Motifs

The ventilator grille

The ventilator grille in the Montags' house is a recurring motif whose meaning is initially unclear to the reader. Sometimes Guy Montag peers up at the vent, for example on the morning after Mildred's suicide attempt (Part 1, 11%). Another time, at work, he thinks "of the ventilator grille in the hall at home and what lay hidden behind the grille." (Part 1, 35%). In both cases, we are not told what exactly the ventilator grille is all about. 

Only when Guy shows his wife that he has hidden books behind the ventilator grille, does the reader also learn his secret (Part 1, 84%). Guy has already hoarded or hidden about twenty books there. The ventilator grille is thus a motif that stands for what is hidden in Guy in the first part of the novel, for his suppressed will for critical thinking and rebellion.

The family

At several points, Mildred speaks of her virtual family, referring to the television program (e.g.,. Part 1, 69%). Guy also refers to it as her "relatives" (Part 1, 69%). Mildred does not have a real family. She doesn't want children (see Part 1, 38%), and her relationship with her husband is cool. Mildred does have friends, but the only thing they usually do together is watch TV. Mildred's personal relationships are superficial and her life is quite lonely - but she doesn't realize this because television makes her feel like she has a family.

The society from Fahrenheit 451 is hostile to children. Mildred and Mrs. Phelps do not want children. Mrs. Bowles has a frosty relationship with her two children.The three days a month when the children are not at school but with her, she makes them sit in front of the TV so she can have her peace. She justifies her decision to have children very pragmatically and unemotionally: " ‘The world must reproduce, you know, the race must go on.’ " (Part 2, 64%)

If a family has children, the influence of the parents is reduced to a minimum: Children are placed in daycare as soon as possible, preferably at zero years of age, so that they can be indoctrinated by the state from the very beginning. And school lessons extend throughout the day (Part 1, 86%), so that children and teenagers have as little to do with their families as possible.

Clarisse's family

Clarisse McClellan repeatedly tells Guy about her family. However, they never appear directly in the narrative; Guy knows them only from Clarisse's reports. The family members are educated, reflect on the past, and have meaningful discussions. They have a warm and relaxed way of dealing with each other: you can hear laughter coming from their house (Part 1, 14%). This family represents bourgeois human life before the upheaval, when interpersonal warmth and active discussions were still practiced. 

Clarisse repeatedly mentions her uncle (e.g. Part 1, 6%), who, am...