Fahrenheit 451

Montag and Mildred read the stolen books but struggle to decipher what the words mean. Montag laments the loss of his friend Clarisse, whose questioning attitude is reflected within the literature Montag wants to understand. Mildred resents the books: “Books aren’t people” (46). She would rather spend the time with her relatives on the video walls. Montag wonders whether books can help solve society’s problems, while Mildred takes a phone call from her friend Ann Bowles, who reminds her that a TV show, The White Clowns, is on. Montag wonders whether there’s someone who can help him interpret the books.

Montag recalls an encounter he had in the “city park” (47) the previous year. He met an old man “in a black suit” (47) who was carrying a concealed book. Initially, the man was anxious and feared Montag, a fireman. Montag reassured him and learned the man’s name: Faber. Faber was a retired English professor who lost his job after the country’s last art college closed. Faber recited a couple of poems from memory before slipping Montag his contact details on a piece of paper.

Back in the present, Montag retrieves Faber’s phone number and dials it. Faber answers, and Montag immediately asks him, “How many copies of the Bible are left in this country?” (47). This riles Faber, but Montag continues the interrogation, asking, “How many copies of Shakespeare and Plato?” (47). Faber admits there’s none left, something that Montag knew already through his job, but wanted Faber to confirm. Montag finishes the call, and Mildred excitedly tells him her friends are coming to visit. Montag shows her one of the books: The New and Old Testament and tells her that it could be the only copy in the country. Mildred implores Montag to return the book to Beatty.

Montag imagines Beatty burning the book and forcing Montag to watch. He knows he must make a duplicate before his next shift and hurries to the front door. Mildred calls out, asking if he’ll be back in time to watch the screen with her friends. Montag asks Mildred if she believes “her family,” including the White Clown, really loves her, “with all their heart and soul?” (48). Mildred thinks it’s a stupid question, and Montag, numbed by his wife’s response, leaves.

Montag thinks Faber can help and boards the subway. He realizes that he still has the Bible with him. There are other people in the carriage, and Montag tries to memorize passages from the book as quickly as possible, comparing the situation to a childhood memory of trying to fill a sieve with sand on a beach long ago. He struggles to concentrate as an advert for Denham’s Dentifrice (a toothpaste) plays on a loop through the subway’s speakers. Montag confuses the phrase “lilies of the field” (49) from the Bible with the advert itself and becomes increasingly tormented, eventually rising to his feet and crying out “Lilies of the field […] Denham’s” (49), to the dismay of his fellow commuters, who assume he must be crazy and shout for the guard. The train pulls into its next stop, and Montag leaps off, escaping.

Montag knocks on Faber’s front door, and the professor answers it, looking fearful. He beckons Montag inside and notices the Bible he’s carrying under one arm. Faber can’t tear his eyes from it as Montag takes a seat. The bedroom door is open, and Montag catches a glimpse of “machinery and steel tools” (51) on a desktop. Faber quickly closes the bedroom door and asks Montag where he got the book. Montag admits he stole it. Faber skims through the Bible and compares it to the watered-down version that plays on the parlor screens. He confesses to Montag that he considers himself a coward because he did little to help prevent the spread of authoritarianism.

Faber asks Montag why he sought him out, and Montag confirms that it’s because he senses something’s missing from his life. He thinks books could fill the void, but Faber says it’s not the books themselves that Montag requires, it’s what’s in them. Books reflect life and are one of many “receptacle(s)” (52) that can nourish the soul. He adds that he can benefit from books in three ways: first, the best books reflect the true nature of the world we live in: “They show the pores in the face of life” (52), which is something those in charge fear. Second, books can also improve our leisure time: unlike the constant clamor of the parlor walls, books grant us the “time to think” (52). They are more real; we can debate their contents. Faber’s third example is the result of the “interaction” (53) of the first two: the knowledge to act based on what we’ve learned. He bookends this by pointing out that neither an old man nor “a fireman turned sour” (53) can change society. Montag tells Faber about his plan to print more copies of the books he’s stolen, but Faber’s reluctant and fearful of the consequences. He adds that if Montag’s plan could be adapted so that books could be “hidden in fireman’s houses all over the country, so that “seeds of suspicion” (53) could be planted within the fireman system, then he might be persuaded.

Faber’s not serious, but Montag claims to own a file that contains the addresses of all the firemen in the country. Faber’s tempted, but pessimistic about finding others who could help them. Montag wonders if other academics could assist them, but Faber points out there are too few to make a difference, and “out of those few, most, like [himself], scare easily” (54). Faber tells Montag he should go home, but Montag, desperate, grabs hold of the Bible and begins tearing out pages. Faber implores him to stop, but Montag refuses and demands Faber teach him. Faber yields, and Montag puts the book down. Faber asks Montag if he has access to money. Montag says he can get hold of “four, five hundred dollars” (55), and Faber tells Montag to bring him the money because he knows an out-of-work printer who might be able to print a few books for them.

Montag tells Faber he’s worried about his upcoming shift at the firehouse. He fears Beatty’s influence and his intellect. Beatty is well-read, and “his voice is like butter” (56). He asks Faber for help, and the professor leads Montag through his bedroom to a smaller room with a table that’s home to an array of different tools. He hands Montag an earpiece that Faber’s made. It allows him to communicate with the person wearing the device and magnifies conversation within the recipient’s immediate surroundings. Faber instructs Montag to use it during his next shift so they can secretly learn more about Beatty. Montag hands Faber the Bible because he plans to give Beatty a different book when he returns to work. Faber says he’ll contact the unemployed printer, and Montag makes his departure.

