1-40 Major Themes & Quotes
Major Themes:
-Fire
-A "black"/burned society
-Book burning
-Solitude
-Happiness
-Technology
Quotes:
"It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed" (1).
"It’s fine work. Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn ’em to ashes, then burn the ashes. That’s our official slogan” (6).
“Hell!” The operator’s cigarette moved on his lip. “We get these cases nine or ten a night. Got so many, starting a few years ago, we had the special machines built. With the optical lens, of course, that was new; the rest is ancient. You don’t need an M.D., case like this; all you need is two handymen, clean up the problem in half an hour. Look”— he started for the door—“ we gotta go. Just had another call on the old ear-thimble. Ten blocks from here. Someone else just jumped off the cap of a pillbox. Call if you need us again. Keep her quiet. We got a contrasedative in her. She’ll wake up hungry. So long" (13).
“I don’t know anything any more.” he said, and let a sleep lozenge dissolve on his tongue" (15).
"The lawn was empty, the trees empty, the street empty, and while at first he did not even know he missed her or was even looking for her, the fact was that by the time he reached the subway, there were vague stirrings of disease in him" (29).
-Fire
-A "black"/burned society
-Book burning
-Solitude
-Happiness
-Technology
Quotes:
"It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed" (1).
"It’s fine work. Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn ’em to ashes, then burn the ashes. That’s our official slogan” (6).
“Hell!” The operator’s cigarette moved on his lip. “We get these cases nine or ten a night. Got so many, starting a few years ago, we had the special machines built. With the optical lens, of course, that was new; the rest is ancient. You don’t need an M.D., case like this; all you need is two handymen, clean up the problem in half an hour. Look”— he started for the door—“ we gotta go. Just had another call on the old ear-thimble. Ten blocks from here. Someone else just jumped off the cap of a pillbox. Call if you need us again. Keep her quiet. We got a contrasedative in her. She’ll wake up hungry. So long" (13).
“I don’t know anything any more.” he said, and let a sleep lozenge dissolve on his tongue" (15).
"The lawn was empty, the trees empty, the street empty, and while at first he did not even know he missed her or was even looking for her, the fact was that by the time he reached the subway, there were vague stirrings of disease in him" (29).
40-80 Major Themes & Quotes
Major Themes:
Governmental Control vs. The idea that society is headed this way naturally.
The diminishing of the human intellect.
The power of literature
Entertainment vs. Responsibility
Quotes:
“A silly empty man near a silly empty woman, while the hungry snake made her still more empty” (44).
"There you have it, Montag. It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank G-d. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journals" (58).
"If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war" (61).
"The books say nothing! Nothing you can teach or believe. They're about nonexistent people, figments of imagination, if they're fiction. And if they're nonfiction, it's worse, one professor calling another an idiot, one philosopher screaming down another's gullet" (62).
"Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotten the world?" (73).
Governmental Control vs. The idea that society is headed this way naturally.
The diminishing of the human intellect.
The power of literature
Entertainment vs. Responsibility
Quotes:
“A silly empty man near a silly empty woman, while the hungry snake made her still more empty” (44).
"There you have it, Montag. It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank G-d. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journals" (58).
"If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war" (61).
"The books say nothing! Nothing you can teach or believe. They're about nonexistent people, figments of imagination, if they're fiction. And if they're nonfiction, it's worse, one professor calling another an idiot, one philosopher screaming down another's gullet" (62).
"Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotten the world?" (73).
80-120 Major Themes and Quotes
Themes in this section:
Use of books:
· Books make people think
· Books reflect society
Leadership and teamwork
Morality of means for change
Courage
Critical Quotes:
“It’s not books you need but the things that were in books.” Faber to Montag, page 82
“So now you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores of the face of life.” Faber to Montag, 83. A critical quote explaining why books began to be burned in the first place in this society.
