451 Objects and Places Flashcards
The City
The novel’s primary setting is an unnamed urban center, prosperous and peaceful, at least on the surface. While the part of the world in which the city is found is also unnamed, there is a distinct sense of capitalist, media-centric and/or first world-ness about both the city and its region/country, as well as about the socio-political-economic cultures of both. In short, it all feels very Anglo-Saxon and very Western Hemisphere, perhaps most like America (meaning the city might be someplace like New York) but also like Canada or Britain. It must be noted, however, that rather than evoking a literal recreation of a specific place, the city is intended to be perceived as more of a metaphor for a particularly mindless, hedonistic, self-righteous and self-protective way of living, thinking, believing and behaving.
Books
The existence and reading of books is at the center of the novel’s central conflict, said conflict playing out between those who see danger in the enlightenment they offer, and those who see hope in exactly the same place. Books themselves, in the narrative, represent and/or evoke humanity’s capacity for free thought, and indeed for freedom in general).
The Salamander Tattoo and the Phoenix Disc
In mythology and symbolism, salamanders and phoenixes are both associated with fire, salamanders being composed of fire and having the ability to live within it and phoenixes having the ability to incinerate themselves and emerge anew from the ashes. The tattoo and the disk, as worn by Montag and the other firemen, are emblems of their work, essentially propaganda proclaiming to the citizenry the good of the work they do. Conversely, the emblems proclaim to the reader the thematically central irony associated with that work - specifically, that no matter how much they burn, the words and ideas they are attempting to destroy will, like the salamander and the phoenix, survive the flames.
451
451, aside from being a number in the work’s title, is also the number on the uniforms of Montag and all other firemen. According to the author, 451° Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns, although scientifically, this degree ranges.
Montag’s Home
The house where Montag lives with his wife Mildred is, the narrative suggests, equipped with the latest technology. It is also, the narrative further suggests, decorated in cold, distant colors and sparsely furnished. It is, in short, unwelcoming and un-individualized, just like everyone else’s.
The Parlor
The center of activity in Montag’s home, as it apparently is in every home in the city and across the country, is the Parlor, where interactive audio-visual presentations serve as distractions and entertainment. The amount of wall space taken up with screens for those presentations varies from house to house. Montag’s house has recently added a third wall, but the entertainment-hungry Mildred is eager, or perhaps desperate, to add a fourth.
The Firehall
Traditionally, and as contemporary society understands them, firehalls were the centrally located buildings where firemen waited to be called to put fires out, rather than start them as they do in “Fahrenheit 451”. Here, Montag and the other firemen, including Captain Beatty, spend their off hours, playing cards, talking, and placing bets on the success of the predatory Mechanical Hound.
The Mechanical Hound
Also traditionally, contemporary firehalls have been portrayed as having a kind of mascot, or house dog, often (either stereotypically or archetypally) a Dalmatian. In the futuristic world of “Fahrenheit 451”, the firehall dog has been replaced with the predatory, murderous Mechanical Hound, which can be programmed to pursue any target desired. The Hound in Montag’s firehall is programmed to pursue Montag himself, although the Hound is eventually destroyed by Montag. Another Hound, similarly programmed, is set after Montag when he is discovered to have had books in his possession, but is fooled by him when he takes refuge in a river.
The Bombers
Throughout the narrative, the sound of military jets (bombers) screaming overhead provides a frightening backdrop to the action, evoking the constant looming threat and presence of war. Eventually, that war actually takes place, resulting in the city from which Montag escaped being entirely destroyed.
Ear Thimbles
Also referred to in the novel as Ear Seashells, the Thimbles are small headphones, miniature speakers and radio receivers that can be fitted easily and comfortably into the ear of the listener. Programming broadcast directly into the Ear Thimbles (and, the novel implies, directly into the mind of the listener) includes news broadcasts, advertisements, music, propaganda, and entertainment.
Faber’s Modified Ear Thimble
For a short time, Montag is able to engage in two-way conversation with Professor Faber with the assistance of an Ear Thimble specially modified by the Professor. The modified Thimble can be seen as a metaphoric manifestation of Faber’s role in Montag’s life - as a trigger and/or externalization of both his conscience and his sense of personal truth.
Montag’s Bible
In the midst of doing his job and torching the books and home of an old woman, Montag conceals a Bible in his coat. Narration eventually reveals that there are very few Bibles left in the world, and that Montag’s possession is a very precious one. He memorizes parts of it, in particular sections of the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes.
The Book of Ecclesiastes
Montag memorizes excerpts from the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes while riding the subway to meet with Professor Faber. Later, after he has escaped Beatty, the firemen and the Mechanical Hound, Montag’s memorized words help him fit in with the group of learned men who themselves have memorized text and who hold their memories close in preparation for what they believe is the inevitable time when what they remember, the words and ideas, will once again be valued.
The Abandoned Railway
First mentioned by Faber and later discovered by Montag, the railway is referred to as a centralizing element in the lives and activities of intellectuals and readers escaping from the society that condemns them.
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