cares so much about Clarisse's disappearance, since she understands him so much better than his wife, even after a very short acquaintance.

Funny, how funny, not to remember where or when you met your husband or wife.

Mildred says this to Montag, showing how far apart they have grown and how uninterested she is in him or in their marriage. Montag has been struggling to persuade himself that he loves his wife, but she shows definitively here that she does not love him and is completely detached.

Last night I thought about all the kerosene I've used in the past ten years. And I thought about books. And for the first time I realized that a man was behind each one of the books. A man had to think them up. A man had to take a long time to put them down on paper. And I'd never even thought that thought before.

Montag says this, ostensibly to Mildred, but really to himself. His words show the growth of his obsession with the books he is supposed to be burning and his appreciation for their cultural importance, foreshadowing his future actions.

Colored people don't like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don't feel good about Uncle Tom's Cabin. Burn it. Someone's written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag. Take your fight outside.

Beatty says this to Montag when he is explaining how firemen came to fulfill their current role as book burners and the philosophy behind their work. Although Beatty is an authoritarian and Montag thinks he is wrong, he is the most intelligent and best-educated of the firemen, and he puts forward a superficially attractive case for censorship as the basis of social harmony.

We'll start over again, at the beginning.

These are the last words of part 1, and they foreshadow the new beginning with which the book ends. They are spoken by Montag to Mildred.

When picking five important quotes from the second part of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, consider choosing ones that reinforce the key themes of the novel. If a quote connects to a central issue of the story, it’s likely important.

One of the integral themes of Fahrenheit 451 is the importance of books and the knowledge that they can contain. The intricate thoughts that books tend to create are inimical to the dystopian society of Guy Montag. In part 2, Captain Beatty showcases his scorn for complex thoughts when, at the firehouse, he tells Montag:

What traitors books can be! You think they're backing you up, and they turn on you. Others can use them too, and there you are, lost in the middle of the moor, in a great welter of nouns and verbs and adjectives.

This quote is also significant because it provides foreshadowing. Soon after, Montag becomes something of a traitor. He betrays himself by setting fire to his own house. Conversely, he betrays Beatty by setting him on fire.

Another quote that reflects the power of literature arrives in the scene when Montag insists on reading Matthew Arnold poetry to Mildred and her friends. After Montag reads a few lines, Mrs. Phelps starts to cry. Upset that Montag has made her friend cry, Mrs. Bowles confronts Montag:

You see? I knew it, that's what I wanted to prove! I knew it would happen! I've always said, poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings, poetry and sickness; all that mush! Now I've had it proved to me. You're nasty, Mr. Montag, you're nasty.

This quote from Mrs. Bowles could be considered ironic. Soon, Montag makes it clear that Mrs. Bowles is the awful one; she’s the person surrounded by death and hate.

A problem gets too burdensome, then into the furnace with it. Now, Montag, you're a burden. And fire will lift you off my shoulders, clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical.

In the quote above, spoken by Beatty, he and Montag have arrived at Montag's home. Mildred has turned Montag in for having books. Beatty wants Montag to burn his books. In this quote, he is telling Montag that he is cutting him loose as a fireman. Montag has become too much of a non-conformist to fit in with his society. Beatty, the voice of his dystopic society, explains that non-conformists are simply to be gotten rid of. His words, which reduce a human being to a "problem," reflect his dehumanized culture.

First I thought you had a Seashell. But when you turned clever later, I wondered. We'll trace this and drop it on your friend.

Beatty also speaks the words above. He is talking to Montag, telling him he has found the hearing device in Montag's ear and plans to trace it back to its source. This is an important quote because it helps explains why Montag takes the extreme action of incinerating Beatty: he feels desperate to protect Faber, the friend who gave him the device.

You'd better head for the river if you can, follow along it, and if you can hit the old railroad lines going out into the country, follow them … If you keep walking far enough and keep an eye peeled, they say there's lots of old Harvard degrees on the tracks between here and Los Angeles.

This advice, given by Faber to the fleeing Montag, is very important in directing the path of Montag's flight from the city. This information allows Montag to find Granger and the other fugitives.

There was a silly damn bird called a Phoenix back before Christ: every few hundred years he built a pyre and burned himself up. He must have been first cousin to Man. But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again.

In the above statement, Granger explains to Montag the goal of the group of men who memorize books. He is explaining that like the mythical Phoenix, societies eventually destroy themselves and have to be reborn. But unlike the Phoenix, humans have the advantage of preserving knowledge from the past, so they can have a chance to avoid making the same mistakes.

