Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 quote

I need an answer for each of these questions.

“There it lay, a game for him to win, a vast bowling alley in the cool morning. The boulevard was as clean as the surface of an arena two minutes before the appearance of certain unnamed victims and certain unknown killers. The air over and above the vast concrete river trembled with the warmth of Montag’s body alone; it was incredible how he felt his temperature could cause the whole immediate world to vibrate. He was a phosphorescent target; he know it, he felt it. And now he must begin his
little walk” (119).

Questions :

1. What is happening in this passage?

2. What is Montag referring to when he thinks to himself, “ … of an arena two minutes before the appearance of certain unnamed victims and certain unknown killers”?

3. What is meant by “ The air … trembled with the warmth of Montag’s body alone; it was incredible how he felt his temperature could cause the whole immediate world to vibrate”, and how might that tied to the next sentence about him being a phosphorescent target?

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Last updated by Aslan
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This passage is when Montag is on the run from the authorities. He knows this is his last chance to escape the concrete maze of conformity: he needs to make a final break for it. He knows the cameras are on him and he knows he is in the gaze of the population. To the state, Montag is only a phosphorescent target. Montag knows there is more to himself and he is making his last stand.

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