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Ms. Zimny, English 11(B) / Socratic Seminar Groups, Week(s) ___________

Student Name: _______________________________________ Class Period: _______

Total Packet Points Earned: TOTAL POINTS EARNED: _______/_______

_______ / _______ (Homework)

_______ / _______ (Classwork)

Part I, Section One

Ep·i·graph – n. - An inscription, as on a statue or building; a motto or quotation, as at the beginning of a literary composition, setting forth a theme.

“If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.” – Juan Ramon Jimenez

The Helmet: 451

The Firemen: Kerosene – “It was a pleasure to burn”

Part I, Section Two

Salamander

Sal·a·man·der – n. – Any of various small lizardlike amphibians of the order Caudata, having porous scaleless skin and four, often weak or rudimentary legs.

Note: The salamanders have, like lizards, an elongated body, four feet, and a long tail, but are destitute of scales. They are true Amphibia, related to the frogs. Formerly, it was a superstition that the salamander could live in fire without harm, and even extinguish it by the natural coldness of its body.

Questions: 1. How is the salamander an appropriate symbol for the firemen in Fahrenheit 451?

2. How might the salamanders’ ability to both withstand and extinguish fire be appropriate? How do we asreaders reconcile these contrary characteristics?

Phoenix Disc

Phoe·nix – n. – 1. Mythology. A bird in Egyptian mythology that lived in the desert for 500 years and then consumed itself by fire, later to rise renewed from its ashes. 2. A person or thing of unsurpassed excellence or beauty; a paragon.

Questions: 3. How is the phoenix an appropriate symbol for the firemen in Fahrenheit 451?

4. How might the theme of rebirth connect to themes or characters in the novel Fahrenheit 451?.

Clarisse McClellan

Questions: 5. Explain Clarisse McClellan. What is Montag’s initial impression/description of her? Is her description of

herself appropriate? How would you describe her? Explain her?

6. What effect does Clarisse have on Montag? How does she manage to affect him so greatly after soshort a time? How do you explain this?

Slogan – “’Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn ‘em to ashes, then burn the ashes.’”

Questions: 7. What is your personal reaction to the Fireman’s Official Slogan?

“’My uncle drove slowly down a highway once. He drove forty miles an hour and they jailed him for two days.”

“’It’s like being a pedestrian, only rarer. My uncle was arrested another time—did I tell you? For being a pedestrian.”

Questions: 8. Explain the jet cars, the highways, the blurs, and the billboards. What does this all tell you about the

America in which Montag lives?

9. Clarisse’s reference to her uncle in these two lines should seem familiar. To what are these two lines areference?

10. What does Clarisse mean when she says, “It’s like being a pedestrian, only rarer”?

Part I, Section Three

Clarisse McClellan: The catalyst of Montag’s soon to come metamorphosis

Part I, Section Four

Montag: The Double Self. Mildred may be a zombie, but then why is Montag married to her? Explore the idea of the two Montags:

The conscious Montag is like Mildred.

The subconscious Montag is like Clarisse.

Foil: A character that serves by contrast to highlight or emphasize opposing traits in another character.

Clarisse McClellan is the literary foil of Mildred Montag.

Paralellism: Montag’s war within himself and the national war.

Jet bombers screaming overhead | Montag screaming at his wife

Mau·so·le·um – n. –n. pl. mau·so·le·ums or mau·so·le·a – A large stately tomb or a building housing such a tomb or several tombs; a gloomy, usually large room or building.

