Fahrenheit 451

Part 1

Reading Check

1. They burn books and houses containing books. (1)

2. Her empty sleeping pill bottle (11)

3. It growls and is suspicious of him. (23)

4. They can’t remember when they first met. (40)

5. He has a stash of books. (62)

Short Answer

1. He is too stunned to say anything at first. When she leaves, he thinks, “of course I’m happy!” but doesn’t seem convinced. (8)

2. They don’t like that she sits and thinks, or that she explores nature. That these behaviors make her unique indicates that the society depicted in the novel does not value nature or contemplativeness. (20)

3. She seems uninterested but speculates that there may have been a party. She doesn’t remember and knows only that she is hungry. (16)

4. They banned books so that everyone would be equal, and so that people wouldn’t be offended anymore. (54-55)

Part 2

Reading Check

1. Denham’s dental detergent/Denham’s Dentifrice (74)

2. He is an English professor who stopped working when schools closed. (71)

3. He puts a listening device in his ear so that Faber can read to him. (87)

4. He reads a poem titled “Dover Beach.” One of them cries and the other is angry. (97)

5. His own house (106)

Short Answer

1. She thinks it’s a silly question and changes the subject. It shows that she is either so numb she can’t connect or is choosing not to feel love. (73)

2. He is trying to memorize the Bible but can’t; it feels like sand pouring out of his mind. (74)

3. They want to get rid of firemen by planting books in their houses to create suspicion. They also want to print books of their own. (80-81)

4. He is using book quotes to demonstrate why books should be censored. This shows that he is not a blind follower but truly believes in book burning. (104)

Part 3

Reading Check

1. He burns Beatty and runs away. (113)

2. He tells him how to disguise his scent to keep the hound away. (129)

3. He is convinced that Clarisse had walked in that very place before. (138)

4. They have photographic memories, and each memorizes a different book. (144)

5. The city is bombed, killing everyone. (151)

Short Answer

1. Mildred turns in Montag because she wants to protect her television “family.” It shows that she cares more about a fake family than about her real one. (111)

2. Because Beatty wanted to die (116)

3. They want to spread knowledge and be useful when the war is over. They will pass their knowledge to their children by word of mouth and wait for people to be ready to listen. (146)