Discussion Questions For Fahrenheit 451

Ryan Boren – Fahrenheit 451
DECISION 1: Montag decides to keep some books and see what is inside of them. This decision requires a bit of background information to explain. The premise of this book is that books are outlawed in a futuristic city. This city is a very busy, dystopian one. There is a profession in the city called “firefighters.” These firefighters do not put out fires, but rather start homes on fire which are believed to have books inside of them. The main character, Montag, eventually succumbs to curiosity and keeps some books for himself, which ultimately sets the stage for the climax of the book. If I were in Montag’s situation, I might want to see what is inside books if I had never read one before. I am not a big fan of

After Montag read the books, despite his wife’s lack of interest, he realizes he needs help understanding the material, what it means, and why books are outlawed. He remembers an old man named Faber, an old English professor, whom he had met before the ban of books. Montag speaks to Faber after multiple tries, and eventually convinces Faber to help him by putting an earpiece in Montag’s ear to give guidance. Again, I would do the same thing if I was in Montag’s situation. If I hadn’t read a piece of literature before, I would be quite lost after reading something. Faber would also be the right person to turn to in this type of situation.
DECISION 3: Montag decides to recite poetry to his wife’s friends, even though it is outlawed. Montag’s wife, Mildred, invites her friends over to watch the “parlor walls”, or a futuristic television set. Montag tries to have a meaningful, deep conversation with them, but they don’t seem interested in anything he discusses. So, Montag resorts to pulling out a poem, Dover Beach, and reciting it to the group, much to Faber’s disapproval. He makes one of the friends cry, and crashes their

After Montag reads the poetry to his wife’s friends, he gets reported to the firefighters. He then is forced to burn down his own house with a flamethrower. He follows through with the captains orders and destroys his own house. Following this, the captain begins to taunt Montag about his new passion for books. Montag proceeds to kill the captain with the flamethrower and flee the scene, all out of anger. This decision is a difficult one to make. If I had enough loyalty to someone to burn my own house down when told to do so, I don’t think I would be in a frame of mind to kill that same person. While Montag had plenty of motive to do this (the captain made him burn down his house and insulted him), the whole act seemed to be done rather quickly. The captain didn’t really threaten Montag’s life. If I were in Montag’s situation, I would probably not kill the captain; I would simply flee as fast as I could.
DECISION 5: Montag joins a nomadic group of book lovers outside the main