Montag travels home on the subway, and Faber remains in contact with him via the earpiece. Faber reassures Montag that he’s on the right path and offers to help Montag in his quest for understanding by reading to him from the Book of Job while he sleeps at night. That evening, Montag’s eating dinner at home in the kitchen when he’s disturbed by the sound of the front-door voice. Mildred rushes from the parlor to greet her friends, Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles. The three women disappear into the parlor, sipping martinis. Together, they create an awful commotion, and Montag finds “himself at the parlor door with his food still in his mouth” (58). The ladies are watching The White Clown. Montag, via his earpiece, reports to Faber that he’s aware he should be on his way back to meet him with the money, but Faber stresses the need for patience. The montage of mayhem blaring out of the TV screen is too much for Montag, and he switches the TV off.

Montag tries to engage the women in conversation, but they’re uncomfortable as his probing shifts from possible future conflict to the ladies’ family lives. He asks Mrs. Phelps how her kids are doing, even though he knows she’s never had children. Mrs. Phelps asserts that “no one in his right mind, the Good Lord Knows, would have children” (60). But Mrs. Bowles disagrees: She’s “had two children by caesarian section” (60) because she didn’t want to experience the pain of natural childbirth. She thinks it’s nice that “[the children] sometimes look just like you” (60), and she usually dumps them in front of the TV in the parlor. Mildred suggests they chat politics to appease Montag. Still, the women are only interested in the physical appearance of two prominent politicians.

Montag, enraged, leaves the room before returning with one of his books. Mrs. Phelps wonders why he has a book in his possession: “You reading up on fireman theory?” (61). Montag dismisses her suggestion: “it’s poetry!” (61). Faber tells Montag to back down, but Montag won’t have it and loudly chastises the women, mocking their banal conversation. Mrs. Phelps, sensing the need to defuse the situation, encourages Montag to recite one of the poems, despite protestations from Mrs. Bowles. Faber threatens to sever the connection to the earpiece if he continues, but Montag is unrepentant. Mildred is confused about who Montag’s talking to, and Faber, panicking, advises him to feign madness and then incinerate one of the books in the kitchen. Mildred is already one step ahead of Faber and announces to her friends that this is all part of a game: “Once a year, every fireman’s allowed to bring one book home, from the old days, to show his family how silly it all was […] Guy’s surprise tonight is to read you one sample to show how mixed up things were” (62).

Mildred continues the ruse by selecting a poem for her husband to read: Dover Beach. Montag recites the poem, and Mrs. Phelps breaks down in tears at the end. She’s unable to articulate the reason for this, and Mrs. Bowles blames Montag, linking poetry with suicide, tears, and sickness. Faber orders Montag to incinerate the book, and this time, Montag obeys. Mildred tries to calm Mrs. Bowles, offering to “turn the family on” (63), but Mildred’s friends storm out of the house as Montag delivers a stinging rebuke of their poor life choices. Mildred, embarrassed and afraid, flees to the bathroom.

Montag searches the house for his collection of books and discovers that Mildred has destroyed some of them. He buries the others in the garden before searching for Mildred. He’s unable to find her and sets off to work, noting how deserted the house looks. He’s joined on his journey by Faber’s voice, at first “scolding” in tone, but later “consoling” (65) as he travels to the firehouse. Faber prepares Montag for his encounter with Beatty, highlighting how Montag’s no longer the man he was but is now a combination of them both.

There’s no sign of the Mechanical Hound at the firehouse, but Beatty is waiting for him. Montag hands Beatty a book, which he burns in the trashcan. Beatty asks Montag to join him and their card-playing colleagues for some poker, and as the game progresses, so does Montag’s sense of shame at what he’s done. He tries to hide his hands under the table and imagines them covered in blood. Twice, Montag visits the bathroom to scrub his hands, and after his second trip, Beatty laughs and orders him to keep them in plain sight.

Beatty tells Montag he had a dream the two had got into a heated argument about books. Beatty quotes powerful snippets of literature at Montag, framing the two of them in a verbal joust, with Beatty siding firmly against literature and the confusion it creates. Faber, via the earpiece, begs Montag to hold on as Beatty ups the ante, delivering a succession of quick-fire quotes that leave Montag disorientated. Beatty’s attempt to prove “what traitors books can be” (67) culminates with him claiming that he rescued Montag in his dream by taking him back to the firehouse in the salamander. Montag tries to gather his thoughts, and Faber says he’ll deliver his riposte in a few hours, but ultimately, it’s up to Montag whose side he chooses to take. Suddenly, the station alarm sounds, and Beatty rips the address from the printer. He doesn’t share the address with the others and suggests they put the card game on hold. Beatty tells Montag he doesn’t look too good, but not to worry because “this is a special case” (68).

The crew jumps into the Salamander, and Montag notices that Beatty is driving, which is unusual. The Salamander powers along the city streets before shuddering to a sudden halt. Montag gathers his composure and raises his eyes. He turns to see Beatty looking at him. Beatty asks Montag if anything’s wrong, and Montag delivers his dumbfounded reply: “Why […] we’ve stopped in front of my house” (69).