I·ro·ny – n. – n. pl. i·ro·nies - The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning. A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect. Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs. Situational irony (also called cosmic irony): is a trope (a figure of speech with an unexpected twist in the meaning of words) in which accidental events occur that seem oddly appropriate, such as the poetic justice of a pickpocket getting his own pocket picked. However, both the victim and the audience are simultaneously aware of the situation in situational irony. Verbal irony (also called sarcasm): is a trope (a figure of speech with an unexpected twist in the meaning of words) in which a speaker makes a statement in which its actual meaning differs sharply from the meaning that the words ostensibly express. Often this sort of irony is plainly sarcastic in the eyes of the reader, but the characters listening in the story may not realize the speaker's sarcasm as quickly as the readers do. Dramatic irony: Involves a situation in a narrative in which the reader knows something about present or future circumstances that the character does not know. In that situation, the character acts in a way we recognize to be grossly inappropriate to the actual circumstances, or the character expects the opposite of what the reader knows that fate holds in store, or the character anticipates a particular outcome that unfolds itself in an unintentional way. Socratic irony: Adapting a form of ironic false modesty in which a speaker claims ignorance regarding a question or philosophical problem. The speaker then turns to another "authority" and raises the question humbly, asking for the expert's answer. When the "authority," presents an answer, the "modest" original speaker continues to ask pointed questions, eventually revealing the limitations or inadequacies of the supposed expert--all the while protesting his or her own inferior knowledge. The irony comes from the speaker's continuing presentation of himself as stupid even as he demolishes inferior ideas others present to him. This is the method

Socrates supposedly took regarding philosophical inquiry, and it is named socratic irony in his honor.

“The Hearth”– Find specific descriptions of Montag’s home that indicate the title of Part One is deliberately ironic. Keep adding to the list through the rest of Part One. (The hearth, a place of warmth, the traditional center of one’s home, is symbolically in direct opposition to the coldness of Montag’s own home, relationship, and society. This is reinforced by the symbol of the salamander on his uniform as well as the reference to his bedroom as being like a “mausoleum” and “tomb”.)

Part One, Section Five Mildred’s Overdose vs. Clarisse’s Family – Which is a better example of Montag’s society in general? Montag relates to each of these extremes, a part of both but belonging to neither. He must choose between these opposing existences. se·rum n. pl. se·rums or se·ra 1. The clear yellowish fluid obtained upon separating whole blood into its solid and liquid components after it has been allowed to clot. Also called blood serum. 2. Blood serum from the tissues of immunized animals, containing antibodies and used to transfer immunity to another individual.

Part One, Section Six Cause and Effect – Comparing the feelings of Montag and Milderd allows the reader to gauge the causes of each chararcters feelings, as well as the effects their feelings have on themselves and each other.

Montag’s Reactions / Reading Between the Lines – Montag’s reaction is almost hidden from the reader. Much is implied, however.

Seashell ear thimbles

Part One, Section Seven Characterization: Mildred and Clarisse. How do the opposing characterizations of the two women in the novel affect the mood?

Part One, Section Eight The Double Self. Montag’s conscious self and subconscious self begin to switch places. The thoughts, speech and action of Montag and other characters illustrate this shift:

Montag the Fireman vs. Montag the Man

Mildred vs. Clarisse

Society – Surface and Underground Noticeable Quotations: Illustrate Montage’s metamorphosis. (Handout: Montag’s Metamorphosis)

Compare/Contrast: Identify differences between primary literary foils. (Handout: Clarisse vs. Mildred)

Part One, Section Nine ol·fac·to·ry adj. Of, relating to, or contributing to the sense of smell.

pro·bos·cis n. pl. pro·bos·cis·es or pro·bos·ci·des 1: the human nose (especially when it is large) 2: a long flexible snout as of an elephant [syn: trunk]

mor·phine n : an alkaloid narcotic drug extracted from opium; a powerful, habit-forming narcotic used to relieve pain [syn: morphia]

pro·caine n : A white crystalline powder used in its hydrochloride form as a local anesthetic, [syn: novacaine]

bal·lis·tics n. (used with a sing. verb) 1. (a) The study of the dynamics of projectiles. (b)The study of the flight characteristics of projectiles. 2. (a) The study of the functioning of firearms. (b)The study of the firing, flight, and effects of ammunition.

The Mechanical Hound Questions:

1. What is the Hound’s apparent function? 2. What games do the firemen typically play with it? 3. What description of the Hound are we given?

