Fahrenheit 451 Questions

Describe Montag at the beginning of the novel. Do you think he's a hero? Why/not?

 

I believe that Montag, the main character is a hero. Montag stumbles upon a surprise when he walked in and saw that his wife hadoverdosed on some sleeping pills. He had to run and call for help and some people helped saved her. If Montag had not called for help, his wife could have been injured or dead. She probably will not believe that her husband had saved her since she doesn't remember. Montag's kind act went unnoticed.  

Describe Bradbury's diction and syntax. Does he use formal, sophisticated terms or does his prose sound like he's in the room talking to you? Do his sentences vary in length or are they all about the same? How do Bradbury's choices create description, characters, action, and meaning?

Ray Bradbury uses many different and unique types of syntax. Some of the sentences sound as though he is speaking to me. Some of his writing is short and gets right to the point. When Ray Bradbury wants to be descriptive he makes the sentences go on for quite some time. When he describes things and places he's very descriptive with his words and his sentences are super long. When he writes dialogue it is short and says what is needed to be said. 

What's the inciting incident of the story?

A man, Montag, encounters a younger girl who changes how he sees life. She also brings things like nature and such to his mind. This causes Montag to have a whole new perspective and changes his thoughts and opinions on life and things throughout the very first part of the book. The young girl ends up dying and Montag misses her, but is still left with her remarkable personality. 

What's the significance of the Salamander?

I believe the salamander relates perhaps to the burning of all the books. Ironically enough it's said that the salamander can actually live in fire & be absolutely not affected by the flames. I also am going to say that this shows us the relativity between the books because even though the books are being burned and destroyed, what is inside the books all that knowledge and info is still preserved by people and their minds holding the knowledge. Yeah the firemen can thrash and burn the physical book, but you know they can't burn and completely destroy the knowledge that reader has already learned from reading the books previously. That is what they can't do.