fahrenheit 451 timeline

Fahrenheit 451

2

The story of Fahrenheit 451 is set in the year 2053. There are no exact dates as far as I can recall, but I put the events in the order of the book. I may have missed some important events but I included the some of the ones that mainly affected Montag and society itself.

Guy Montag meets Clarisse McClellan for the first time

3

Guy Montag, a fireman, is walking home from work when he encounters Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse speaks with Montag about all sorts of topics and asks questions such as if Montag is happy or not. Through the conversations with Clarisse, Montag begins to realize a lot more about himself and questions his life. This encounter creates self-reflection within Montag which leads to his later actions.

Mildred overdoses on sleeping pills

4

Montag arrives home after talking with Clarisse and finds that his wife, Mildred, has overdosed on sleeping pills. He calls people to help in which they change her blood. The next morning she wakes up and seems to have forgotten everything. The medical staff indicate that these types of overdose are common, which says a lot about how society is in the novel.

Montag burns down house with a lady inside

5

Montag and the rest of the firemen are alerted by the alarm and head to a house that contains books. There, they encountered a lady who refused to leave the house. The fireman takes all the books and uses kerosene to burn them. Although Montag tries to get the lady to leave the house, she doesn't bulge, and then she uses a kitchen match to set the house to flames. During this event, Montag takes one of the books from the house for his own.

Montag learns Clarisse has died

6

Montag arrives home and talks to Mildred about Clarisse. Montag asks if Mildred has seen Clarisse, only to learn that she had been run over by a car. Her death seemed to have happened before the events of the burning lady.

Captain Beatty visits Montag's House

7

Captain Beatty visits Guy Montag in his house and talks about books. Beatty talks about how books are banned to make sure people are happy and says that books don't have any meaning inside of them. Before Beatty leaves he mentions that firemen with books only have 24 hours to burn them.

Guy Montag shows Mildred his book stash

8

After Captain Beatty leaves, Guy decides to show Mildred the book stash he has kept hidden. Mildred panics at the sight of the books and wants to tell Captain Beatty but Guy convinces her to stop. Guy wants to read the books and find out what is truly inside of them before he burns them.

Guy goes to Faber's house

9

Guy decides to meet with Faber after reading books with Mildred. Guy had already met with Faber a year before the current events. Faber doesn't trust Guy until he sees the book in his hands. Guy has a Bible in his hands that he stole and they start talking. Faber speaks to him about the things that are missing from society, and then they start to form a plan of how to fix society.

Guy Montag reads his books to Mildred's friends.

10

Montag comes home and decides to read a poem titled Dover Beach to Mildred and her friends. He reads the book and eventually Mrs. Phelps begins to cry. Mrs. Bowles began to say that poetry is correlated with sickness, suicide, and other issues. Guy can hear Faber in his ear calling him a fool for reading the poem. (Pages 96-98)

Alarm is pulled on Guy Montag

11

Mildred and her friends both call the alarm for the Montag household, reporting that Guy has books in his possession. Guy is forced to burn his house down but instead uses the flamethrower to kill Captain Beatty and escape while the house burns down. Guy Montag is now considered a wanted fugitive through the police alert.

Guy Montag heads to Faber's House after running away

12

After running away from the scene of his house, Guy heads to Faber's house. This is when they devise a plan for Guy to escape by using the river. Faber helps Guy escape from the mechanical hounds and meet up with other people who are also wanted. He meets with Granger after escaping (Page 140). Granger and his men are people who have memorized books.

Government fakes killing Montag on TV

13

Due to the government not being able to catch Guy Montag, they fake a scene that shows them catching Guy Montag and killing him. Guy learns about this after meeting Granger, who shows him a portable battery TV showing the entire act. The government doesn't want to be known for letting Guy Montag escape, so they try and cover it up.

Bombs are dropped upon the city

14

At the end of the story, bombs are dropped upon the city that Guy Montag had lived in. These bombs were the cause of the wars mentioned in other parts of the story.