And hold on to one thought: You're not important. You're not anything. Some day the load we're carrying with us may help someone. But even when we had the books on hand, a long time ago, we didn't use what we got out of them

Granger continues to speak to Montag as the novel draws to a close, telling him that books alone won't save humankind: Granger will go on to say that people need to take a long look in the mirror and reflect on their mistakes so they can better use the wisdom from long ago.

Man vs. Self: Montag is experiencing inner turmoil. The night that the firemen go and burn the house of the unidentified woman, Montag watches her burn with her books.  He suddenly realizes that "There must be something in books, things we can't imagine to make a woman stay in a burning house, there must be something there.  You don't stay for nothing" (pg 51). Afterward, when he is talking with Mildred about it, she could care less and demands that he leave her alone.  He replies, " That's all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? ...We need to be really bothered once in a while.  How long is it since you were really bothered?  About something important, about something real" (pg 52).  Later when he is talking with Faber, Faber tells him he did what he had to do and that it had been coming on for a long time.  Montag agrees and says "I went around doing one thing and feeling another. God , it was all there.  It's a wonder it didn't show on me, like fat." (pg 131)

Man vs. Man:  Basically this can be narrowed down to Montag vs. Beatty.  Beatty needles him constantly.  When Montag returns to the fire station after feigning his illness, Beatty unmercifully browbeats him with quotes from famous books.  "Montag's head whirled sickeningly.  He felt beaten unmercifully on brow, eyes, nose, lips, chin, on shoulders, on upflailing arms.  He wanted to yell 'No! Shut up, you're confusing things, stop it" (pg 107)  All the time Beatty is doing this, he is planning on burning Montag's house that night.  When he does, he taunts Montag again "Didn't I hint enough when I sent the Hound around your place?"(pg 113)  Even when Montag grabs the flame thrower and aims it at Beatty, Beatty taunts him.  He calls him "a second-hand litterateur" and a "snob" (pg 119) He dares him to pull the trigger, and Montag does.  Then the race is on and it is man vs. man when he is trying to escape.  They are hunting him with helicopters, men on foot, and a Hound that has been brought from another district.

The pages listed are in my edition, an old one.  They may not be exactly the page numbers in your book, but they will be in the vicinity.

In Fahrenheit 451, there are a number of examples which demonstrate a conflict between Man and Society:

• Montag vs. the Majority: According to Beatty, it is the majority who first turned their backs on books and encouraged the government to introduce the fireman system. Montag's real battle with the majority begins in Part Two when he develops an "insidious plan" with Faber to bring down this system and to reintroduce books into society.  But the majority are unwilling to embrace literature, as we see when Montag reads Dover Beach to Mildred and her friends. Montag does, however, put this plan into action when he plants a book in a fellow fireman's house and calls in the alarm.
• Montag vs. the Government: After killing Captain Beatty in Part Three, Montag does battle with the government: they send the Mechanical Hound after him and broadcast the chase on live television. This conflict is resolved when Montag escapes the city while the government publicly executes an innocent man.

Man vs. Self: At the beginning of the novel, Montag has an insightful conversation with Clarisse, who makes him question his life and happiness. After speaking with Clarisse, Montag discovers that his life is essentially meaningless, and he is not emotionally fulfilled in any way, shape, or form. That night, Montag contemplates his existence and realizes that he is genuinely unhappy, which motivates him to dramatically alter the trajectory of his life. Bradbury writes,

He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over, and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now blown out. Darkness. He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back (5).

Man vs. Society: Throughout the novel, Montag and other intellectuals are enemies of the authoritarian regime, which censors literature and prevents citizens from pursuing knowledge. When Montag visits Faber, the former professor elaborates on the need to destroy and rebuild the corrupt, dystopian society. Faber tells Montag,

"The whole culture's shot through. The skeleton needs melting and re-shaping. Good God, it isn't as simple as just picking up a book you laid down half a century ago. Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord. You firemen provide a circus now and then at which buildings are set off and crowds gather for the pretty blaze, but it's a small sideshow indeed, and hardly necessary to keep things in line" (Bradbury, 41).

Man vs. Man: Towards the end of Part Two, Montag goes to work with the green bullet in his ear and encounters the novel's antagonist, Captain Beatty, who supports the authoritarian regime and its fireman structure. Captain Beatty is Montag's enemy and attempts to confuse Montag by presenting a moving argument emphasizing the futility of reading literature and pursuing knowledge. Captain Beatty tells Montag,

"Oh, you were scared silly...for I was doing a terrible thing in using the very books you clung to, to rebut you on every hand, on every point! What traitors books can be! You think they're backing you up, and they turn on you" (Bradbury, 51).

Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist, Guy Montag, struggles with conflict within himself, with people from his society, and with his boss. First, Montag struggles within himself because he discovers he isn't happy with his life. He sees his wife almost kill herself with sleeping pills, and it seems like there's always TV, radio, or fast cars that also distract her from having a meaningful relationship with him. In an effort to find peace and purpose in life, Montag seeks understanding from books and his friend Faber. He explains his inner conflict to Faber:

"Nobody listens any more. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense" (82).

Montag's inner conflict is also directly related to the way people in society behave. Montag gets into a conflict with his wife's friends when he asks Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles about their husbands and children. Both women are not emotionally connected to their families and their discussion with Montag annoys him to the point that he reads the poem "Dover Beach" to them. By reading the poem, Montag hopes to spark some sort of emotional responsibility in the women for their families. Mrs. Phelps actually cries and Mrs. Bowles shows how society would answer Montag by saying the following:

"I've always said poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings, poetry and sickness; all that mush! Now I've had it proved to me. You're nasty, Mr. Montag, you're nasty!" (101).

Mrs. Bowles' words represent the views that society has about poetry in conflict with Montag's, but that's nothing compared with the intense conflict Montag has with Captain Beatty. The rivalry between the two firemen gradually builds throughout the novel. For example, Captain Beatty has the Mechanical Hound already programmed on low to Montag's genetic code at the beginning of the book. In the middle of the book, Captain Beatty acts like a friend by trying to persuade Montag to accept society for what it is and come back to work. By part three, though, Beatty verbally attacks Montag while forcing him to burn down his own home.

"I want you to do this job all by your lonesome, Montag. Not with kerosene and a match, but piecework, with a flamethrower. Your house, your clean-up. . . When you're quite finished. . . you're under arrest" (117).

After Beatty calls Montag names and roughs him up a bit, Montag turns the flamethrower on Beatty and kills him. After one final conflict with the Mechanical Hound—which is an extension of Captain Beatty's power as well as the justice system—Montag finds his way out of the city and away from everything that opposes him.  

The society that exists in Fahrenheit 451 does not appreciate academic learning, in-depth reading, and quality education. They have evolved into a society that demands pleasure over learning, visual and audio entertainment over reading, and recreation, such as driving fast cars, over education. Anyone behaving differently than this hedonist standard of living is considered antisocial or a misfit. For example, Clarisse McClellan is a 17 year-old girl who behaves differently because she has an uncle who teaches her about life before the current society. Beatty describes how she as an individual was viewed by society:

"She was a time bomb. The family had been feeding her subconscious, I'm sure, from what I saw of her school record. She didn't want to know how a thing was done, but why. That can be embarrassing" (60).

Clarisse was different, so they got rid of her. She really was an innocent victim because she had no defense against a society that didn't like her individuality and free-thinking spirit.

Next, Montag is at odds with society as well. He looks around at his life and feels as if something is missing. He notices a few things about society that disturb him and he tells his friend Faber about them as follows:

"Nobody listens any more. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense" (82).

The above passage shows that Montag struggles against the accepted norms in society that seem to divide people rather than bring them together. In an effort to explain things to Montag, Faber says the following:

"The whole culture's shot through. The skeleton needs melting and reshaping. . .The public itself stopped reading of its own accord. You firemen provide a circus now and then at which buildings are set off and crowds gather for the pretty blaze, but it's a small sideshow indeed, and hardly necessary to keep things in line" (87).

Faber's explanation centers around the fact that people, not a controlling, evil government, are the problem with society. Values have shifted since before the wars and the change of society. Faber used to teach college English, and he saw a decline in interest and appreciation for literature until finally it was outlawed. A shift in society's whole mind frame brought down the quality and value of literature, deep thinking, philosophy, and the like. When society went one way, there were only a few individuals who held onto the old values. The few in Fahrenheit 451 who fight against society, then, are Clarisse, Faber, and Montag.

Here are some quotes that may prove useful:

We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it.

Here, Beatty explains the rationale behind book-burning. He is ecstatic that the government supports violence as a means of legislating equality. Beatty maintains that happiness cannot be realized without strong measures in place. Thus, he justifies an oppressive form of government as a fail-safe method of ensuring an egalitarian society. Yet his argument that firemen are the collective custodians of peace rings hollow. Beatty's words demonstrate that fear is the basis for his blind obedience to the government's draconian edicts.

