This document contains journal prompts and discussion questions from an American Literature and Composition class about the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It includes a quote about art and feelings of smallness, lists of imagery and symbols from the book, characters to compare and contrast such as Montag and Clarisse, reactions to sections of the book, and homework assigning students to read and analyze a particular section for class discussion.

1. American Literature and Composition
28 August 2012

2. Journal Prompt
28 August 2012
To make us feel small in the right way is a
function of art; men can only make us feel
small in the wrong way.
~E.M. Forster

3. It was a pleasure to burn.

4. A few words of
imagery/symbolism
Eaten
Blackened
Changed
Python
Conductor
Burning
Ruins
Jumped
Swarm
Fireflies
Pigeon-winged
Spitting
Symphonies
Tatters
Marshmallow
Orange
Gorging
Flame
Fists
Venomous
Blazing
Charcoal
Flame

5. characters
What are the connections?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Guy Montag
Clarisse McClellan
Mildred
“Operators”
Bob, Ruth, Helen
Mechanical Hound
Captain Beatty
The Parlor
Literature

6. Compare/Contrast
• Montag to Clarisse
• Clarisse to Mildred
• Mildred to Montag
• The Hound to Captain Beatty
• Captain Beatty to society

7. Reaction
What bothered you most in this section?

8. Reaction
Which character is most like you?

9. Reaction
How is our society similar to this one?

10. Clarisse
An hour of TV class, an hour of basketball or baseball or running…and more sports…bing, bing, bing…go out in
cars and race on the streets…either shouting or dancing around like wild or beating up each other…six of my
friends have been shot in the last year alone…Ten of them dies in car wrecks…they all say the same things and
nobody says anything different from anyone else….

11. Reaction
How does that make you feel?

12. History
How did Montag’s society change from an
educated and literate one to one driven by
experiences and sensationalism?

13. Mildred
What was
Mildred trying
to escape with
her seashells
and parlor
walls and
sleeping pills?

14. •
•
•
•
•
Do you see anything familiar in the process?
What are the symptoms in the US?
What are the symptoms in East Cobb?
Why is it happening?
Are you a participant or are you like
Clarisse?

15. Read “The Sieve and the Sand” section of the book.
Make notes (not collected, but for class discussion) about the
images or ideas that affected you most as you read this section.
Bonus: Create some artistic representation of one of the symbols
from this section. Be able to explain the symbol in its context and
its relevance to today. (This will be a bonus project grade)
HOMEWORK