The River

  Montag finally makes it to Professor Faber's house, where he fills Faber in on everything that's happened in the past few hours.  Montag can't believe what he's done and how in one night, everything has changed.  Faber reassures him saying, "You did what you had to do.  It was coming on for a long time" (p.131).  Montag agrees, knowing that the feelings that he is acting upon have been inside him for a long time.  Faber tells Montag to head for the river until he reaches the old railroad tracks.  There are camps along there that Montag may be able to survive in while hiding out.  Before he leaves Faber's house, they decide to get an update on the search for him and turn on Faber's tiny TV, which is the size of a postcard.  Faber explains that the TV is so small because he didn't want something that would take over his life, like how it does for the others.  While watching the live news broadcast, they learn that the city has borrowed a Mechanical Hound from another city and are about to release it on the hunt for Montag.  The two become very nervous as they watch the hound discover Montag's scent from the flame thrower and head off, following the scent.  Montag instructs Faber to burn everything that Montag touched and turn on his sprinklers so that the hound doesn't track the scent into his house.  Montag takes a suitcase full of Faber's clothes and a bottle of whiskey, in hopes of trying to drown out the scent the hound has stored in its memory, and heads for the river.  

  Montag stops to catch his breath and peers through peoples windows to follow the live feed of the hound.  He watches the hound stop in Faber's yard and hesitate… but then follows Montag's scent back into the alley.  Montag is relieved that Faber was not discovered, but quickly realizes he needs to get a move on, since the hound is heading his way!  Montag decides to listen to his Seashell again to keep posted, and hears the radio saying the police want, "Everyone in every house in every street open a front or rear door or look from the windows.  The fugitive cannot escape if everyone in the next minute looks from his house" (p.138).  They then give a countdown of 10 seconds.  Montag runs faster and faster, so close to the river.  Just before the TVs shout "Ten!" and doors everywhere open, Montag makes it to the river and into the darkness.  He jumps in, takes off all his clothes, and bathes himself with the whiskey.  He then puts on all of Faber's clothes and lets the river whisk him away downstream.  

Reaction & Questions:  While this section of the book was short, it was pretty intense.  Montag is still a fugitive on the run, and of course they have brought in another hound!  I should have thought of that.  I felt like the "battle" scene between Montag and the first hound was a little underwhelming based on the foreshadowing of the hound in the beginning of the book.  I should've known there would be another one involved.  Thank goodness that the hound didn't detect Montag's scent at Faber's house, because then killing Beatty may have been in vain.  The main reason Montag killed Beatty was to protect Faber.  If they found him out anyway, then what would be the point?  Although, there is also the fact that Montag was able to escape, at least at that moment.  I thought the police and news getting all of the townspeople involved in looking out the window was very smart on their part.  Guaranteed every single house was watching and was happy to participate in the exciting chase.  As a reader, while the counting to 10 goes on, I kept thinking, he's gotta make it, he's gotta make it!  Sure enough, just in the nick of time he does!  I'm getting so near to the end of the book, that I just want to jump ahead and see what happens in the end already!  Will Montag have a face-off with this new hound or will the whiskey and clothing-change end the trail and the river?  At this point, I am wondering how the book will end.  Will Montag just be running for the rest of his life?  Or will he be able to make a new home for himself in one of the camps?  Or perhaps he will get caught by the hound and go to jail, but Faber will continue to fight for the both of them?

  

On the Run

  So Montag is now on the run.  He was able to find a few books that Mildred missed in the yard, though.  He can't believe what he's done and begins to break down crying when it occurs to him that Beatty wanted to die.  "He had just stood there, not really trying to save himself, just stood there, joking, needling…How strange, strange, to want to die so much that you let a man walk around armed and then instead of shutting up and staying alive, you go on yelling at people and making fun of them until you get them mad, and then…" (p. 122).  After coming to this realization, he begins to keep moving, finding a Seashell radio in his pocket, he listens, and there is a police alert out for him.  He also learns that War has been declared, but cannot really think about it since he is occupied with his own escape.  

