Fahrenheit 451: Seminar Prep

Directions
Part I: Short Answer Responses
For this seminar prep, please choose 2 of the discussion questions
listed below as well as 1 of your own and write a paragraph response to
each question for a total of 3 paragraphs. Paragraphs should be
between 5-10 sentences. You do not need to write a summary of the
novel, as that can be found on the back cover and is an insult to your
intelligence.
Your responses should include evidence from the book, either in the
form of direct quotes or specific references. See the rubric on the next page for the
grading criteria.
Part 2: Discussion Questions
Please come up with 2-3 discussion questions for seminar. Write those at the end of your
seminar prep and paste them into the class seminar question bank google doc:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19mqjaGeif1hHIENujKWNUSv_q1gahusKa_KjegOdr10/edit

Discussion Questions (choose 2 of these in addition to one of your own. Be sure to answer all
parts of the question)
1. Pick a quote that stood out to you as significant. Include the page number. Analyze this
quote. Questions to consider for your analysis include: What does it mean in the context
of the novel? How does it connect to your own life or to our society? What theme does this
quote capture and what is the significance of that theme or what is Ray Bradbury trying to
express about that theme? Does the quote contain symbolism or a metaphor? If so,
explain.
Response:
A quote that stood out to me as significant was after Montag had just met Clarisse, on
page 8, when he thought, How like a mirror, too, her face. Impossible; for how many people did
you know that refracted your own light to you? People were more oftenhe searched for a
simile, found one in his worktorches, blazing away until they whiffed out. How rarely did other
peoples faces take of you and throw back to you your own expression, your own innermost
trembling thought? I thought this quote was interesting because throughout the first couple
pages, Montags life seemed to entirely revolve around his role as a fireman and how much he
enjoyed burning his work. It seemed ironic to me that he then found Clarisse, one of the only
people in his life that didnt signify fire to him, so intriguing. I thought it was significant to the
plot in that it seemed to be the turning point for when Montag started questioning his role in
society. It was interesting to see him prefer something else to what hed spent his whole adult life

doing. It also seemed to depict Clarisse as the flaws in the firemens logic. Beatty was quick to
cast aside the significance of Clarisse, saying, She didnt want to know how a thing was done,
but why. That can be embarrassing. You as Why to a lot of things and you wind up very unhappy
indeed, if you keep at it. The poor girls better off dead. But, as Montag described her, Clarisse
was not unhappy. She was full of questions, and that gave her purpose and individuality. Thats
why, as Montag said, men like Beatty are afraid of her. She enjoyed life while still thinking for
herself and exploring her life, and that rocked the very foundation of their work as firemen.
2. On page 49, Millie implores Montag to let her alone. His response is: Let you alone!
Thats all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We need not to be let alone. We
need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really
bothered? First, describe the literal circumstances of this quote. What basic plot event
does this quote pertain to? Second, what is the significance of this quote to the novel as a
whole? Last, what do you need to be bothered about in your own life and why?
Response:
Whats happening on page 49 in the book is that Montag is questioning his role as a
fireman and discussing what concerns him about his job with Millie. It seems that hes just
coming to the conclusion that burning books is tragic and destructive when Millie stops him,
uncomfortable with the discussion. When Montag wonders whether shes ever really been
bothered about anything, he remembers coming home to find that she had emptied and
consumed the contents of an entire pill bottle in a suicide attempt, and distinguishes the Millie
that did that as an entirely different and more severely bothered person than the Millie hes
talking to. The significance of this quote to the novel as a whole is that for the most part, the
society described in the book seems generally unbothered on the surface, but here and there
mentions of suicide attempts litter the dialogue, so it seems that being bothered might be a
bigger problem than the overall society would project. People are, in general, very apathetic in
this society, and void of their opinions (being bothered) theyre all expendable and
interchangeable. As Montag describes the firemen on page 30, Had he ever seen a fireman that
didnt have black hair, black brows, a fiery face, and a blue-steel shaved but unshaved look?
These men were all mirror images of himself! The firemen stand for everything the society
represents, which is why its significant that theyre all the same opinions and the things that
bother us are what make us unique, and theyre clearly lacking in the world of Fahrenheit 451. I
think that in my own life, it is important for me to recognize what bothers me and to allow myself
to be bothered by it. What hurt Millie was her pushing down the opinions she wasnt supposed to
have, so I think the only way to remedy that would be to readily voice my opinion and look at
everything a bit more critically.
3. Describe Mildreds character. Is she happy? Would you be happier if you didnt have to
think or be bothered?
4. Whenever Mildred gets stressed out, she hops in the car and drives like a lunatic. What is
the significance of her fast driving? In other words, why does she do this? Do you do
anything that is equivalent to this in your own life? Explain.
5. On page 103, Beatty quotes Dr. Johnson as he says, He is no wise man that will quite a
certainty for an uncertainty and then says, Stick with the firemen, Montag. All else is

