WEEK THREE: WHY WE LIE TO OURSELVES AND OTHERS

(Pages 83-130)

1. Silly words, silly words, silly awful hurting words, said Mrs. Bowles. Why do
people want to hurt people? Not enough hurt in the world, you got to tease
people with stuff like that (91). What are the silly words to which Mrs.
Bowles is responding? Why does she respond this way to Montags words?

2. On page 119, Beatty says Speech away, whatll it be this time? Why dont
you belch Shakespeare at me, you fumbling snob? There is no terror,
Cassius, in your threats, for I am so armd so strong in honesty that they pass
me as an idle wind, which I respect not! Hows that? Go ahead now, you
second-hand litterateur, pull the trigger (106). What does Montag realize
later about why Beatty says this to him? In what way was Beatty lying to
himself? What were the consequences of his lying to himself?

3. I feel like Im alive for the first time in years, said Faber. I feel Im doing
what I shouldve done a lifetime ago. For a little while Im not afraid. Maybe
its because Im doing the right thing at last (118). What does this quotation
suggest about Faber and why he was lying to himself about what he should
be doing? What kept him from living the way he knew was right?

4. Who is another character from earlier in the novel who lies to herself about
the truth? Why is she lying to herself? How does she lie to herself?

5. What is a quotation after page 123 that suggests really thinking about the
world and our place in it can be hard, perhaps even terrifying, work?

6. Make a list of characters who have lied in this book and make a list of who
they have lied to. Why are these characters lying to themselves and others?

Blog Question: What is an insight you gained from the discussion about why we lie
to ourselves and why we it can be hard to recognize quickly when we are doing
this? What are some specific examples in the novel that support this insight? What
is an example from your own life that demonstrates the truth of this insight?

Fahrenheit 451 -Week Four Ticket In:

Connecting to the Character (Pages 131 end of novel)
Please complete this ticket in so that you are ready for the discussion.

1.
When Montag goes into the river (and starts paying attention to nature) He
felt as if he had left a stage behind and many actors. He felt as if he had left the
great sance and all the murmuring ghosts. He was moving from an unreality that
was frightening into a reality that as unreal because it was new (140).
What are three ways his old life was like a performance, where he and others played
a part, but nobody really knew how to feel anything real?

2.
Once Montag has escaped, he looks at the world and feels that the natural
world was all he wanted now. Some signs that the immense world would accept
him and give him the long time he needed to think all the things that must be
thought.
Do you ever give yourself time to really think about and reflect on things? Do you
believe one needs time to reflect? Why or why not? In what way can it be hard to
find time to think about all the things that must be thought?
3.
Montag finishes the novel with a purpose in life. What is this purpose? How
important do you feel it is to have a purpose in life? Why?

4.
What happens at the end of the novel that can serve as a warning to us about
our need to constantly be distracted?

Blog 4: What is an insight the novel gives us about the importance of truly
understanding ourselves and our world? What suggestion does the novel provide
about how we can begin to think better? What is an area of your life to which this
lesson could be applied? To what extent do you think it would be useful to apply this
lesson to your day-to-day life?