Author's Note- This is a piece I wrote based off a passage from Fahrenheit 451. I had to find the purpose, meaning, and tone of the passage, and I tried to analyze it without over-thinking it, like I usually do.
Quote:
"Oh, you were scared silly," said Beatty. "for I was doing a terrible thing in using the very books you clung to, to rebut you on every hand, on every point! What traitors books can be! You think they're backing you up, and they turn on you. Others can use them, too, and there you are, lost in the middle of the moor, in a great welter of nouns and verbs and adjectives." pg. 107
In this passage, Beatty is trying to frighten Montag, to disturb him and shock him. He uses metaphors and personification to confuse him, and to chase away all of his dangerous curiosity and hazardous fascination with stories and books. He tries to scare Montag back into conformity. The meaning of this is that books, although mesmerizing and enchanting, can also turn on you. They muddle your brain and mess with your head. And other people can use books, too, by quoting them in such a way that frustrates you. They make you question your thoughts and motives, or the way you analyzed a certain paragraph. And when you over-think the passage, you get even more confused. The tone of this passage is triumphant and a bit boastful, because Beatty knows that he's got Montag lost, trying to figure out what's going on and trying to find out how to respond without getting into deeper trouble than he's already in. Beatty wants Montag to think that books aren't worth all the confusion.
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