English 2 Summer Reading Assignment
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
Obtain and read the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. There are copies available for sale at bookstores
throughout Oakland, at all of the Oakland Public Library branches, and online. When you are done reading,
answer the questions about plot and character that are on this page. The questions should be answered on a
separate sheet, as you will not have enough space on this page to answer them completely.
This assignment is due to your teacher on the first day of school – no excuses!
Define the following vocabulary words:
1. Aggravating
2. Asylum
3. Clench
4. Contemptible
5. Flourish
6. Flue
7. Gibbering
8. Incessant
9. Invigorate
10. Luminescent
11. Mausoleum
12. Metropolis
13. Nozzle
14. Odious
15. Oracle
16. Peculiar
17. Proclivity
18. Pulverize
19. Receptacle
20. Refract
21. Saccharine
22. Sieve
23. Simmer
24. Singe
25. Stolid
26. Tallow
27. Tamp
28. Torrent
29. Venomous
30. Verbiage
(turn over for reading questions)
Identify the following characters:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Guy Montag
Mildred Montag
Clarisse McClellan
Captain Beatty
Faber
Granger
The number 451
Answer the following questions in complete paragraphs:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
How/why did the firemen originate?
Did Beatty want Montag to kill him? Why or why not?
What is the significance of Montag and Mildred not being able to remember where/when they met?
Why did Mildred attempt suicide?
Define “dystopian” and “utopian.” Is Fahrenheit 451 a portrayal of dystopian or a utopian society?
What is the “parlor family”? Why is it so important to Mildred?
Faber tells Montag that it's not the books that are so important. What does he say is so important and
why does he say that? Is he right?
8. What are three problems in society that Bradbury is critiquing in this book? How does he critique them?
9. Are any of the problems of the society in Fahrenheit 451 present in our society today? Which ones?