More Information: BarnesandNoble.com
Discussion Posts: Fahrenheit 451 Post Category
Discussion Period: October 25 – October 31, 2007

Discussion Questions:

1. Consider the titles of each of the three sections of the novel: The Hearth and the Salamander, The Sieve and the Sand, and Burning Bright. How do each of the titles of these sections relate to Bradbury’s message? What do they represent?
2. As for the following questions, you can either reply with your responses in this post, or you can create a new post with your thoughts. You don’t have to answer them; in fact, we encourage you to post your own thoughts on the book! Remember also that you may post a general review instead of a specific question-answer entry, and if you thought of any questions while you were reading, feel free to post those also!
3. One suicide and one near-suicide occur in this book. One woman, who shuns books but loves TV and driving fast in her car, anesthetizes herself,; “We get these cases nine or ten a night,” says the medical technician. Another woman, who cherishes her books, sets herself on fire with them; “These fanatics always try suicide,” says the fire captain. Why would two people who seem to be so different from each other try to take their own lives? Why does suicide happen so frequently in Montag’s society?”
4. Montag turns to books to rescue him; instead they help demolish his life — he loses his wife, job and home; he kills a man and is forced to be a nomad. Does he gain any benefits from books? If so, what are they?
5. Captain Beatty quotes history, scripture, poetry, philosophy. He is obviously a well-read man. Why hasn’t he been punished? And why does he view the books he’s read with such contempt?
6. 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.”)
7. Imagine that you have joined the wandering group of book lovers. Think of five books you think would be worth saving from the firemen (for this exercise assume that the Bible, the Koran and the collected works of William Shakespeare have been already saved). The books you select should be works you think would be of value to future civilizations, either for their ideas, their stories, their characters, or their point of view. Out of the five books, pick one you would memorize and “become.” Why did you select each of the five books? Why did you select the one book to memorize and why do you think it more important than the others?