Foothill High School

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1 Foothill High School Dodge Avenue, Santa Ana, CA (714) Fax (714) To: English 1 Honors Students From: Teachers of English 1 Honors Re: Summer Reading Assignment Congratulations on completing middle school. We have planned an exciting and challenging English 1 Honors class for you next year. You will have a myriad of opportunities to hone your skills in the academic disciplines of grammar, vocabulary, composition, critical thinking, and literary analysis. Your summer assignment is to read the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. As one of our goals this year is to train students to become active, involved readers; working with the text, annotating (writing in your book) is a practice we will especially emphasize. Consequently, we strongly, strongly recommend that students purchase their own copies of the books (however, this is not required, nor will it affect your grade) and begin writing and interacting with them ( Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Publisher: Del Rey, ISBN # , $12.74). The book is available at any reputable bookseller, used bookstore, the FHS library and the public library. If you decide not to purchase the text, you can still annotate it by using post-it notes. We will begin class this fall with meaningful analysis and discussion of the text. The novel focuses on the growth and development of the main character, Montag, within a dystopian society. The ideas and themes of hopes and dreams, morality, mass media, censorship, conformity versus individuality corruption of humanity and society, the role and importance of propaganda and the responsibility of the individual to the self and society are examined and developed through the course of Montag s personal journey and evolution. Be prepared for a comprehensive exam on the novel on the second/third day of class. Again, we encourage you to interact with the text by taking notes, highlighting passages, posing questions, and monitoring your comprehension. You should read actively, remembering that your purpose is to study this novel; therefore annotating the text concerning topics such as: the author s purpose, literary devices, (e.g. symbolism, figurative language, characterization) themes, conflicts, style, and tone will help you in your examination of this rich and complex novel. Summer reading is required. Enjoy! Sincerely, English 1 Honors Teachers

2 Foothill High School Dodge Avenue, Santa Ana, CA (714) Fax (714) How to study a novel Studying on your own requires self-discipline and a carefully thought out plan in order to be effective. Keep the following guidelines in mind while you read Fahrenheit 451 this summer: 1. You will need to read the novel more than once. Start by reading it quickly for pleasure, then read it slowly and thoroughly. 2. If there are any words you do not understand, look them up in the dictionary. Use this as a learning opportunity to expand your vocabulary. 3. On your second reading make detailed notes on the plot, characters, conflicts, and themes in the novel. Further readings will generate new ideas and help you to remember the details of the book. 4. Some of the characters will develop as the plot unfolds. How do your responses towards them change during the course of the novel? What type of characterization does the author use? Are the characters static or dynamic; flat or round? Do they have an epiphany during the course of the plot? 5. Think about how the novel is narrated. From whose point of view are the events described? How does this point of view affect the plot? Does the point of view change? If there is a first person narrator, is he/she reliable? 6. A novel may or may not present events chronologically: the time scheme may be a key to its structure and organization. 7. What types of conflict are present in the work? What do they reveal about the theme and the author s purpose? What is the primary conflict? 8. What part does/do the setting/s play in the novel? Are certain events, characters, or conflicts associated with particular settings? (Remember, setting is the time and location where the novel takes place.) 9. Are words, images, or incidents repeated so as to give the work a pattern? Do such patterns or motifs help you to understand the novel s themes? 10. Identify what styles of language are used in the novel. (e.g. prose, poetry, slang, figurative language, colloquialisms, imagery, etc.) How does the author s diction reveal the tone of the piece? 11. What is the effect of the novel s ending? Is the action completed and closed, or incomplete and open? 12. Does the novel present a moral and just world? What does this reveal about the author s purpose? 13. Cite exact sources for all quotations, whether from the text itself or from critical commentaries. Wherever possible, find your own examples (concrete details) from the novel to support your opinions. 14. Always express your ideas in your own words. 15. Remember, there is no substitute for thoroughly reading the novel and formulating your own thoughtful opinions. Not only do merely using Cliffs Notes and Spark Notes violate the FHS Academic Honesty Policy, but also it robs you of the joy of independent reading, discovery, and learning that is so important to your maturity and academic growth.