  Montag decides to head to Faber's house.  On his way there, he tries his best to stay in the shadows, but he finally must cross a road.  As he begins to walk across the road, he hears a car coming straight for him and he thinks it's the police.  As the car gets closer, speeding up faster, he begins to run.  As the car is within feet of him, he trips and falls and thinks it's all over and they've got him, but then the car swerves and drives away.  He looks up and it's a bunch of kids just being punks.   "The driver of the car, seeing Montag down, instinctively considered the probability that running over a body at such a high speed might turn the car upside down and spill them out" (p.129).  Had he not fallen, they probably would've hit and killed him for no reason.  Montag felt sadness as he wonders if these were the same kids who killed Clarisse.  

  This section ends with Montag creeping into a house from the back door.  At first, I thought it was Faber's house, but then it says, "Mrs. Black, are you asleep in there?"  Then, I remembered that Black was the name of one of Montag's coworkers.  The books confirms this saying "now since you're a fireman's wife, it's your house and your turn, for all the houses your husband burnt and the people he hurt without thinking" (p. 130).  Montag places the books in the kitchen and calls in an alarm from the pay phone.  He can hear the sirens heading toward the house as he walks away.

REACTION AND QUESTIONS:  Hmmm… Beatty wanted to die?  That thought never occurred to me.  Is that really the case, or is that just what Montag tells himself to justify what he had done?  OR did the author include this so that the reader would feel better about it, maybe?  I still don't know if I buy it, but it's definitely a possibility.  Throughout the book, there have been mentions of this War that is taking place, but it has never really been discussed fully.  Will the War play a bigger role in the end of the book?  Will the police find Montag?  They have already announced that he is wanted, so they aren't trying to cover it up.  What will the government's reaction be to the alarm at Black's house being called in?   

Breaking Point

  Some pretty intense things happen in this section of the book.  Montag learns that Mildred turned in the alarm, although Beatty also received two more earlier from the other ladies.  Mildred ends up running into a taxi cab, without saying a word to Montag, and just rides off.  They were together for so long, and she just leaves?  Clearly she did not really love him, if she even knows what love is.  As upsetting as it is that she turned on Montag and just left him in the dust, it is not surprising at all.  Beatty tells Montag that since it's his house, he needs to be the one to burn the books, which Mildred found in the yard and brought back into the house, placing them in a pile in the middle of the room.  Professor Faber tries to tell Montag to run, but Montag is afraid because the Hound is on the loose.  There is a line that I really liked in this section.  The author says, "There was a crash like the falling parts of a dream fashioned out of warped glass, mirrors, and crystal prisms.  Montag drifted about as if still another incomprehensible storm had turned him" (p.114).  I felt that this line gave me insight to how Montag is feeling, and I really connected with him and could understand the feeling of pure disbelief and shock the author was trying to get across. Shortly after this, instead of burning the books, Montag beings to burn "everything that showed he had live here in this empty house with a strange woman who would forget him tomorrow" (p.116).  Beatty reminds him to burn the books, and he does, but continues burning the house by burning down the TV walls that he hated so much.  

  After Montag is done burning the house, Beatty asks him why he did it, but "Montag did not hear, he was far away, he was running with his mind, he was gone, leaving this dead soot-covered body to sway in front of another raving fool" (p. 118).  Beatty notices the seashell in Montag's ear and hits him hard so that it falls out.  Beatty tells Montag that he will trace it and find his friend.  This is when Montag snaps, and points the flame thrower at Beatty!  I was completely shocked when the author gives away what is about to happen before it has actually happened.  Right after the author explains that Montag points the flame thrower on Beatty, he writes, "Thinking back later he could never decide whether the hands or Beatty's reaction to the hands gave him the final push toward murder" (p. 119).  My immediate thought was, "What?!  He kills him?!" Then the book goes on to explain that Beatty tries to intimidate Montag into giving him the flame thrower, and sure enough, Beatty goes up in flames!  Montag then knocks out the two other firemen, and finally has his face off with the Hound.  The Hound is able to strike him with his needle in the leg, but Montag is able to take him out too.  This section ends with Montag fleeing the scene, one leg paralyzed, thinking, "You always said, don't face a problem, burn it.  Well, now I've done both.  Good-bye, Captain." (p. 121). 

