anglais, english, fiction, classic, dystopie, Dystopia, reading, books, lecture, science fiction, Lexile 890L 

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.

Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television 'family'. But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people did not live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.

When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known.  

Reader Resources from the National Endowment for Arts:
https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Reader-Resources-Fahrenheit451.pdf
Great discussion questions and activities for your English workfile.

Montag comes to learn that "firemen are rarely necessary" because "the public itself stopped reading of its own accord." Bradbury wrote his novel in 1953: Do you think his prophecy—in any way—came true? How so?

Clarisse describes a past that Montag has never known: one with front porches, gardens, and rocking chairs. What do you think these items evoke? How might their absence have encouraged Montag's repressive society?

"Don't look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or library," Faber tells Montag. "Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were headed for shore." What do you think Faber means by this? Do you agree with his advice?

One of the most significant of the many literary allusions in Fahrenheit 451 occurs when Montag reads Matthew Arnold's poem "Dover Beach." Why do you think Bradbury chose this poem? How do Mildred’s friends respond to the poem, and why does Montag kick them out of his house?

Were you surprised to learn that Beatty is quite well read? What do you think lead Beatty to despise books? How do you think his knowledge of and hatred for books can be reconciled? What do you think he means when he says “a book is a loaded gun in the house next door”?

Unlike Mrs. Hudson, Montag chooses not to die in his house with his books. Instead, he burns them, asserting even that "it was good to burn" and that "fire was best for everything!" Are these choices and sentiments consistent with his character? Were you surprised that he failed to follow in her footsteps? Why do you think he chose not to?

Beatty justifies the new role of firemen by claiming to be "custodians of [society's] peace of mind, the focus of [the] understandable and rightful dread of being inferior." What do you think he means by this?

How does the destruction of books lead to more happiness and equality, according to Beatty? Does his lecture to Montag on the rights of man sound like any rhetoric still employed today?

Why does Montag memorize the Old Testament's Ecclesiastes and the New Testament's Revelation? How do the final two paragraphs of the novel allude to both biblical books?

Are there any circumstances in which censorship might play a beneficial role in society? Can you think of any books that you might argue should be banned? Why or why not?

If you had to memorize a single book or risk its extinction, which book would you choose?