Montag begins as an average fireman who does not question burning books, but after meeting Clarisse and witnessing her death, he starts to see the harm in it. As he learns more about the depressed state of society and his suicidal wife, he realizes the supposedly happy society is hiding deeper issues. Various metaphors, similes, verbal and dramatic irony, and symbols in the story create rising action that leads Montag to understand the problems with his world and begin rebelling against it by saving books rather than burning them as he realizes ideas and freedom are keys to living fully.

1. The Hearth and The Salamander The Giver: Alden Caron-O'Neill, Alex Laws, Jake Einstein, Kayla Libonati http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/dep/herps/photos/salamanders/Eastern_Mud_Salamander_Pseudotriton_mlr.jpg Alden Caron-O'Neill

2. Exposition Character Analysis of Montag Montag is an average fireman at first. He does not necessarily enjoy the fires but he does not hate them either, he is just doing his job. After he meets Clarisse and she dies, he changes and thinks more about how the fires actually harm people in a more mental way as opposed to physically. Alex Laws

3. Conflict Man vs. Society Montag against society to be exact. After the death of Clarisse and the death of the woman in her house he realizes that the burning is wrong andd hurtful and if the society thinks the burning is right he has to find a way to save the books even if it means going against the firemen and the law to stop the fires. Alex Laws

4. Rising ActionMetaphor A metaphor in Fahrenheit 451 was when Bradbury wrote, "Montag was cut in half" (Bradbury 13). Montag was not literally cut in half, he had just come upon his wife who had tried to commit suicide. This scene creates rising action. It helps Montag understand what really is wrong with the society in which he lives. His wife claims she is truly happy but is secretly depressed. Many people in the society appear to be living in a similar fashion. Montag really starts to rebel from this point and forward. Alden Caron-O'Neill

5. Rising ActionSimilie The simile"slid down into your stomach like black cobra" creates rising action. Montag is worried about his wife who had tried to kill herself. Alike to many societies, the world Montag lives in is only pleasant on the surface, and even then not so much. The supposedly happy outer layer is revealed by the Midred's attempted suicide as well as remarks by the machine operators who mentioned how many suicides they deal with in a night. The society where everyone is happy is exposed for what it really is and Montag understands this revelation at that moment. Alden Caron-O'Neill

6. Rising ActionVerbal Irony Verbal irony in Fahrenheit 451 occurs when Montag is introduced as a fireman. He explains how instead of putting out fires, the firemen start them. This development is important to the plot because when Montag's society bans books, it makes firemen burn them. After the death of Clarisse and the woman in the fire, Montag realizes that starting fires hurts more than it helps. The irony is that in the past when firemen put out fires, it helped the community. Kayla Libonati

7. Rising ActionSymbols There are many symbols in The Hearth and The Salamander. There are two main symbols: the hearth and the salamander. The salamander represents Montag because the mythological creature lives in the fire and so does Montag. A hearth is a fireplace, and it compares to the houses in which Montag burns the books. Kayla Libonati

8. Rising ActionDramatic Irony When Montag sees the mechanical dog and then feels sorry that all it every does is kill, he does not realize that all he does is kill books (Bradbury 27). That is dramatic irony, since we as readers can see that but Montag cannot. This was also the start of Montag feeling seperated from the rest of the firemen. He contains more feelings then the firemen. The firemen mainly feel happy and obligated to burn books. Montag feels sadness, nervousness, caring, and understanding. He expresses those feelings with Mildred, Clarisse, and the society. Jake Einstein

9. Denouement Theme The theme of the story is that ideas, freedom, and emotion are key to fully living life. Montag fully relizes this at the end of the chapter. His meetings with Clarisse and talking to Beatty all strengthened his opionon, but he decides he is going to do something about it at the very end of the book. He also discovered that doing what is good is almost always what you should do, even if it means breaking the law or going against society. Jake Einstein