In my last blog, I had written that I was getting a flirtatious vibe between Montag and Clarisse, but I was concerned about their age difference. The author may have cleared this up for me when Montag tells Clarisse, "You make me feel very old and very much like a father" (p. 28). Perhaps I was misinterpreting the type of relationship these two characters will end up having. Clarisse asks Montag why he never had any kids of his own and his answer was that his wife never wanted any -- again another major difference between his wife and himself that makes me wonder why they are together in the first place. In this section of the book, the author also gives a little more information about the youth of this book's world. Clarisse explains to Montag that she doesn't fit in at school and they call her "antisocial" which to them means she does not care to participate in typical school activities such as "an hour of TV class, an hour of basketball or baseball or running, another hour of transcription history or painting pictures, and more sports" (p.29). Due to the lack of books, it seems that school is more focused on physical and technology activities. She also mentions that many young people kill each other. Clarisse also references her uncle several times in this section and how he explains of the days before... the days that are more like the world of today, that I know. We still have yet to meet her uncle, however. Montag and Clarisse have established a daily routine of chatting while he walks to work; until one day, Clarisse does not show, which leaves an unsettling feeling with Montag as if something might be wrong. This section does not explain why she didn't show. Did something happen to her? If so, what?
I had also speculated in my previous blog that The Hound killed people who owned books. While this may still be true, I have learned that people do not necessarily get killed for owning books. Montag asks Captain Beatty what happened to the last man whose books they burned, and he tells him that "They took him screaming off to the asylum" (p.33). Montag says that the man was not insane and begins to speak of the guilt he feels, saying "I've tried to imagine just how it would feel. I mean, to have firemen burn our houses and our books." Beatty asks him if he has any books, which makes Montag think of his secret hidden behind the ventilator -- at this point, I think it's safe to assume there is definitely a book behind that ventilator, even though the author has not directly stated it. Montag quickly denies owning a book and changes the subject by bringing up what Clarisse had told him earlier and asking if firefighters used to put out fires instead of start them. At this point, his fellow firefighters, Stoneman and Black, jump in and bring out their rule book, which clearly states that this was not the case. This makes me realize that there are some books and clearly, they know how to read, which were questions that I had earlier. So it must be the content of the books is the reason the firefighters must burn them.
The last section of this book describes a call the firefighters get of a woman who is suspected to have books in her attic. They go to the house and the woman is still there, which throws Montag off because usually the police have already taken the owners away and "when you arrived you found an empty house. You weren't hurting anyone, you were hurting only things!" (p.36). The woman being there gave Montag a tremendous feeling of guilt. In the midst of all the guilt and the book burning, Montag catches a glimpse of a line in one of the books and he ends up stealing the book! It's described as if he wasn't even in control of himself, his hand just snuck the book into his pocket in a flash, before he could even think about what he was doing. No one seemed to notice that he took the book. They have to find out at some point right? I think that Beatty already has his suspicions about Montag. Another bit of insight given in this section is when Beatty tells the lady who owns the books, "Where's your common sense? None of those books agree with each other... The people in those books never lived" (p. 38). So it seems that the main reason they burn books is to discourage differences of opinion... and ultimately thinking for yourself as well. The woman refuses to leave the house, knowing full well that it will burn down in flames as soon as the fire is lit. Montag tries to convince her to get out, but the women pulls out a match of her own. All the firefighters leave the house and the women lights the match, burning herself along with the books. On the way back to the firehouse, Montag asks about what the woman was saying when they first entered the house. Surprisingly, Beatty knows the quote that the woman was reciting from a book. He claims that he is "full of bits and pieces...most fire captains have to be." (p.40). I found this to be interesting, since it's supposed to be illegal to read/own these books! Maybe Beatty had once been curious like Montag? The section ends with Montag going home to Mildred, not really saying a word and shoving the stolen book under his pillow.
QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS: Why did Montag have the sudden urge to take that book? What happened to Clarisse? Who is going to catch Montag with the book -- Mildred? If it was her, would she turn in her own husband? Or maybe Beatty will figure it out. Either way, someone HAS to find out, right? Will Montag tell Clarisse his secret about the stolen books? When will we meet Clarisse's uncle who has been mentioned several times, but not yet introduced into the story?
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