The Sieve and the Sand

Happy part two of Fahrenheit 451!  As you've surely noticed, this is an ironic dystopian novel.  The question is, what does Bradbury want us, as the reader, to realize?  What is the purpose of this novel?  Now, this is hopefully readily apparent, but it is important to find support for this (these) purpose(s). The following blog prompts will help us in this endeavor.  Remember that your blog response needs to be 250-300 words and demonstrate complete thoughts and good writing conventions.

 Blog Prompts

1. Why would society make "being a pedestrian" a crime? (Clarisse tells Montag that her uncle was once arrested for this.)
2. One of the most significant of the many literary allusions in Fahrenheit 451 occurs when Montag reads Matthew Arnold's poem "Dover Beach." What is the response of Mildred's friends, and why does Montag kick them out of his house?
3. One suicide and one near-suicide occur in this book. One woman, who shuns books but loves TV and driving fast in her car, anesthetizes herself,; "We get these cases nine or ten a night," says the medical technician. Another woman, who cherishes her books, sets herself on fire with them; "These fanatics always try suicide," says the fire captain. Why would two people who seem to be so different from each other try to take their own lives? Why does suicide happen so frequently in Montag's society?"
4. Beatty tells Montag that firemen are "custodians of peace of mind" and that they stand against "those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought." How well are the firemen accomplishing these objectives? Are conflicting ideas the only source of unhappiness in their society? What other sources might there be? Can conflicting ideas exist even without books that have been destroyed and outlawed?
5. Captain Beatty quotes history, scripture, poetry, philosophy. He is obviously a well-read man. Why hasn't he been punished? And why does he view the books he's read with such contempt? How can Beatty's knowledge of and hatred for books be reconciled?
6. Why do you think the firemen's rulebook credited Benjamin Franklin-- writer, publisher, political leader, inventor, ambassador--as being the first fireman?
7. Why does Beatty program the Hound to track Montag even before Montag stole the book? Do you believe Beatty had seen him steal books before? Or is it that Beatty had detected a change in Montag's attitude or behavior? Cite incidents in the book that support your answer.
8. This part of the book is aptly named.  Discuss the symbolism of the "sieve and the sand."  Be sure to include examples as support (Faber offers quite a few).