Reaction & Questions:  Holy Moly!  I am so shocked that Montag killed Beatty!  I definitely did not see that one coming.  Was Montag really justified in doing that?  I mean, maybe it would've been more feasible had Beatty been trying to kill Montag, but he was only trying to arrest Montag right?  Unless maybe the plan WAS to kill Montag, then I could see how the murder could be justified.  I'm not really sure how I feel about this.  I have been supporting Montag throughout the book, but murder?  That just seems extreme.  Although, I'm sure Montag's mental state at the time was not stable at all, so he probably just thought it was the best and only way to get himself out of there.  Will he go to Professor Faber's house?  What will Faber think of Montag's actions?  Will the government make a big production and try to find Montag, or will they want to keep things quiet and sweep it under the rug and pretend like it didn't happen?  The latter would seem more likely, based on the way this world works, but we shall see!

Busted

  After the incident with Mildred's friends, Montag decides to hide the books outside the house while Mildred is in the bathroom, since he has noticed that some were missing and thinks that she probably started burning them on her own.  Then, he heads to the fire station, with Faber in his ear.  Faber scolds him for acting that way with the women, telling Montag, "Don't haggle and nag them; you were so recently of them yourself" (p.103).  Montag begins to feel guilty and thinks maybe it would be better if he just went back to the way he was before, but Faber assures him that he must keep fighting.  When Montag arrives at the firehouse, Captain Beatty is waiting for him with the other men.  Beatty holds out his hand and Montag gives him the book that he has brought with him.  Beatty doesn't even look at it, and throws it in the trash to burn.  Montag sits at the table and Beatty begins talking to him, quoting several contradicting sayings from various books, trying to show Montag "what traitors books can be.  You think they're backing you up, and they turn on you" (p.107).  Faber, listening to all of this through the earpiece, tries to tell Montag that Beatty is just trying to confuse him.  After Beatty is done talking, Faber tells Montag that he's heard both sides of it and it's up to him "to know with which ear" he'll listen to.  Then, the fire station bell rings with an alarm of a reported house with books.  I had guessed that the call was for Montag's house, and was even more convinced when Captain Beatty tells Montag that he'll be fine to ride along since "this is a special case."  Montag is so wrapped up in his thoughts about being able to burn again, he's not even paying attention to where they are going, and when he looks up, he realizes that they are indeed at his house.

Reaction and Questions:  How the heck does Beatty know so many quotes?  He did mention in this section that he had been through what Montag was going through, but I feel like there is more to the story with Beatty.  I mean, Montag is just scratching the surface with books, and trying to read them right off the bat, he cannot make sense of them.  Beatty is able to not only quote books, but to understand their meaning by using them.  How did he attain this knowledge, and why does he use it for "evil" instead of "good"???  I'm pretty sure Mildred's friends turned in Montag, but they only knew of the one book, unless they knew he had more?  Since the books are hidden outside, will the firemen find them?  Or maybe the Hound will find them?  What will Mildred think of the firemen coming to her house?  Will she fight for Montag or just give up?  If they do find the books, what will happen to Montag?  And also, how will Professor Faber help?  Will Beatty discover the earpiece?  

"Dover Beach"

