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Description
Nowadays firemen start fires. Fireman Guy Montag loves to rush to a fire and watch books burn up. Then he met a seventeen-year old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid, and a professor who told him of a future where people could think. And Guy Montag knew what he had to... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis
Summary
A fireman who lives in a society where books where illegal. The people in this society do not read books , they are independent, enjoying nature and spending time by themselves. In this society people watch excessive amounts of television, and listen to the radio on "Seashell... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Cast of Characters/Important People
- Guy Montag: A protagonist who is a fireman whom profession takes to be clumsy and misguided. He is often desperate to define and comprehend his own life and purpose through books.
- Beatty: Is a complex character full of contradictions. He is a book burner with a great deal of knowledge of literature, someone who obviously cares about books. Beatty calls books treacherous weapons, and he uses his own book learning to manipulate Montag.
- Faber: Professor Faber's role and motivations are complex, at times he tries to help Montag to think independently and at other times he tries to dominate him.
- Mildred Montag: Montag's wife is one character who seems to have no hope of resolving the conflicts within herself. She appears to be unaware of her own suicide attempts. Her betrayal of Montag is completely in character, as she is a controlled, ignorant, well-entertained citizen.
- Clarisse McClellan: Clarisse is a seventeen year old girl who behaves differentlyl from other people and makes Montag think differently.
Memorable Quotes
-
“I'm seventeen and I'm crazy. My uncle says the two always go together. When people ask your age, he said, always say seventeen and insane.”
Clarisse -
“The books are to remind us what asses and fools we are.”
Faber -
“The sun burned every day. It burned Time. The world rushed in a circle and turned on its axis and time was busy burning the years and the people anyway, without any help from him. So if he burnt things with the firemen, and the sun burnt Time, that meant that everything burned!”
-
“There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.”
Ray Bradbury, from Coda
First Sentence
It was a pleasure to burn.
Table of Contents
Part I: The Hearth and the Salamander
Part II: The Sieve and the Sand
Part III: Burning Bright
Glossary
- 451 degrees Fahrenheit: The temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns.
- Trench mouth: An infectious disease producing mouth ulcers in the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat.
- Clarisse: A name derived from the Latin word for "brightest".
- Electronic bees: Futuristic "seashell ear-thimbles" that block out thoughts and supplant them with mindless entertainment.
Authors & Contributors
- Ray Bradbury (Author)
Awards
- Prometheus (1984: Hall of Fame Award Recipient)
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