Guy Montag is a fireman who burns books for a living; however, after some experiences that have lead him to question his job, he starts collecting and reading books. After a few life-changing experiences, he decides to seek some help in understanding why books are so important from an old English professor named Faber. He had met Faber a year prior to his phone call for help. They had shared an hour on a park bench discussing poetry. Faber gave Montag his card if he ever wanted to contact him for anything else, so he finally decides to call him. When Montag asks, "How many copies of Shakespeare and Plato?" (76) he wants to know how rare the books he has in his possession are. The allusion is that these books are important and Montag probably has them. Captain Beatty, Montag's boss, expects him to return a book that he took from the previous night's burning, but he can't decide which one would be the best one to keep and which one he should return to his boss. So, he calls Faber.
By asking Faber how rare certain books like Shakespeare are, he's narrowing down which ones the government would have been most likely to burn first because of how important they were. For example, if the government allowed a few copies of Shakespeare to float around society, but not the Bible, then he would want to keep the Bible and hand over Shakespeare to his boss. He might figure that he could find Shakespeare later if he gives that one up to his boss, now. The answer, however, is that Faber has seen neither Shakespeare or Plato in years.
No comments:
Post a Comment