In this section of the book, Montag goes home to eat dinner after visiting with Professor Faber.  Mildred has invited over two of her friends to watch TV in her parlor and Montag can't take it, so he pulls out the plug on the TV walls.  The author uses a simile to describe this: "The images drained away, as if the water had been let from a gigantic crystal bowl of hysterical fish" (p. 94).  Montag asks one of the ladies, Mrs. Phelps, when does she think the war will begin, since the Army called her husband in for duty.  She replies that he should be back by next week because the Army said that the war would last no more than 48 hours and that everyone would return home safely.  She definitely seems to be in denial when she says, "It's always someone else's husband dies they say" (p. 94).  The husband and wife dynamic in this world seems to lack what I know love to be.  Based on what I already know about Montag and Mildred's marriage, and now, reading about how Mrs. Phelps describes her relationship with her husband, it's as if couples aren't really in love.  They are just together because… Because of money maybe?  I'm not quite sure why these people get married if they don't even care about each other.  Mrs. Phelps says, "Pete and I always said, no tears, nothing like that.  It's our third marriage each and we're independent… He said, if I get killed off, you just go right ahead and don't cry, but get married again, and don't think of me" (p. 95).  Montag can't believe what he's hearing, but he still tries to get them to talk to him.  They touch on subjects like children, where the women talk about unnecessary C-sections, how horrible having children is, and how easy it is to just throw them in parlor with the wall TVs and go about your business.  Montag becomes more outraged.  Another subject, politics, is brought up and the women talk about how one politician is much more handsome than the other.  Montag can't stand how superficial these women are, especially now that his eyes have been opened to the reality of the world, and he finally snaps.  He brings out a book of poetry to try to make these women see what he's trying to tell them.  Faber is in his ear, telling him to stop, or he'll ruin everything. But at this point, Montag can't stop.  Mildred tries to cover for him (or actually probably more for herself) saying that the firemen are allowed to bring home one book just to show their family how "silly" they were.  Montag reads a poem called Dover Beach, that brings Mrs. Phelps to tears!  For me, I would consider this poem as "touching" or "heartfelt" that it brought her to tears, but these women have no idea why she's crying and accuse Montag of making her cry, saying that poetry is full of "sadness" and "hurt."  This section ends with Mrs. Bowles, Mildred's other friend yelling at Montag for making Mrs. Phelps cry and that she is leaving and never coming back to their home, and Montag tells her she better get out before he kicks her out!

Reaction and Questions:  Montag needs to control himself, otherwise he will get turned in!  I would not be surprised if Mildred's two friends turn him into the fire station.  Although, maybe he could play it off and tell Captain Beatty that the book he read to them is the same one that he stole that Beatty knows about.  But wouldn't Montag still get in trouble, since he seems to be going around flaunting books?  It's not like he just kept it to himself and burned it.  Mildred is probably really upset with him too, for upsetting her friends.  I think the only reason that Mildred hasn't turned him in yet is because she doesn't want to put herself out of the house and "go down" with Montag.  I still don't think she can be trusted at all though.  Now that Montag has messed up and couldn't control his anger, will he and Faber still be able to carry out their plan, or will one of the ladies turn him in to the fire station?  If they do turn him in, what will be the repercussions?

Preparing for Battle

  Montag does end up visiting Professor Faber.  Montag explains that he stole the book and wants to learn how to understand what he reads because, "We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren't happy.  Something's missing. ...The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books" (p. 82).  He explains to Faber that he thought if he were to salvage some books, perhaps it could help.  Faber tells him that he is brave, but a "hopeless romantic," since it's not the fact that books are missing, it's the content of what was in the books that has been a great loss to their society.  The new technology of the wall TV's and Seashell radios is not to blame, but the content that is being dispersed to the nation through these devices is what is causing people to not think for themselves.  I found this insight to be eye-opening, as I too had believed that it was the lack of books making the people the way they were since they weren't receiving the knowledge contained in books.  I did not, however, think that the new technology could still deliver the same types of information, but it doesn't, and that's where the problem lies.  Faber continues, explaining to Montag that there are three things missing besides the books themselves:  1) "quality, texture of information" 2) "leisure to digest it" and 3) "the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two" (p. 84-85).  These are not easy fixes to a society, and Faber is doubtful that he and Montag alone could change things.  He argues that in the beginning, people stopped reading and thinking for themselves on their own, and the government just decided to take advantage of their weakness.  Montag is still determined to do whatever he needs to do to try to make things right.  So Montag and Faber come up with a plan to plant books in firemen's houses and then turn them in, the idea being to bring down the firemen.  This section ends with Professor Faber giving Montag a little device he has created that looks like a Seashell radio, but works like a walkie talkie.  Montag is worried that Captain Beatty might brainwash him back to the old way of thinking, so Professor Faber will be in his ear, feeding him lines.  They think perhaps Beatty may even be on their side, since he seems to know so much about books.  Also, Montag decides to leave the Bible with Faber and take a chance that Beatty doesn't know which book he stole, so that Faber can check with an old friend who used to print newspapers about making copies of it.    