Montag demonstrates fascination and some indication of trepidation with the Hound—significance in that the Hounds response is to growl and extend its needle when Montag touches its muzzle. (pp. 24-26) Beatty (to Montag): “Why? You got a guilty conscience or something?” “The Mechanical Houd Slept but did not sleep…”

The Hound is a kind of a reverse Mildred: “The Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live in its gently humming, gently vibrating, softly illuminated kennel…” Human vs. Machine. If Millie is a barely alive human, then the Mechanical Hound is an almost-alive machine. The differences between a dangerously idiotic human and a dangerously intelligent machine are not so clear in this world.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Part One: Section Ten an·ti·so·cial – adj. – Shunning the society of others, not sociable; antagonistic toward or disrespectful of others; rude, hostile to, or disruptive of the established social order; marked by or engaging in behavior that violates accepted mores

mo·res (môr z , - z, m r -) pl.n. The accepted traditional customs, moral attitudes, and manners of a particular social group; moral attitudes.

ab·nor·mal - adj. – Any typical, usual, or regular; not normal; deviant. Questions:

1. How many days go by in this section? 2. How is Montag’s relationship with Clarisse changing? How is Montag himself changing? 3. Clarisse provides insight to the adolescent society in which she is a misfit. Describe the various aspects of

“normal” adolescent society in Montag’s world. 4. Montag asks Clarisse one day, “Why is it, I feel I’ve known you so many years?” What is Clarisse’s

answer? What is your answer? 5. Here is Clarisses’s description of school: “It’s a lot of funnels and a lot of water poured down the spoud

and out the bottom, and them telling us it’s wine when it’s not.” What does she mean? What would an appropriate analogy be for your own educational experience today?

a·nal·o·gy n. pl. a·nal·o·gies drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect Social Criticism: 1953 Research Writing/Persuasive Essay. Write a formal academic essay in the standard paragraph form, including quotes and paraphrases from the actual text as evidence.

The Mechanical Hound and Other Projects – Due by ___________________________________________

The Firemen’s Paraphernalia – Make a poster of the various tools, gear, and behicles used by the firemen in the story. Add quotes from the story to explain each item’s literal and metaphorical purpose.

The Firemen – Make a composite word portrait of a typical fireman from Fahrenheit 451. Gather quotes from throughout the text describing a fireman’s physical appearance, uniform, insignia, etc. Add quotes from the story for clarification.

Clarisse and Mildred – Make a dissimilarity portrait of Clarisse and Mildred. Abstractly represent the opposing views and mentalities of the two women’s thoughts, views, beliefs, and constitutions.

The Mechanical Hound – Make a decoupage composite of the Mechanical Hound. (It is first and best described in Part One, Section Nine; it is described briefly in Part Three, Sections Six, Seven and Nine.) Use colors, textures, and various materials to represent the Mechanical Hound’s symbolic significance to Montag’s society, people, and culture.

Topic: How was Fahrenheit 451 intended as a social criticism in 1953? How could it be interpreted as a social criticism today? Directions: Clarify the meaning of the story in two contexts, the present day in which it was written, as well as the present day of the modern reader. Explore the political and social commentaries of the two time periods and relate them both to the text. Cite specific examples to support your explanation of both.

Part One: Section Eleven Questions:

1. How many days go by in this section? 2. What literary effect does the counting of days have on the reader? (pp. 28, 31, 32)

Literary term: a·naph·o·ra n. The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs

3. What comments in this section seem to indicate that Montag may be under suspicion? 4. What has happened to Clarisse

Word Choice: Bradbury uses the word dis-ease in this section in the following context: “The lawn was empty, the trees empty, the street empty, and while at first he did not even know he missed or was even looking for her, the fact was by the time he reached the subway, there were vague stirrings of dis-ease in him.”

Part One: Section Twelve Exact Date: Thursday, one thirty-five a.m. Imagery: “They and their charcoal hair and soot-colors brows and bluish-ash-smeared cheeks where they had shaven close; but their heritage showed… Had he ever seen a fireman that didn’t have black hair, black brows, a fiery face, and blue-steel shaved but unshaved look? These men were all mirror images of himself! Were all firemen picked then for their looks as well as their proclivities?” pro·cliv·i·ty n. pl. pro·cliv·i·ties - A natural propensity or inclination; predisposition. [Syn: predilection, preference]

Flashback: When Beatty asks Montag “You got some?” (meaning books), Montag recalls two scenes in his mind. What does the reader learn about Montag from theses flashbacks? Irony: What is the irony in using the Revolution and characters from the Revolution, such as Benjamin Franklin, as official reasons and forerunners of the Firemen in Fahrenheit 451? Question: Whose influence is causing Montag to begin asking questions at work and what effect is it having?