But remember that the Captain belongs to the most dangerous enemy of truth and freedom, the solid unmoving cattle of the majority. Oh, God, the terrible tyranny of the majority.

Here, Faber cautions Montag about Beatty's distorted viewpoint. Faber suggests that oppressive government is maintained by the "terrible tyranny of the majority." When citizens willfully submit themselves to a totalitarian form of government, truth and freedom are compromised.

If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war. If the government is inefficient, top-heavy, and tax-mad, better it be all those than that people worry over it. Peace, Montag

Here, it's clear that Beatty has a warped view of happiness. He believes that choice is the enemy of contentment. Beatty sees little need to explore our capacity for intellectual discourse; he maintains that it's simply unnecessary for survival. Of course, his argument couldn't be further from the truth. Beatty's words demonstrate that totalitarian government is fueled by the majority's willingness to conform without question.

One significant passage in Part Two of Farenheit 451 is near the end of this section. (This is on p. 103 of a softcover, but it is the full size of a hardcover, so the pages should be very similar.) 

[Location of passage: After Montag returns to the firehouse, Beatty greets him and holds his hand out, knowing that Montag has a book. Montag hands over the book, and without looking at it, Beatty tosses it into the flames; further, he tells Montag of a dream that he has had. The passage selected includes parts of this dream, which is about two pages after Beatty takes Montag's book. The paragraph in which the passage is included begins with "Beatty chuckled. 'And you said, quoting, "Truth will come to light, murder will not be hid long!"'"]

Here is the passage:

"And 'The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.' And you yelled, 'This age thinks better of a gilded fool, than of a threadbare saint in wisdom's school!' And I whispered gently, 'The dignity of truth is lost with much protesting.' And you screamed, 'Carcasses bleed at the sight of the murderer!' And I said, patting your hand, 'What, do I give you trench mouth?' And you shrieked, 'Knowledge is power!' and 'A dwarf on a giant's shoulders of the furthest of the two!' and I summed my side up with rare serenity in, 'The folly of mistaking a metaphor for a proof, a torrent of verbiage for a spring of capital truths, and oneself as an oracle, is inborn in us, Mr. Valery [French philosopher] once said.'"

This passage is significant because the clever Beatty is able to obfuscate the truth just as the Devil has cited Scripture in the Bible to Jesus for his purposes. (Matthew 4:1-11). In fact, Beatty is even so bold as to quote the line about the Devil. Moreover, he destroys the dignity of truth with his specious arguments, arguments about which Faber whispers to Montag, warning him.

In addition, this passage is very significant and very relevant in light of occurrences in present-day American society and that of the past. Indeed, "The dignity of truth is lost with much protesting." For example, claiming that one group's lives matter, while ignoring the atrocities committed by the same group in other areas, certainly destroys the dignity of truth. In the past, such as the 1960's, the group innocuously named Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) supposedly condemned communist totalitarianism and authoritarianism, yet this organization blamed the Cold War upon the United States. Likewise, this organization strongly protested the Vietnam War against the Communists. Furthermore, out of this SDS organization there developed a subversive group called the Weathermen Underground, who worked toward the creation of a clandestine revolutionary party for the overthrow of the U.S. Government.

Another example of the loss of the truth through protest occurred when Japanese citizens in America were forced into internment camps during World War II because the U.S. was at war with Japan. This unjustified act was certainly a loss of the truth through protest because there was no proof of subversiveness among these people. Of course, the Communism scare of the 1950's with Joseph McCarthy's "witch hunt" is yet another example. This Red Scare was "the folly of mistaking a metaphor for the truth."

Looking no further than politicians and journalists of today, the reader of this passage can understand how truth is manipulated with "metaphor" and a "torrent of verbiage" disguised as a "spring of capital truths." The marked difference in the reportage of the news among various networks provides testimony to this fact, and the sophistry of arguments of top politicians is, indeed, rampant today, making this passage both significant and relevant.