   I love Montag's determination to fix things, even though he is just one man.  I would like to think that I would be brave, had I been in his situation, but I think I probably would have been a coward like Professor Faber and not say anything... I mean, how could one person change the nation?  At least, that's how I would think.  But then again, there are obviously still people out there who believe that society is corrupted.  People like Clarisse and her family, the woman who burned with her books, and people like Montag... Maybe they will somehow find a way to form a militia against the government?  I  wonder, could Captain Beatty really be on their side?  I think that maybe Captain Beatty went through a revelation just as Montag is now, and he had to make a choice, and he chose to not fight and to just give in.  Who knows, maybe Montag could turn him?  

Sieve and Sand

  Montag is trying his best to read the books, but he isn't able to understand or make sense of anything that he is reading, which is very frustrating to him.  He realizes that the book he had taken from the house of the woman who burned herself along with the books is the Bible, which Montag knows is a rare and important book.  Knowing he does not have much time left before turning over the book to Captain Beatty, he contemplates giving Beatty a different book instead, but then if Beatty knows which book Montag stole, then Beatty would know that Montag had more than one book!  Mildred is no help at all since she just keeps screaming at Montag that he's ruining their lives.  Frankly, she is really annoying me.  I'm surprised Montag even told her about the books.  Personally, I wouldn't have trusted her, she is too far gone to understand Montag's thought process.  Montag is finally seeing that his country has deprived him of information and he seeks answers and wants to know the why behind things.  The reader gets a better picture of this world when Montag says, "We've started and won two atomic wars since 1990! ... I've heard rumors; the world is starving, but we're well fed.  Is it true, the world works hard and we play?  Is that why we're hated so much?" (p. 73-74).  I hadn't thought to ask if other countries burned books as well.  It seems like only this country, which I am inferring is America because of the way that Clarisse spoke of the past, burns books and tries to keep people "entertained" instead of "in the know."  Another reason why I am able to infer that the country is America is that in this section of the book, Montag remembers an encounter he had with a former English professor named Faber who was reading a book, but quickly hid it as soon as he saw Montag.  Montag convinced him to talk for a while and once Faber wasn't scared of Montag anymore, he began to say something that Montag thought might have been a poem, "Faber held his hand over his left coat pocket and spoke these words gently" (p. 75), which made me think of the "Pledge of Allegiance."

  Montag decides that if he is going to give Beatty the Bible, then he needs to somehow make a copy of it before he gives it to him.  How the heck is he going to make a copy?!  He gets on the subway, but the book does not say where he is going.  Maybe to Professor Faber's house?  Earlier in the book, he attempted to call him, but Faber thought it was a trick.  Perhaps he is going to go see him in person?  While on the subway, Montag recalls a memory of himself as a child trying to fill a sieve with sand because a cousin told him he would get a dime if he could do it.  "And the faster he poured, the faster it sifted through with a hot whispering.  His hands were tired, the sand was boiling, the sieve was empty" (p. 78).  Montag equates this memory with trying to comprehend the books he stole.  He is reading and reading, but cannot seem to make sense of any of it, like the sand, the words fall right through his brain.  He begins trying to read the Bible publicly on the subway, without seeming to care if anyone sees, but a song keeps playing and is distracting him from reading.  Montag gets extremely frustrated and starts yelling, "Shut up!" The people on the subway are startled by him and think that he has gone crazy, which he in fact, might have for a moment.  He manages to slip out the door at the next stop before any guards can get him.  