Character Development/Characterization: An author develops a character by way of four techniques. By utilizing these techniques, Bradbury was able to create a personality for Montag’s character that is increasingly complex, meaningful, and lifelike for the reader.

1. Character’s speech – What the character says 2. Character’s actions – What the character does 3. Narrator commentary – What the author says about the character 4. Other character commentary – What other characters say about the character

Part One: Section Thirteen ob·jec·tiv·i·ty n. judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices fer·vor n. 1. Great warmth and intensity of emotion. [Syn: passion]. 2. Intense heat. fa·nat·ic n. A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause. Similies and Metaphors: This section is rife with similes and metaphors. List as many as possible, along with the association to Montag’s emotional or mental state of being:

Simile or Metaphor Montag’s Emotional/Mental State of Being

…tumbling through like boys all rollick and shout. (S)

A fountain of books sprang down upon Montag… (M)

Always before it had been like snuffing a candle. (S)

She made the empty rooms roar with accusation… (M)

…and shake down a fine dust of guilt… (M)

A book lit, almost obediently, like a white pigeon… (S)

…a page hung open… like a snowy feather… (S)

Montag’s hand closed like a mouth… (S)

…his hand… had turned thief. (M)

The books lay like great mounds of fishes… (S)

Titles glittered their golden eyes, falling, gone. (M)

You’ve been locked up… with a… Tower of Babel. (M)

… kerosene lay like the track of some evil snail. (S)

Questions:

1. When the woman quotes the famous line, what does Beatty do? Who is the woman?

Hugh Latimer (c. 1470 - 16 October 1555) British clergyman, Bishop of Worcester, Protestant martyr during the reign of Queen Mary I of England.

Nicholas Ridley (c. 1503 – 16 October 1555) Latin and Greek scholar who became a speaker for the Protestants. Publicly denounced Mary I in a sermon. Declared a heretic and burned at the stake. An account of his death exists that showed it to be agonizing.

Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.

Hugh Latimer, to his friend Nicholas Ridley, as they were both about to be burned as heretics for their teachings and beliefs outside Balliol College, Oxford (October 16, 1555)

2. What was the inconvenient feature of this particular fire alarm, and what effect does the fact that the police did not arrive first have on Montag?

Part One: Section Fourteen “They sat there looking out of the front of the great Salamander as they turned a corner and went silently on.” Questions:

1. What is Beatty’s explanation for knowing the quotation from Hugh Latimer? 2. Why are all the firemen silent for most of the drive back from the firehouse? 3. What mighty be the significance of the use of the word salamander in this section? Does it differ from

previous usages?

Part One: Section Fifteen Montag: The Double Self The “small” and “soft” sounds” Montag makes as he lies in bed Millie: Significance “’Are you drunk?’” “’What are you doing?’” “’What?’” “…he felt her put her hand down to feel his cheek. He tknew that when she pulled her hand away from his face it was wet.” Questions: 1. In what sense have Montag’s hands become “infected”?

Part One: Section Sixteen ca·coph·o·ny n. pl. ca·coph·o·nies 1. Jarring, discordant sound; dissonance. 2. The use of harsh or discordant sounds in literary composition, as for poetic effect. Imagery and Symbols:

Fathoms of blackness

Zinc-oxide-faced men

Electronic-Eyed Snake

gibbering pack of tree-apes

praying mantis

“relatives”

Questions:

1. What question does Montag ask his wife that she cannot answer? Significance? 2. When Millie cannot answer the question, what does she get up to do? Significance? 3. What does Mildred say happened to Clarisse? Is her account believable? 4. As his wife goes to sleep, what does Montag hear outside the house?

Part One: Section Seventeen A Questions:

1. When Montag’s feverish mind pictures his wife the next morning, how is she described? 2. Why is Montag “sick”? Why won’t Mildred turn off the TV? 3. What sudden reaction does Montag has to kerosene? Significance? 4. How does Millie react to Montag’s question about quitting his job?

