Summer Reading Study Guide
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
PART 1—The Hearth and the Salamander
- What is the significance of the title Fahrenheit 451?
- Describe the girl that Montag sees on his way home from the fire station.
- Describe Guy Montag’s profession. How is it different from today’s firemen?
- What kind of “simple pleasures” does Clarisse tell Montag about?
- What does Clarisse ask Montag before disappearing? Why?
- Montag keeps rehashing the short discussion with Clarisse. What does he think of her?
- What does Montag decide about his happiness?
- Describe Montag’s wife.
- What happened to her that night?
- How was Mildred acting the next morning? What was she planning to do that day?
- Where was Clarisse going that day? Why?
- According to Clarisse, how is Montag unlike the rest of the firemen?
- Describe the game the firemen play on slow nights.
- Describe the fire station hound. What does it do to Montag?
- Why doesn’t Clarisse go to school?
- Describe the activities of children.
- Describe what Clarisse has witnessed.
- How do ALL firemen look?
- Who was the first fireman? When and why?
- What happened at Mrs. Blake’s apartment?
- What does Montag hide under his pillow?
- What did Montag and Mildred both forget?
- What else did Mildred forget?
- Why doesn’t Montag feel well the next day?
- Describe the history of firemen as told by Captain Beatty.
- What does Captain Beatty say about books?
- Summarize the front porch passage.
- What does Montag pull from the air conditioner?
- Describe the close encounter at the end of Part 1.
Summer Reading Study Guide
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
PART 2—The Sieve and the Sand
- Discuss the quote “books aren’t people”.
- Describe the scene between Montag and the old man. When did it occur?
- Who does Montag call and why?
- What is the meaning of the sieve and the sand? Why is it important?
- Who does Montag go to see? Why? How does he get there?
- What are the three things Faber tells Montag? Why are they important?
- Why are books hated and feared?
- What does Faber suggest they do?
- Why does Faber say that firemen are “rarely necessary”?
- How is Faber’s house different?
- What does Montag do to get Faber’s attention? How does he react?
- What did Faber create? Why does he give it to Montag?
- What does Montag do after he leaves Faber’s house?
- What forces Montag to unplug the walls? What do they do after it’s disabled?
- What does Montag talk about with the women?
- What does Montag retrieve? How do the women respond?
- What does Montag do with this item? Why?
- What does Captain Beatty do to Montag?
- Where does the firetruck stop at the end of Part 2?
- What do you think will come of Montag and Faber?
Summer Reading Study Guide
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
PART 3—Burning Bright
- What does Mildred do when the firemen appear at her house?
- What does Beatty say about fire?
- What does Montag do to his house?
- What does he do to Captain Beatty?
- What does Montag do to the other firemen and the mechanical hound?
- Describe Montag’s injury.
- Why does Montag go back to his house?
- What did Montag stop to do?
- Where did he start running towards?
- Who was chasing Montag? Why?
- What does Montag do with the books? Why?
- What does Montag find out from the small TV?
- What does Montag tell Faber to do? Why? Does it work?
- What does Montag do when he reaches the river?
64. Why does Montag decide to never burn again?
- What does Montag see when he finally finds the railroad track?
- How does the mechanical hound’s chase end?
- Who are the men around the fire? Why are they there?
- What does Montag learn about them?
- What does Granger tell Montag?
- What was going on in the city?
- What does Montag finally remember?
- What do the men see when they wake up?
- How is the phoenix bird compared to humanity?
- Where are the men heading at the end of the novel?
Summer Reading Study Guide: Fahrenheit 451 1