Faber

The old man represents knowledge The old man represents knowledge. He is educated and realizes that book banning and book burning has made people less, rather than more, enlightened.

Much of the imagery associated with Faber incorporates the colour white - his walls, skin, hair, beard, eyes, are all described as white. “ There was white in the flesh of his mouth and his cheeks and his hair was white and his eyes faded, with white in the vague blueness there.”

Thus, his character is portrayed as pure and unspoiled amidst the technology that has soiled the minds and characters of so many others.

He becomes a mentor and teacher for Montag and teaches him it is not about the books. He is an ex-professor who has witnessed the decline in society. Montag met him in the park and kept his number in case he ever wanted to send out an alarm.

He tells Montag he will help him by giving him a two way radio ear piece and contacting someone about copying books.

Important quotes “so now you see why books are hated and feared. They show the pores in the face of life.” “Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were headed for shore.” “those who don’t build must burn. It is as old as history and juvenile delinquents.”

Imagery in part 2 “There were people on the suction train but he held the book in his hands and the silly thought came to him, if you read fast and read all, maybe some of the sand will stay in the sieve.”

“The train radio vomited upon Montag, in retaliation, a great ton load of music made of tin, copper, silver, chromium, and brass.”

“The night I kicked the pill bottle in the dark, like kicking a buried mine.”

Section title: “The sieve and the sand” The section is named after a childhood memory that Montag has. He remembers trying to fill a sieve with sand and how difficult this task was. He compares this memory to his attempt to read the whole Bible as quickly as possible on the subway in the hope that, if he reads fast enough, some of the material will stay in his memory. The sand is symbolic of the truth Montag seeks and the sieve symbolises the human mind seeking truth. Truth is elusive and, the metaphor suggests, impossible to grasp in any permanent way.

Character profiles Guy Montag Montag is the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451. He is a fireman whose job it is to burn books. He starts to question his job after witnessing a woman die for her books. We learn though that he secretly stole books from other jobs so he must have questioned it before this moment. He is easily swayed by the people around him: Clarisse changes the way he sees things; Faber convinces him to sabotage the fire department; even Beatty tries to control the way he thinks. At times he is not even aware of why he does things, feeling that his hands are acting by themselves. These symbolise his desire to rebel against what is going on.

Mildred Mildred seems unhappy in her life but she does not know it. Her attempt at suicide tells us there is something wrong and her obsession with the television is her way of avoiding her pain. She is cold and distant from the reader and seems to be a shell of a human Her only attachment is to the family that she watches in the parlour. She represents a model citizen of the time as she likes driving fast, needs to be constantly stimulated (seashells; parlour walls) and does not ask questions.

Beatty Beatty is full of contradictions: He is a book burner yet he can quote a variety of different books. He calls books weapons yet he uses his knowledge of books to get Montag to come back to work. He provides much of the background to the novel in his speeches to Montag.

Clarisse A beautiful seventeen-year-old who introduces Montag to the world’s potential for beauty and meaning with her gentle innocence and curiosity. She is an outcast from society because of her odd habits, which include hiking, playing with flowers, and asking questions, but she and her (equally odd) family seem genuinely happy with themselves and each other. She is the catalyst that propels Montag forward to question his life.

Clarisse is everything that Millie is not, for she thinks, she feels, and she enjoys life. It is not surprising that Montag really likes her and enjoys spending time talking to her. He always looks forward to their next visit. Her sudden disappearance from the world disturbs him greatly; and when he finally learns from his wife that Clarisse has been hit by a car and killed, he is greatly grieved.

Montag as a changing character At the beginning of the book, Montag is a fireman who is happy to carry out his job of burning books.

He meets Clarisse and things begin to change. Clarisse makes Montag look at himself for the first time when she asks him, "Are you happy?" Montag thinks that she is talking nonsense, but he realises that he truly is not happy. Something is missing from his life. Clarisse helped Montag to start to think for himself, instead of letting the society take over and make the decisions for him.

The woman who dies in the fire with her books also changes the way Montag thinks. He now knows there must be something in books worth dying for. He takes one of her books home with him and this represents him breaking free from conformity. He wonders if what he is doing is correct.

Faber teaches Montag about the importance of knowing what is in books. He also tells him he will help him print copies of books. Together they come up with a plan of sabotaging the fire brigade. He gives Montag the courage to stand up to Beatty.

Montag sets fire to his own house and confronts Beatty about their role in society.

By setting Beatty on fire, we see the ultimate change in Montag By setting Beatty on fire, we see the ultimate change in Montag. He is now a criminal and a rebel who has gone against society. He is no longer a coward and a conformist and saves the life of Faber because if Beatty had traced the ear piece, Faber would be dead.