Historical and Literary Allusions: Dante* Swift* Marcus Aurelius*

Part One: Section Seventeen B Questions:

1. In spite of the rule book’s claim (see Section 12) when does Beatty say the firemen’s job really got started?

2. Beatty says, “Out of the nursery into the college and back to the nursery; there’s your intellectual pattern for the past five centuries or more.” He also says that this “pattern” began about the time of “a thing called the Civil War.” According to this passage, then, in what century does the story take place?

3. What does Mildred find under Montag’s pillow while Beatty gives his lecture? 4. As Beatty talks on, why does he become more and more invisible? 5. When Mildred comes out of the parlor, she stands looking at Beatty and Montag, and then “her mouth

moved and she was saying something but the sound covered it.” What was she probably saying? 6. What is the irony of Mildred trying to say something to Beatty and Montag, but going unheard because

the TV a covered her words with flood of fireworks and music? What do you think she was trying to say? Society’s development of “mass” – Civil War, photography, radio, television cen·tri·fuge n. 1. An apparatus consisting essentially of a compartment spun about a central axis to separate contained materials of different specific gravities, or to separate colloidal particles suspended in a liquid. 2. An apparatus in which humans or animals are enclosed and which is revolved to simulate the effects of acceleration in a spacecraft.

Significant Quotations “Speed up the film, Montag, quick… Whirl man’s mind around so fast… that the centrifuge flings off all unnecessary, time-wasting thought!” – Beatty “Highways full of crowds going somewhere, somewhere, somewhere, nowhere. The gasoline refugee. Towns turn into motels…” “All the minor minor minorities with their navels to be kept clean.” “Magazines became a nice blend of vanilla tapioca.”

Historical and Literary Allusions: Hamlet* Little Black Sambo* Happiness Boys*

Part One: Section Eighteen Symbols: Flat-Front Houses Porches Questions:

1. What might the author be suggesting to the reader by choosing to put this little commentary section right after Beatty’s long and flashy speech?

Part One: Section Nineteen Questions:

1. What does Montag admit to Millie? 2. How many books were stashed behind the ventilator grill? 3. When someone comes to the door, who do they think it is? How does Mildred respond? Montag?

The book which Montag starts to read to Millie at the very end of Part One is Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Whether you know about the passage being quoted from the book or not, its it possible to see some connection between the quote and story of F451? QUOTE: “It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death than submit to

breat their eggs at the smaller end.”

FAHRENHEIT 451: Unit Vocabulary (Part One)

Section 2 1. salamander 2. phoenix/phoenix disc

Section 4

1. mausoleum

Section 5 2. serum

Section 9

1. olfactory system

2. proboscis

3. ballistics

Section 12

1. proclivities

Section 13 1. objectivity 2. fervor

3. fanatics

Section 16

1. cacophony

Section 17a 1. Dante* 2. Swift* 3. Marcus Aurelius*

Section 17b

1. Hamlet*

2. exploitation

Lastly, but not leastly…. Complete the Stasis Theory Chart.

For each of the four questions of Stasis Theory, write four questions for each type. Circle the one from each row

you feel is not only best written, but is the most deeply challenging in terms of critical thinking and argument.

QUESTION OF….

EXAMPLE FROM TKAM

Write several of your own questions based on your reading from the novel Fahrenheit 451, Part One “The Hearth and the Salamander”

FACT What are the

cultural vs. reasons that

Tom is accused of

rape in To Kill a

Mockingbird?

Question of Fact #1

Question of Fact #2

Question of Fact #3

Question of Fact #4

Did something happen? Is

it real? What is its origin or cause?

DEFINITION What is the nature of Atticus’

responsibilities in

representing Tom in To Kill

a Mockingbird?

Question of Definition #1

Question of Definition #2

Question of Definition #3

Question of Definition #4

What is its nature?

What are its parts? How is it

classified?

QUALITY Is Atticus’ legal representation

of Tom to Tom’s benefit? Did Atticus do all he could?

Question of Quality #1

Question of Quality #2

Question of Quality

#3

Question of Quality #4

What is its quality? Is it good or

bad? Harmful or

helpful?

POLICY

Should

lawyers be forced to take cases they do not want or cannot win?

Question of Policy #1

Question of Policy #2

Question of Policy #3

Question of Policy #4

What actions

should be taken? How

can we make things

better?