Fahrenheit 451 Litblog Pages 81-110

Mary Ann MacDonald
Period 5
3-5-13

Pages 81-110

Summary: Faber and Montag plan to plant books in the firemen's houses to make them look guilty and raise questioning. They will rally old professors, printers, and historians and start protesting at the end of the war. Faber gives Montag an earpiece so he can talk to him when he returns to work that night. Montag returns home and gets angry at Mildred and her friends, and reads them all a poem, horrifying the women. Montag returns to work and his book is burned and the first stop for the firemen is his house.

Quotation: "And you'll try to judge them and make your decisions as to which way to jump, or fall... But remember that the Captain belongs to the most dangerous enemy to truth and freedom, the solid unmoving cattle of the majority. We all have our harps to play. And now its up to you now to know with which ear you'll listen"(108).

Quotation Significance: Faber is saying this into Montag's earpiece. He wants Montag to make his own decision on which side he wants to be on but he wants Montag to know that Beatty represents the majority. The majority of people that believe in this fake happiness. He knows that everyone plays a part, and now it is Montag's turn to choose his side. 

Reflection: In this chapter, Montag is almost sure that he wants to overthrow the firemen and bring back books and the old ways. He goes to the professor Faber and they devise that plan. Montag becomes enraged at Mildred and her friends because they all only carry about the parlor. The women talk about how useless and annoying children are and Mildred and one of her friends refuses to have them entirely and the other one has had two children. In this society, abortion rates are high, and c-sections common. Children are thrown into school very earlier and only home 3 days of the month. The children and parents despise each other. This seems very wrong to me and gives me more of a understanding how twisted and sad this society is. Montag gets angry at the women and reads them a poem, making one of them cry. The women leave and Montag regrets what he did and rethinks his choice. When on a run later, the firemen all arrive at Montag's house and Montag is surprised.

Discussion Question: How do you think Beatty discovered that Montag had a collection of books?