3 Foothill High School Dodge Avenue, Santa Ana, CA (714) Fax (714) ENGLISH 1 HONORS STUDENTS SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT: FAHRENHEIT 451 BY RAY BRADBURY NOVEL STUDY PACKET Directions: Dear students, you will be reading Fahrenheit 451 this summer. Please make sure you mark literary devices, images, symbols, character development, development of theme and any questions you may have, in your book. Additionally: 1. Please respond to the following questions as you read the novel. Please use these questions for review and to assess comprehension of the text. These questions will be due the week you start school. 2. Please take note of the vocabulary. Highlight/mark and understand the words in your book. YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VOCABULARY AND ARE EXPECTED TO KNOW IT. 3. Remember to be ready to discuss the book and take a test, the first week of school. Part I: The Hearth and the Salamander : Vocabulary : abruptly : suddenly intact : entire; complete abyss : a void, emptiness jargon : a type of language used by a specific group, vocation, etc adders : snakes lubricated : oiled ballistics : the science of the motion of projectiles in flight luminescent : glowing bestia l: beat-like mausoleum : a large tomb buckling : yielding, collapsing noncombustible : not burnable cacophony : harsh or painful sounds objectivity : impartiality centrifuge : a machine that uses centrifugal force to stimulate odious : hate gravitational effects olfactory : related to the sense of smell clarified : made clear pratfall : a fall made on purpose condensations : abridgements proclivities : inclinations; desires conjure : beg; make, construct pulverized : smashed to bits dictum : an order quibble : argue dike : a dam rasping : harsh sounding fathoms : distances of 6 feet ravenous : extremely hungry feigning : faking refracted : altered and distorted gibbering : babbling sauterne : the color of white wine gilt : golden stolid : unemotional gorging : eating greedily stratum : a layer gullet : the throat tactile : related to the sense of touch; inviting to touch heresy : disbelief in the established religion or rules tamped : gently pressed in igniter : a lighter theremin : an early electronic instrument

4 1. What does the author indicate about the importance of the number 451 and the fireman s job? 2. How does this introduction go against conventional wisdom and signal to the reader that a different value system will be introduced? 3. How does the author indicate that Montag has a daring-or rebellious- streak in his character? 4. According to Greek myth, the salamander is able to live in a fire without being hurt, and the phoenix lives for 500 years before dying in a fire and being regenerated from the fire. Why would Montag have these symbols on his clothing? 5. How is the character of Clarisse McClennan differentiated from that of Montag? 6. Montag returns to his house after talking with Clarisse. What hints does the author give about other dimensions to Montag s character? 7. Describe Mildred as the reader first encounters her. 8. What kind of medical help is given to Mildred? 9. What purpose is served by the electronic thimble earpieces and the televisors (talking walls) in the Montag house? 10. What is the Mechanical Hound, and how does it interact with Montag? 11. What is the significance of the Mechanical Hound s attack toward Montag? 12. What happens when Montag s team is called to a fire in an old house? What literary term is the quotation spoken by the old woman? 13. What does Captain Beatty say about the quotation when they return to the firehouse, and what does the incident show? 14. What happens when Montag gets home from the fire at the old woman s? What does he sense in the dark outside, and what does he find inside? 15. What does Captain Beatty tell Montag about history and about the need for firemen? 16. Explain Beatty s message when he is talking about Clarisse s disappearance. 17. On whom or what does Beatty put the responsibility for the beginnings of book burnings? 18. What does Montag reveal to Mildred? 19. What is Mildred s reaction when Montag reads from the first book? What does this indicate about Mildred s character? 20. What are some of the science fiction elements depicted in this section of the book? 21. What thematic concepts or thematic ideas have been introduced in the story so far? Part II: The Sieve and the Sand : Vocabulary : arsonists : people who set fires patronage : financial support beatific : blissful perfunctorily : briefly cadenced : rhythmic; measured phosphorescent : glowing certitude : certainty praetorian : bodyguards resembling Roman imperial bodyguards chaff : worthless things or parts profusion : an abundance contemptible : worthy of hate rebut : to argue against; to expose darkling : dark retaliation : revenge discourse : conversation sieve : a strainer dispersing : scattering subaudible : below what can be heard diverted : turned away subside : to slow, then stop enameled : painted suffused : filled; flushed insidious : treacherous teem : to abound linguists : those who study language televisors : walls with tv s to entertain & brainwash people manifested : asserted; made known verbiage : excessively wordy moor : a boggy area welter : a chaotic mess; confusion parried : warded off a blow

