Fahrenheit 451: Part III

Who called in the multiple alarms for Montag’s house? Mildred’s friends first called in the alarm. Captain Beatty ignored the alarm. Then, Mildred called in an alarm. Why does Montag not run away when Beatty is questioning him? He doesn’t run away because he knows the mechanical hound will catch him. Why did Montag kill Captain Beatty? Montag killed Captain Beatty because Captain Beatty found out about the transmitter in Montag’s ear, and Montag didn’t want Faber to get hurt. While talking to Montag, Captain Beatty makes a reference to Phaeton and his ride in Helios's sun chariot. How does this relate to what Montag did? In the myth, the sun god’s son Phateon drives Helios’s chariot; however, he drives much too closely to the sun and perishes. This relates to what Montag did because according to Captain Beatty, like Phaeton, Montag became too confident and too arrogant in its action.

5. What saves Montag from being ran over by the car? Montag trips and falls, so the car swerves around him. He believes this saves him because the car hit him while he was down, it could have flipped because the car was traveling so fast. 6. Where is Montag going? Why? He is going to Faber’s house to warn him. 7. What steps does Montag take to try to cover up his scent? Montag asks Faber to turn on the sprinklers and burn the items that he has touched. He also asks Faber for a suitcase, some very dirty clothes, and some whiskey to cover up his scent. 8. After leaving Faber’s house, where does Montag go? He heads toward the river.

9. Who does Montag meet in the wilderness? What are they like? Montag meets some homeless intellectuals. They are nice, welcoming, and educated. Granger is their leader. 10. Granger gives Montag a liquid to drink. What is it and why does Montag drink it? The liquid changes one’s chemical composition and changes the way one smells. Montag drinks it to get the mechanical hound off of his trail. 11. Why did the mechanical hound and camera incriminate an innocent man? An innocent man is incriminated because the world was watching the chase and the firefighters, camera, and mechanical hound needed to prevail. 12. Why do the men at the river identify themselves as famous authors? They identify themselves as famous authors because they have memorized a book by that particular author.

14. What book does Montag memorize? 13. What do the men by the river do with books after they have read them? Why? They read the book, memorize it, and then burn it. They do not want to have any incriminating evidence on them. 14. What book does Montag memorize? The Book of Ecclesiastes 15. People often say, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Describe how this phrase relates to the river. To an ordinary onlooker, these men appear to be homeless people. However, they contain a great deal of knowledge. These hobos, while their outer appearance may not be much, their inner appearance is a world of knowledge. 16. What happened to the city Montag lived in? The city was destroyed by the war. It was bombed and then engulfed in flames. 17. Once the war ends, what do Montag and the men by the river want to do? They want to rebuild and remember the lessons from the past.