Burning of Books Explained

  After burning the woman and her books, Montag is not feeling well at all.  He tries to talk to Mildred but she is no help.  He tries to think of when and where he met his wife, "and suddenly she was so strange he couldn't believe he knew her at all" (p. 42).  He is disturbed that neither of them are able to remember how they met.  Montag realizes that's he's been feeling "empty" and that he and his wife have drifted so far apart.  I thought this was interesting because I had been wondering why and how Montag and Mildred came to be together since the beginning of the book!  I was hoping to get an explanation, but the fact that neither of them remember says a lot as well.  We also learn in this section that Clarisse has been run over by a car and died, which is why Montag had not seen her for the past four days.  Mildred knew about this and forgot to tell Montag.  Seems like she forgets a lot of things!  Montag decides to call in sick for work since he just can't stand the thought of going in later and Mildred realizes that he was supposed to switch to the early shift that day so he's actually two hours late.  In the middle of their argument, Captain Beatty shows up at the house.

  With the book still hidden under Montag's pillow, Captain Beatty walks into Montag's room saying that he knew he was sick and wanted to check up on him.  Beatty says that every fireman reaches a breaking point where they question their job and that previously they used to explain it to new firemen, but they don't anymore, so he decides to explain it to Montag.  Beatty explains that long ago, as technology evolved, books evolved into shorter and shorter pieces -- "Classics cut to fifteen-minute radio shows, then cut again to fill a two-minute book column, winding up at last as a ten- or twelve-line dictionary resume" (p. 54).  He also speaks of the changes for the younger generations, "school is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped.  English and spelling gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored" (p. 55).  Beatty continues, explaining that with all the diversity of opinions and ideas on things, someone was always unhappy.  But if everyone was taught one idea, then everyone would be happy.  "If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one" (p. 61).  The reasoning behind burning books makes me think of the adage "ignorance is bliss."  Books contain knowledge, and with this knowledge, people may not agree with each other, therefore be unhappy.  If these people have no knowledge in the first place, then they will always be happy.  Captain Beatty seems to think this explanation makes perfect sense, but Montag is skeptical.  To me, clearly everyone is NOT happy if there are so many people overdosing every night -- how do they explain this?

  Before Beatty leaves, he tells Montag that it's not uncommon for a fireman to want to take one of the books, seeming to hint that he knows Montag has that book under his pillow.  Montag asks what happens if a fireman were to take a book home, and Beatty says that they give the fireman 24 hours to burn the book and if they don't, then the other firemen will come burn it for him.  Once Beatty is gone, Montag decides to reveal his secret to Mildred, not only of the book under the pillow but of the secret behind the ventilator -- which turns out to be not ONE stolen book, but around 20 stolen books!  Mildred begins to panic, but Montag insists that he needs her help.  He just wants to read them all and try to make sense of them and if what Beatty says is true, he will burn them, but if he decides there is more to it, then he may try to pass them on to someone else.

REACTION AND QUESTIONS:  A lot was revealed in this section!  The theory behind the burning of the books is explained, and it went into a lot more detail than my general prediction, but it was pretty much the same idea.  If they don't educate the people, then the people will remain happy.  However, they seem to have forgotten that knowledge and opinion is not the only factor involved in happiness. I think Montag is just beginning to realize this, but I feel as if some people, like Mildred, are so far gone, there is no bringing them back.  It's kind of like they've brainwashed everyone into thinking a certain way, but for some reason, deep down, the people know they need more.  Perhaps this is why there are so many overdoses.  I was shocked to learn that Montag had stolen SEVERAL books, when this whole time I had just been picturing ONE book behind the ventilator.  I feel like Mildred is not going to cooperate and may report her own husband to the fire station.  I wonder, what will Montag feel after reading the books?  Will he understand the meaning behind them?  24 hours does not seem long enough to go through that many books, especially when you are not used to reading very often.  How will the Hound factor into all of this, since the book keeps mentioning it.  Maybe the Hound will be sent to kill Montag?  A fireman in possession of that many books will surely be frowned upon and I wouldn't put it past Beatty to kill Montag for it.