5 1. What is Montag reading just before the Mechanical Hound comes to the house? What should the hound s arrival indicate to Montag? What is his reaction? 2. What is Montag s reaction when he hears the jets overhead? 3. What memory comes to Montag as a source of help in this strange society? 4. Why does Faber refuse to answer Montag s questions on the phone? 5. What is the significance of the conversation between Montag and Mildred before Montag leaves the house? 6. What happens on the subway? Why is the advertisement for Denham s Dentrifice important? 7. What does Faber say about his own history? 8. What does Faber say about Jesus? What does this say about the controllers of the society? 9. Why does Montag think books could make him happy? 10. Faber says that books themselves are not the key to happiness, but three other factors are the key. What factors does Faber cite as being crucial to happiness? 11. Explain what Faber means by quality of information. 12. What does Faber mean by leisure? 13. What is Faber s third factor required for happiness? 14. How does Montag coerce Faber into becoming his teacher? 15. How does Faber equip Montag to deal with Captain Beatty? 16. Why does the author weave in reminders that a war is imminent? 17. Describe the confrontation between Montag and the ladies who come to visit Mildred. What does the scene say about the life women lived in this society? 18. Why does Montag realize about how he will be changed from knowing Faber? 19. How does Captain Beatty behave toward Montag at the firehouse? 20. Where do the firemen go when they receive the alarm? Why would they go there? Part III: Burning Bright : Vocabulary : aesthetic : visually pleasing pedants : people who show off their knowledge allotted : permitted; given plummeting : falling convolutions : complicated curves in the brain prattled : chattered meaninglessly dilate : to widen probability : likelihood gout : a gush procaine : an anesthetic illuminated : lit up pyre : a heap of wood on which a body is burned incessantly : without stopping ricocheted : rebounded incite : to spur into action; to urge rigidity : hardness, stiffness incriminate : to accuse of criminal involvement scuttling : moving quickly juggernaut : a massive force crushing all in its path scythe : a long curved blade for cutting grass; carried liquefaction : process of becoming a liquid by a symbol of death, the Grim Reaper litterateur : a literary person trajectory : a curving path oblivion : condition of forgetting everything or vacuum : an emptiness being completely forgotten by others; death valise : a suitcase obscure : vague 1. Beatty realizes what caused Montag to start thinking. What or who was it? 2. What is Mildred s role in the opening scene of this section? 3. What happens to the earpiece that allows Montag to hear Faber?

6 4. What does Montag do after Beatty takes Faber s earpiece? 5. What happens to the Mechanical Hound? 6. What does Montag recover from his property? 7. What does Montag realize about Beatty? 8. What does Montag learn while he is washing up in the bathroom of the gas station? 9. What does Montag do with the books he has rescued? 10. What plans does Faber suggest to Montag? 11. Describe the manhunt for Montag. 12. What does Montag tell Faber to do? 13. How does Montag know that the Mechanical Hound leaves Faber s house alone? 14. What technique does the government use to try to find Montag? 15. How does Montag escape? 16. Montag has a vision while he is floating in the river. What is it? 17. What does Montag encounter when he approaches the campfire in the forest? Why is he expected? Who is in charge? 18. What do the men do to protect themselves from being found with Montag? 19. Montag and the men watch an alarming scene unfold on the TV. What do they see? 20. What has Mr. Simmons developed while living in the woods for 20 years? Why is this important? Why could it be dangerous? 21. Granger talks about his grandfather. Recount what he says and what the purpose of this section is to the story. 22. What do the men do when the sun comes up after the city is destroyed? Why is this important in completing the story? 23. Why is the phoenix an apt symbol and theme in this story? 24. Montag recites several lines to himself as they walk along. What is he quoting, and what is the importance of the message?