dreary chaos!. How does this quote relate to the book? Secondly, what do you prefer in
your own life? Certainty or chaos?
6. On page 149, Granger talks about his grandfather. First, explain the difference between
Grangers grandfather and Millie. Second, do you agree that Everyone must leave
something behind when he dies? If so, what do you want to leave behind? What will your
legacy be? If not, explain why you disagree.

My Questions:
1. On page 41, Montag reflects on Millies suicide attempt: He remembered thinking then that if
she died, he was certain he wouldnt cry. For it would be the dying of an unknown, a street
face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong that he had begun to cry, not at
death but at the thought of not crying at death, a silly empty man near a silly empty
woman. How do you think the relationships between the characters in Fahrenheit 451 differ
from what we consider normal and how do you think that influences the characters outlook
on life?
Response:
I think that in the book, relationships are much more exchangeable. For example, Millie
seems no different from the friends she watches the parlor walls with on page 90 they all seem
to think the same, even down to their detached relationships with their husbands. Mrs. Phelps
doesnt seem at all concerned when she talks about their husbands in the war: Oh, they come
and go, come and go. The characters dont seem to have any real attachment to each other on a
regular basis. I thought that Montags relationships with Clarisse and Faber much more
resembled relationships that we experience in our own lives, which made it interesting that
Montag was much more protective of Clarisse (always asking what had happened to her) and
Fabers (killing Beatty) lives than he was of his own wifes. I think the relationships we experience
in real life are so much stronger than the standard relationship people from this society would
have because they are much more challenging and stimulating to us, so theres a deeper
connection. The characters that had good relationships with people were the ones that embraced
being bothered by things.
2. On page 150 when Granger is talking about his grandfather, he says, Grandfathers been
dead for all these years, but if you lifted my skull, by God, in the convolutions of my brain
youd find the big ridges of his thumbprint. A large part of who Granger is is dependent on
what his grandfather taught him. On page 57, Beatty says, Clarisse McClellan? Weve a
record on her family. Weve watched them carefully. Heredity and environment are funny
things. You cant rid yourself for all the odd ducks in just a few years. The home environment
can undo a lot you try to do at school. With these two quotes in mind, what do you think was
the role and importance of the characters upbringings?

RUBRIC

Seminar Prep Grading Criteria (30 process points):

10
Complete
execution of the
standard

9
Strong execution
with some room to
improve

8
Meets the
standard

7
Approaching
the standard

5
Below the
standard

0
Standard is not
present

Quality of Responses_________/10
____ Have you responded to 2 of Ashleys discussions questions and 1 of your own?
____ Do your responses reflect critical engagement with the novel (either you are making connections to
other books/current events/personal experiences or you are analyzing relevant symbolism or bigger
meaning of the book/section)
____ Do you use evidence to support your responses (either a direct quote or specific text references)?

Quality of Questions________/10
______Do the questions reflect an understanding of major themes or important topics within the novel?
______ Are the questions open-ended and will thus spur discussion or are they yes/no or fact-based
questions?
Sentence Craft______/10 x .5= ___/5
_____ Are you writing sentences that are grammatically correct?
_____ Is the meaning of your sentences clear and easy to follow?
_____ Do you use simple and complex sentences for a varied effect?
Proofreading______/10 x .5= ___/5
_____ Are there errors in your paper that spellcheck could catch?
_____Did you carefully read through your paper for proofreading (i.e. punctuation and capitalization) errors?

_____/30