Welcome Back!

Soon we will be able to communicate in person our opinions on Fahrenheit 451, but until then read the posts made by teachers, comments left by students, and be sure to check out the links on the right side of the page. A special thank you to the Giurini family ( Daniel '14) for sending in the article about Ray Bradbury's birthday.


Enjoy the last days of summer!

Welcome Back. Now...Reflect!

With the first day back at school mere moments away, the time is right to reflect on what we've read.   

One of the most commonly made statements about Fahrenheit 451 is that it is a novel about censorship.  You'll even find such a comment on the back of the book!  However, one of the ideas Bradbury makes very clear in his novel is that censorship is not the only contributing factor in society's widespread abandonment of books.

Consider the following quotes:

Beatty: "It didn't come from the government down.  There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship to start with, no!  Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God." (p. 58)

Faber: "Good God, it isn't as simple as just picking up a book you laid down half a century ago.  Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary.  The public itself stopped reading of its own accord.  You firemen provide a circus now and then at which buildings are set off and crowds gather for the pretty blaze, but it's a small sideshow indeed, and hardly necessary to keep things in line" (p. 87)

Faber: "I remember the newspapers dying like huge moths.  No one wanted them back.  No one missed them." (p. 89)

So what happened?  If censorship isn't how it started, and firemen are "rarely" needed, then why did people stop reading?

Go back to your book and revisit those conversations with Beatty and with Faber.  Think about Millie in the parlor, think about the Seashells, think about Denham's Dentifrice, and challenge yourself to truly consider why this society left books behind—and what Bradbury is trying say about the world in which we live.

Is Montag the Protagonist of Fahrenheit 451?

Technically, the answer would be yes. Clearly Montag is the principal character, the one who leads the action in the novel, but is he the hero of this story? I'm not so sure. I found myself rushing through the reading of this book to get to the end and see how it all would be resolved, but I didn't find myself rushing through to find out what would happen to Montag. I'm not even sure I really cared about him as a character. I actually found most of the characters in this book to be cowardly and unlikable. I couldn't even answer the post below about Faber and Millie because I didn't like the way either of them played out in this book. I thought Clarisse was interesting, but she was gone too soon for me to really care. I liked Faber so much when he first appeared on scene, but he did his little part and then disappeared for Montag and for me.

The only character who stayed with me was the old woman who appears in the book for a maximum of five pages (p35-40). She is the only character I could truly see and hear in this novel. She kneels amongst her beloved books and stares contemptuously at the "firemen" and then she ruins their fun, their "routine." She takes out her own match and watches as the men run from her in shock. I love that she takes back her life and her books! For me she was the only hero in this novel.

But I'm curious to hear what you think. Maybe you agree with me or maybe you disagree. Who was the hero of this novel? Who were you routing for as you read? Montag? Faber? Millie? The old woman in the fire? Granger? Beatty? The Hound?

Are you a Millie or a Faber?

so it occurred to me that Montag's decision is really really hard.

it's not easy to totally go against everything you have been taught to basically be a revolutionary for what you believe is truly right - to go against society and do something everyone (well, MOSTLY everyone) is telling you is wrong.

I wonder how many people reading this book look at their 55in TV and say "that would never happen to me" or how many people look at their 55in TV and watch "programs...some of the best ever...oh, you know, the bunch" (p49).

whose side are you on?

Beatty the bad guy?

I am fascinated by Beatty the fire chief, whose character is full of contradictions. For instance, he spouts quotations with ease and yet claims he hasn't read the books in his secret library. He is too knowledgeable and self-aware to believe in what he is doing, yet he pursues his profession with (feigned?) enthusiasm. Did he know about the secret society of book memorizers? Maybe he chose to die because he realized he could never join them. Beatty seems more tragic than evil.

What book would you save?

"Montag's hand closed like a mouth, crushed the book with wild devotion, with an insanity of mindlessness to his chest...Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in each trembling finger, had turned thief. Now it plunged the book back under his arm, pressed it tight to sweating armpit, rushed out empty, with a magician's flourish!" -page 38





If you could save just one book from being burned, what book would you choose and why?

Favorite Quote?

"Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores." -Professor Fabar, page 83







This is just one of my favorite passages from Fahrenheit 451, share with us your favorite passage (quote).