The ABCs of Fahrenheit 451

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The ABCs of Fahrenheit 451

• By Jay, Rory, Bishop, and John

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is for Apathy
Apathy is a lack of interest or concern,
especially regarding matters of general
importance or appeal. Most people in Fahrenheit
451 are extremely apathetic. Montag cried when he
discovered how apathetic he was. He realized he
would not care if his own wife died. This was
brought on by how selfish people had become and
how often bad things happened. When the
maintenance people came with the stomach pump and
the blood transfusion machines, they werent even
doctors and they showed no emotions while they
brought back a person from the brink of death.
3
is for books
Book are totally banned in the time of
Fahrenheit 451. People just stopped reading them
at first, but then they started burning them and
books slowly became illegal. The government just
pleased the people because it didnt make books
illegal until people stopped reading. Once
non-readers found out others were reading them,
they demanded to be made equal because they
thought that if someone read, it gave them an
unfair advantage over them.
4
is for Captain Beatty
Captain Beatty was the fire chief. He knew a lot
about books and despised them. Beatty knew Montag
had books and tried to get him to turn them in.
He slowly tried to trick Montag into admitting he
had more books, but before Montag could slip up,
he got calls to go to his house. Beatty ordered
Montag to burn his own house and the books
inside. He then egged Montag on to shoot the
flamethrower at him and got killed when Montag
did.
5
is for Dearth
Most people in this book had a dearth of
thinking. This was caused by not reading books
and not having any time to think. Front porches
were eliminated so that people could not sit
outside and talk to people and think. Also, TVs
were extended wall to wall and the shows on them
were absolute nonsense so that when people were
watching, they would not think about anything.
People also were constantly bombarded by
advertisements on their seashells and while on
trains and in other public places. People wore
seashells that kept their ears filled with music
or other noise so that they could not think.
6
is for Ember
An ember is a glowing cinder or red hot ash. This
was what was mostly left after the firemen showed
up at peoples houses. Embers captivate people
that are watching thats why fire was used to
destroy books. The fire and embers would keep the
firemen entertained and keep them from thinking
too much about why they burn the books or any
other thoughts.
7
is for Faber
Faber is the man Montag saw in the park a year
earlier before his life as a fireman went
downhill. He quoted poems constantly as he talked
to him knowing it would either make him a friend
in the future or an enemy. Montag remembered
Faber when he realized he could not understand
the books and needed a teacher. Faber was
cautious at first but then let Montag in and
helped him with his life. Faber later told Montag
where to go and probably helped save his life.
8
is for Guy Montag
Guy Montag was the protagonist of the story. He
first started off as a mindless fireman who was
apathetic to life. After he met a little girl
named Clarisse, everything changed. Montag
started to think about life and think about the
reason why things are the way they are today. By
the end of the story he had burnt his own house
and was on the run from the police. Montag
survived the war because he had fled the city and
met up with others who had memorized the great
books of history.
9
is for Hound
The firemen used special mechanical hounds that
hunted down criminals for them. The hounds would
hunt down the prey and then inject them full of
drugs that would numb them and eventually just
kill them. Montag thought that someone had set
the hound to his specific proteins because of how
often the hound growled at him or chased him.
Towards the end of the story the hound injects
Montags leg full of drugs and left him barely
able to walk. The hound was on his trail and was
quickly following every move he had made since he
ran from his home.
10
is for Intellect
Intellect is the ability to learn and reason and
it is the capacity for knowledge and
understanding. Most people had no signs of
intellect. They did not even notice that the
shows on TV were just constantly yelling and had
no story line to them. Montag showed he did not
have intellect when he was reading the books but
could not understand or even remember what he had
just read. Also Mildred showed signs of not being
intellectual when she forgot that Clarisse had
died and did not remember to tell Montag until
four days later.
11
is for Jesus
In the book, Jesus has become a spokesperson
for companies. He helps advertise products for
people to buy. This shows that religion was
completely wiped out after books were. They
didnt want people thinking about how life was
started and other things like that. Faber says
how he wonders if God would even recognize his
son after all they did to him.
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is for kerosene
Kerosene was used to burn the books and houses
in the story. The firemen would just take out a
hose and spray all the books and walls with
kerosene and then light it and watch it burn. At
the end of the story, Montag is made use a
flamethrower instead of Kerosene and that led to
his escape. Montag had become so used to the
smell of kerosene on his cloths that he didnt
even notice the smell. That shows how often they
burned books.
13
is for Leisure
People in the book had no leisure time. All the
time they had to themselves was filled with
mindless entertainment. They had no leisure time
to think to themselves and that kept them
mindless and apathetic. The government tired to
give people no leisure time to think because
anywhere they went they would have to hear the
sound of advertisements or the sound of just
noise.
14
is for Mildred
Mildred was Montags wife. She was very stupid
and not intellectual. At the start of the story,
she almost died because she overdosed on the
sleeping pills she was taking because anytime she
took a pill she would forget she took one a short
time later and take another one. She also did not
remember how or when the first time her and
Montag met. When she first found out Montag was
hiding books she was afraid and thought about how
it would endanger their lives. She was slowly
burning the books one by one. She ended up
turning in Montag after what he did when her
friends were over.
15
is for Nonsense
The society in Fahrenheit 451 is nonsense. They
do not think or decide anything around them.
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is for the Old Lady
who burns down her own house with herself inside.
This shows the passion books have on peoples
lives.
17
is for Phoenix
The Phoenix is the bird that dies in fire and is
reborn in the ashes. The firemen in Fahrenheit
451 have this on their uniforms.
18
is for Quality
Quality is one of the three things a book has to
have, according to Faber, the English professor.
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is for Ray Bradbury,
the author of this novel. He shows the censorship
of books and the dangers of technology throughout
this book.
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is for Salamander
The Salamander is the lizard that is able to live
in fire. The Salamander is a symbol on the
firefighters uniform.
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is for Two atomic wars
There have been two atomic wars in the society of
Fahrenheit 451. This shows the destructiveness of
mans technology.
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is for Undermining
Montag and the group of people at the end of the
book undermine the authority of the fire
department by memorizing books and eventually
planning to rewrite them in the future.
U is for
23
is for Violence
The government in Fahrenheit 451 destroys houses
and removes people from the society that think.
They use Violence to make everyone the same and
make sure they dont think.
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is for White Clown
White Clown is the television show that Mildred
watches, and all it involves is a clown that
juggles. It does not allow any time to think.
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is for the eXtirpation
of books. The civilization in Fahrenheit 451 is
not allowed to read books. Therefore, the books
in Fahrenheit 451 are being eXtirpated.
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is for Y
are the intelligent so feared in this society?
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is for Zippers
The society has become so lazy that it replaced
buttons with Zippers. This is another point
Bradbury makes to show how technology is bad.
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THE END

• The End of the
• Fahrenheit 451 ABCs