Ms. Hamden
Fahrenheit 451
NAME:
The Sieve and the Sand Questions
p. 71-110
1. Do Mildred and Montag understand the books they are reading? Why or why not?
2. Who or what may be outside their door?
3. What is some of the information we find out about the state of the world on p.73-4?
4. What memory does Montag keep thinking about? Explain what happened that day.
5. Who does Montag call? Why does he do this?
6. Is one book more important than another? Why is this a difficult dilemma?
7. What does he ask Mildred before he leaves on p.77?
8. Explain the sand and the sieve. How does this relate to his present situation?
9. How do Montag’s surroundings interrupt his reading? What book is he trying to read?
10. Why does he want to “feel his feet move, arms swing, lungs clench, unclench, feel his throat go raw with
air” (Bradbury 80)?
11. Where is Montag going with his book? Why?
12. What does Faber say about Jesus now that he sees the book?
13. What does Faber accuse himself of being? Is this true?
14. According to Faber, what THREE things are necessary for books to be beneficial?
15. What is Montag’s plan at this point? How does Faber respond to Montag’s idea?
16. Is Faber brave or a coward? Explain the possibility of each.
17. What is the very important tool that Faber created? How does he plan to use it with Montag?
18. Does this device also relate to the sieve and sand imagery? How?
19. What are Mildred’s friends’ attitudes towards war, death, and children? Are they similar to attitudes today?
20. What does Montag do that stirs the women? How do they react?
21. Where did Mildred hide the stack of books? Where does Montag move them?
22. Describe the combination of Montag and Faber. What do they become?
23. Why does Montag regret what he did to the women? What has he yet to learn?
24. Describe Captain Beatty’s dream. How is this ironic?
25. How can books be used against other books? What is Beatty’s point here?
26. Beatty refers to the case at the end of the section as special. What is so special about this particular fire?