Discussion questions

[Spencer]

1. Why would society make "being a pedestrian" a crime? (Clarisse tells Montag that her uncle was once arrested for this.)

2. Beatty tells Montag that firemen are "custodians of peace of mind" and that they stand against "those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought." How well are the firemen accomplishing these objectives? Are conflicting ideas the only source of unhappiness in their society? What other sources might there be? Can conflicting ideas exist even without books that have been destroyed and outlawed?

3. What does Granger mean when he says, "We're going to go build a mirror factory first and put out nothing but mirrors for the next year and take a long time to look at them?" Why would "mirrors" be important in this new society? (Note: In Part 1, Clarisse is said to be "like a mirror.")

4. Although Ray Bradbury's work is often referred to as science fiction, Fahrenheit has plenty to say about the world as it is, and not as it could be. As you review the book, list examples of the themes mentioned below, as well as others you notice. Discuss how you feel about the stands the author or characters take in Fahrenheit.

5. In your opinion, what makes books so powerful and cherished in our society compared to how books are seen in Fahrenheit? In other words, what does the value of books say about our society versus the society portrayed in Fahrenheit?

[Spencer]

1. I think that "being a pedestrian" would be a crime in Bradbury's writings because as society evolves it seems that readily adapting to these changes is a requirement to being or appearing as a "model citizen". "Being a pedestrian" would be someone who chooses to walk aimlessly or without a purpose as opposed to using a car or another mode of quick transportation.

2. It seems that the firemen as only delaying the inevitable curiosities of man-kind. In burning the books they are only ridding the community of the physical copies of the fictional accounts writers write of in novels, that doesn't, however, take away any fictional stories present in the mind. In the F451 society, lacking happiness seems oddly commonplace, Montag states that he doesn't miss his wife although he should when talking with Clarisse, because it seems they don't have any similarities other than living under the same roof and being married.

3. I think the ideas of mirrors is important in the story so that society can see themselves for what they've become, mere shells of a former self. That society lacks curiosities, is missing people who appreciate the little things (such as the meaning of a dandelion under the chin), and missing people who ask questions.

4. I think Bradbury takes on a unique perspective, one that both puzzles and fascinates me. He writes of a society where it is illegal to have banned books in your possession because of the conflicting ideas (in other words, books that take you to places that don't exist and are filled with fiction and not truths) because they are "pointless" or "have no meaning"; it also seems that Bradbury proposes a world in which knowledge is not power, and respecting/representing the liberties of the past is forbidden. It is quite the backwards society until the War.

5. In my opinion books have the power to allow your mind to run free and express your creativity, they allow you to take a vacation that may be revisited countless times, and can last as long as you want by only paying for the book itself. Books hold knowledge, the ideas, and thoughts of others; they possess possibilities and encounters that others may never have the chance to experience, thus allowing them to through words or picturing the words.