Fahrenheit 451: Sieve and Sand – A Detailed Analysis
Analysis of “The Sieve and the Sand”
While Millie and Montag are reading, Clarisse’s profound influence on Montag becomes obvious. In fact, Montag points out that “She was the first person I can remember who looked straight at me as if I counted.” However, Millie and Montag have forgotten—or are ignoring—the danger of their situation. They hear “a faint scratching” outside the front door and “a slow, probing sniff, and exhalation of electric steam” under the doorsill. Millie’s reaction is, “It’s only a dog.” Only a dog? The Mechanical Hound lurks outside, probably programmed by Beatty to collect evidence that he can use later against Montag.
The Montags, however, can’t ignore the sounds of bombers crossing the sky over their house, signaling the imminence of war. Although no one knows the cause of the war or its origins, the country is filled with unrest, which is a parallel to the growing unrest and anger smoldering within Montag.
Millie’s Abandonment of Reality
Abandonment of reality has become uppermost in Millie’s mind. When Montag speaks to her about the value and merit in books, she shrieks and condemns him for possessing the books. Bradbury describes her as “sitting there like a wax doll melting in its own heat.” Here, fire imagery again implies destruction. This time, however, Millie carries the seeds of her own destruction. As stated earlier at the end of Part One, she can choose books (and life). But because she shuns books and the lessons that she can learn from them, Bradbury describes her as a doll that melts in its self-generated heat. Montag, on the other hand, wants to comprehend the information that the books give him. More importantly, however, Montag realizes that he needs a teacher if he wants to fully understand the books’ information.
Montag Seeks Guidance from Faber
The person to whom Montag chooses to turn, Faber, “had been thrown out upon the world forty years ago when the last liberal arts college shut for lack of students and patronage.” Montag recalls from their earlier encounter Faber’s “cadenced voice” and “convictions”; in particular, Faber’s words seemed a great deal like poetry. He said to Montag, “I don’t talk things, sir; I talk the meaning of things. I sit here and know I’m alive.”
Montag’s Self-Reflection and Struggle
While riding the subway to Faber’s house, Montag experiences a moment of self-reflection. He discovers that his smile, “the old burnt-in smile,” has disappeared. He recognizes his emptiness and unhappiness. Moreover, he recognizes his lack of formal education—what he thinks is his essential ignorance. This sense of helplessness, of ineffectuality, of powerlessness, of his utter inability to comprehend what is in books, overwhelms him, and his mind flashes back to a time when he was a child on the seashore “trying to fill a sieve with sand.” Montag recalls that “the faster he poured [the sand], the faster it sifted through with a hot whispering.” He now has this same feeling of helplessness as he reads the Bible; his mind seems to be a sieve through which the words pass without Montag’s comprehending or remembering them. He knows that in a few hours he must give this precious book to Beatty, so he attempts to read and memorize the scriptures—in particular, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. As he attempts to memorize the passages, however, a loud and brassy advertisement for “Denham’s Dental Detergent” destroys his concentration.
Montag’s Rebellion and Transformation
Montag is trying to rebel, but he is confused because of his many mental blocks against nonconformity. He has never before deviated from the norm, and his attempts to establish an individual identity are continually frustrated. Montag’s flight to Faber’s home is his only hope. The scene represents a man running for his life, which, in fact, Montag is doing, though he doesn’t fully realize it yet. Nor does he know that he is already an outcast. He can never return to his former existence. His transformation is inevitable.
Of significance in this part of the book is that Faber bears a close resemblance to Carl Jung’s archetypal figure of the “old man.”