Fahrenheit 451 Dialectical Journal

Part Two: The Sieve and the Sand

B) Critical Analysis:

1) When Montag is reading with his wife, it is raining outside. The parlor indoors is empty and boring because the walls are turned off. It is significant because it represents a change in Montag’s mind. He has got rid of the distractions and starts to think about the meaning of the words. This indicates the beginning of his process of becoming wise and an independent thinker. It also symbolizes purity. In the novel, fire symbolizes destruction, and water restrains fire, so raining signifies the cleansing of Montag’s soul.

2) Clarisse’s favourite subject was everyone else. She was interested in the others’ ideas and opinions instead of her own. Bradbury might be addressing the issue of

Thus, suspicions will arise and the fire department will not operate properly. However, Faber thinks that humans tend to destroy one another. Even if books are not burnt, the public will not digest the content and gain the knowledge in them. Therefore, he advises Montag to understand the knowledge in books and memorize it instead of relying on other media to record them. It is a sound advice because understanding is the most important part of reading and the knowledge can be passed down better if Montag understands it. I prefer Montag’s plan because it can paralyze the fire department and buy time for Montag and Faber to find a better

These books teach us a lesson and promote a proper attitude so that we will become a better person. The second thing is the time to digest the books. The lessons in books are concealed. Even if the books have a high quality, we need time to think about the contents so that we can get the gist of it. The third thing is the right to carry out actions based on the lessons from books. When the actions are prohibited in a society, people cannot take action and apply the lessons in reality so the society will still not improve. I agree with Faber because application is the most important part for advancement, and conducting larger scale researches on more difficult subjects require the cooperation of many people, which can be achieved by the exchange of information through books.

6) Faber means that everyone impacts the society in either a beneficial or destructive way. I do not agree with the statement because there are people who do nothing and this type of people is especially prevalent in the society in the novel. Ordinary people like Mildred do nothing meaningful and do not help the society improve. However, they also do nothing harmful to the society since they are not responsible for the burning of books. Their impacts are