“Books can be beaten down with reason. But with all my knowledge and skepticism, I have never benen able to argue with a one-hundred-piece symphony orchestra, full color, three dimensions, and being in and part of those incredible parlors.”—Faber to Montag, about how the “parlor wall” TV stations make it so people don’t think any more, only receive information—an idea very much relevant in the media-saturated environment we live in today
"What is there about fire that's so lovely? No matter what age we are, what draws us to it? It's perpetual motion; the thing man wanted to invent but never did....Its real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences. A problem gets too burdensome, then into the furnace with it. Now, Montag, you're a burden. And fire will lift you off my shoulders, clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical." Beatty to Montag, before he burns his house down
Use of books:
· Books make people think
· Books reflect society
Leadership and teamwork
Morality of means for change
Courage
Critical Quotes:
“It’s not books you need but the things that were in books.” Faber to Montag, page 82
“So now you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores of the face of life.” Faber to Montag, 83. A critical quote explaining why books began to be burned in the first place in this society.
“Books can be beaten down with reason. But with all my knowledge and skepticism, I have never benen able to argue with a one-hundred-piece symphony orchestra, full color, three dimensions, and being in and part of those incredible parlors.”—Faber to Montag, about how the “parlor wall” TV stations make it so people don’t think any more, only receive information—an idea very much relevant in the media-saturated environment we live in today
"What is there about fire that's so lovely? No matter what age we are, what draws us to it? It's perpetual motion; the thing man wanted to invent but never did....Its real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences. A problem gets too burdensome, then into the furnace with it. Now, Montag, you're a burden. And fire will lift you off my shoulders, clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical." Beatty to Montag, before he burns his house down
121-End Major Themes and Quotes
Major Themes:
Social responsibility.
Human connection - the ability to learn about others, empathize with them, and work together. This ties in with the theme of war versus peace, action versus inaction.
Role of laws and government: concept of "crimes against the State"
Quotes:
"Would he have time for a speech? As the Hound seized him, in view of ten or twenty or thirty million people, mightn't he sum up his entire life in the last week in one single phrase or word that would stay with them long after the Hound had turned, clenching him in its metal-plier jaws, and trotted off in darkness, while the camera remained stationary, watching the creature dwindle in the distance, a splendid fade-out! What could he say in a single word, a few words, that would sear all their faces and wake them up?" (128)
"One of them had to stop burning. The sun wouldn't, certainly. So it looked as if it had to be Montag and the people he had worked with until a few short hours ago. Somewhere the saving and putting away had to begin again and someone had to do the saving and keeping, one way or another, in books, in records, in people's heads, any way at all so long as it was safe, free from moths, silverfish, rust and dry rot, and men with matches" (134).
"And then the voices began and they were talking, and he could hear nothing of what the voices said, but the sound rose and fell quietly and the voices were turning the world over and looking at it; the voices knew the land and the trees and the city which lay down the tracks by the river. The voices talked of everything, there was nothing they could not talk about, he knew, from the very cadence and motion and continual stir of curiosity and wonder in them" (140).
"We are all bits of pieces of history and literature and international law, Byron, Tom Paine, Machiavelli or Christ, it's here. And the hour's late. And the war's begun. And we are out here, and the city is there, all wrapped up in its coat of a thousand colors...We are model citizens, in our own special way; we walk the old tracks, we lie in the hills at night, and the city people let us be...The organization is flexible, very loose, and fragmentary...Right now we have a horrible job; we're waiting for the war to begin and, as quickly, end. It's not pleasant, but then we're not in control, we're the odd minority crying in the wilderness. When the war's over, perhaps we can be of some use in the world" (145).