“Montag: Fahrenheit four-five-one is the temperature at which book paper catches fire and starts to burn. Montag :  Well, it's a job just like any other. Good work with lots of variety. Monday, we burn Miller; Tuesday, Tolstoy; Wednesday, Walt Whitman; Friday, Faulkner; and Saturday and Sunday, Schopenhauer and Sartre. We burn them to ashes and then burn the ashes. Montag Behind each of these books, there's a man. That's what interests me. Captain: The books have nothing to say. Captain: Listen to me, Montag. Once to each fireman, at least once in his career, he just itches to know what these books are all about. He just aches to know. Isn't that so? Captain: You see, it's... it's no good, Montag. We've all got to be alike. The only way to be happy is for everyone to be made equal. Book Person: “Martian Chronicles:” I'm "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury. Montag: [to Linda] You've spent your whole life in front of that family wall. These books are my family. Clarisse:  Why do you burn books?
Guy Montag: Books make people unhappy, they make them anti-social.
Clarisse:  Is it true that a long time ago, firemen used to put out fires and not burn books? Captain: These are all novels, all about people that never existed, the people that read them it makes them unhappy with their own lives. Makes them want to live in other ways they can never really be. “

While there are people who may disagree with the government in their own minds, most know enough to keep their opinions to themselves. The few who still hoard and read books are eventually turned in by their neighbors and family, and the ones who don't hoard books but instead just think rebellious thoughts make no difference because they are scared to act. Faber is a good example of this last point; he saw the censorship coming but said nothing until it was too late, and now he just lives day-to-day, without purpose. Clarisse's family rebel against the government by just doing the bare minimum required and then thinking for themselves; Beatty, who represents the government, recognizes this as dangerous for society:

"Uncle had a mixed record; anti-social. The girl? She was a time bomb. The family had been feeding her subconscious, I'm sure, from what I saw of her school record. She didn't want to know how a thing was done, but why. That can be embarrassing."
(Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, Google Books)

Outside the city, there are groups of "book people," hobos who walk along the railroad tracks and memorize books before burning them. By memorizing the books, they hope to pass their knowledge on to others. At the end, Montag joins the book people, and commits himself to helping them keep the content of books alive and moving from person to person.

In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, numerous quotes from other books are utilized. Multiple characters in the book quote from other literary sources to illustrate different components. However, Montag’s boss especially utilizes quotes to influence his audience’s thoughts.

For example, he quotes Alexander Pope:

“Words are like leaves and where they most abound, Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.”

He also quotes Sir Philip Sidney:

 “Sweet food of sweetly uttered knowledge.”

Furthermore, he quotes Dr. Johnson to argue with Montag:

 “He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.”

Not only does Montag argue his point, but he also debates both sides of an argument, further confusing his audience. For example, he says:

 “Truth will come to light, murder will not be hid long!”

Lastly, he also quotes:

 “The Devil can cite scripture for his purpose.”

Consequently, there are numerous quotes throughout the book. These quotes represent the importance of knowledge and books, despite the culture in Fahrenheit 451 dismissing these important concepts.

Furthermore, it is quite interesting that Montag’s boss (Captain Beatty) utilizes the quotes quite frequently. His usage of quotes reveals his own knowledge and reading of books. However, he chooses to argue against knowledge and reading in society.

The government in the world of Fahrenheit 451 tries to repress individualism and inquiry. For example, as Beatty, often the mouthpiece for convention, explains, people like Clarisse and her family are a problem because they ask questions and engage in out-of-the-ordinary activities like taking walks. Beatty states that the government spies on people like the McClellans and also wants to get hold of all children at an early age for reasons of social control:

"Clarisse McClellan? We've a record on her family. . . . You can't rid yourselves of all the odd ducks in just a few years. The home environment can undo a lot you try to do at school. That's why we've lowered the kindergarten age year after year until now we're almost snatching them from the cradle . . . . The girl? She was a time bomb . . . She didn't want to know how a thing was done, but why. That can be embarrassing."

Beatty also says:

"Five minutes after a person is dead he's on his way to the Big Flue, the Incinerators serviced by helicopters all over the country. Ten minutes after death a man's a speck of black dust. Let's not quibble over individuals with memoriams. Forget them."

This shows the government trying to eradicate the soul of individuals and keep people living in an eternal, vacuous present of "happiness."

Near the end of the novel, the government, represented by the cold, soulless technology of the Mechanical Hound, pursues Montag relentlessly in a televised spectacle:

"Guy Montag. Still running. Police helicopters are up. A new Mechanical Hound has been brought from another district . . . " Montag and Faber looked at each other . . . . "

"Mechanical Hound never fails. Never since its first use in tracking quarry has this incredible invention made a mistake."

We learn that the Hound does fail to capture Montag and that the government therefore fakes his death. This government, in other words, is quite willing to lie to its citizens. Lies, surveillance, and social control all show a government at odds with individual citizens and humane values.