Fahrenheit 451 Litblog Pages 137-157

Mary Ann MacDonald
Period 5
3-8-13

Pages 137-157

Summary: Montag ran towards the river and he turns on the seashell and hears the police suggesting the citizens to open their doors all at once and catch Montag. They count down, but Montag gets to the river before they see him. Montag floats down the river so the Hound can't smell him and he follows the train tracks until he meets a group of men.  The leader of the men is named Granger and Montag joins the group, and watches his fake "capture" on their mini tv. The men tell him that they memorize books so they can pass them on for generations.

Quotation: "The most important single thing we had to pound into ourselves is that we were not important, we mustn't be pendants; we were not to feel superior to anyone else in the world. We're nothing more than dust jackets for books, of no significance otherwise" (153).

Quotation Significance: These group of men that Montag meant read a book once, and then memorized it totally. They know that reading is illegal and this way they have the knowledge from books without the book itself. They can pass on the stories to their children and other people for generations. They are saying that just because they have a book memorized doesn't mean they are any better than anyone else or have divine knowledge. They are just preserving the book for others and nothing more.

Reflection: In this part of the book, Montag barely escapes the city and floats down the river, almost caught by the Hound and the helicopters. They turn around and Montag wonders why. I think that it is because this society moves so fast that they would have to spend hours looking for Montag in the river and they would rather stage a fake capture to keep the citizens happy. Later, Montag meets a group of men roasting around a campfire and they welcome him to their group. Many of them are professors and writers, and Montag feels that he doesn't entirely fit in with them. Granger tells him that his grandfather was a big inspiration for him. Montag's fake capture is shown on tv and Montag feels badly for the man who had to die, and who had done nothing to deserve it. The men have memorized great novels and they want to keep them to pass on to people. They have convinced themselves that they just relay the stories to people and they are not superior to anyone else.

Discussion Question: Why do you think the government fake "captures" Montag and not actually search the river and find him?