"'You see?' Granger turned to Montag. 'Grandfather's been dead for all these years, but if you lifted my skull, by God, in the convolutions of my brain you'd find the big ridges of his thumbprint. He touched me. As I said, earlier, he was a sculptor. 'I hate a Roman named Status Quo!' he said to me. 'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' he said, 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there was, it would be related to the great slot which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping it's life away. To hell with that,' he said, 'shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass'" (150-151)
"We'll have time to put things in ourselves. And some day, after it sets in us a long time, it'll come out of our hands and our mouths. And a lot of it will be wrong, but just enough of it will be right. We'll just start walking today and see the world and the way the world walks around and talks, the way it really looks. I want to see everything now. And while non of it will be me when it goes in, after awhile it'll all gather together inside and it'll be me. Look at the world out there, my God, my God, look at it out there, outside me, out there beyond my face and the only way to really touch it is to put it where it's finally me, where it's in my blood, where it pumps around a thousand times ten thousand times a day. I'll get hold of it so it'll never run off. I'll hold onto the world tight some day. I've got one finger on it now; that's the beginning" (155).
"To everything there is a season. Yes. A time to break down, and a time to build up. Yes. A time to keep silence and a time to speak. Yes, all that. But what else. What else? Something, something..." (158).
Social responsibility.
Human connection - the ability to learn about others, empathize with them, and work together. This ties in with the theme of war versus peace, action versus inaction.
Role of laws and government: concept of "crimes against the State"
Quotes:
"Would he have time for a speech? As the Hound seized him, in view of ten or twenty or thirty million people, mightn't he sum up his entire life in the last week in one single phrase or word that would stay with them long after the Hound had turned, clenching him in its metal-plier jaws, and trotted off in darkness, while the camera remained stationary, watching the creature dwindle in the distance, a splendid fade-out! What could he say in a single word, a few words, that would sear all their faces and wake them up?" (128)
"One of them had to stop burning. The sun wouldn't, certainly. So it looked as if it had to be Montag and the people he had worked with until a few short hours ago. Somewhere the saving and putting away had to begin again and someone had to do the saving and keeping, one way or another, in books, in records, in people's heads, any way at all so long as it was safe, free from moths, silverfish, rust and dry rot, and men with matches" (134).
"And then the voices began and they were talking, and he could hear nothing of what the voices said, but the sound rose and fell quietly and the voices were turning the world over and looking at it; the voices knew the land and the trees and the city which lay down the tracks by the river. The voices talked of everything, there was nothing they could not talk about, he knew, from the very cadence and motion and continual stir of curiosity and wonder in them" (140).
"We are all bits of pieces of history and literature and international law, Byron, Tom Paine, Machiavelli or Christ, it's here. And the hour's late. And the war's begun. And we are out here, and the city is there, all wrapped up in its coat of a thousand colors...We are model citizens, in our own special way; we walk the old tracks, we lie in the hills at night, and the city people let us be...The organization is flexible, very loose, and fragmentary...Right now we have a horrible job; we're waiting for the war to begin and, as quickly, end. It's not pleasant, but then we're not in control, we're the odd minority crying in the wilderness. When the war's over, perhaps we can be of some use in the world" (145).
"'You see?' Granger turned to Montag. 'Grandfather's been dead for all these years, but if you lifted my skull, by God, in the convolutions of my brain you'd find the big ridges of his thumbprint. He touched me. As I said, earlier, he was a sculptor. 'I hate a Roman named Status Quo!' he said to me. 'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' he said, 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there was, it would be related to the great slot which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping it's life away. To hell with that,' he said, 'shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass'" (150-151)
"We'll have time to put things in ourselves. And some day, after it sets in us a long time, it'll come out of our hands and our mouths. And a lot of it will be wrong, but just enough of it will be right. We'll just start walking today and see the world and the way the world walks around and talks, the way it really looks. I want to see everything now. And while non of it will be me when it goes in, after awhile it'll all gather together inside and it'll be me. Look at the world out there, my God, my God, look at it out there, outside me, out there beyond my face and the only way to really touch it is to put it where it's finally me, where it's in my blood, where it pumps around a thousand times ten thousand times a day. I'll get hold of it so it'll never run off. I'll hold onto the world tight some day. I've got one finger on it now; that's the beginning" (155).
"To everything there is a season. Yes. A time to break down, and a time to build up. Yes. A time to keep silence and a time to speak. Yes, all that. But what else. What else? Something, something..." (158).