while defending book burning?
He's torn between intellectual understanding and societal obedience; he weaponizes knowledge to justify destruction.
"It was a pleasure to burn."
Irony
"We're nothing more than dust jackets for books, of no significance otherwise."
Granger
The struggle and futility to retain knowledge in an overwhelming society against brain power.
The sieve and the sand
🤖 🐕 💉🦵🏽
The Hound injects Montag with a sedative and makes his leg go numb