Fahrenheit 451 Post 6

Montag is reading the books, and he is not able to comprehend them. He remembers meeting an old English professor, and he calls him. The professor fears he is trying to trap him, and hangs up. Montag travels to the professor's house, and upon showing him his copy of the Bible, the professor is no longer afraid. The professor tells Montag that he is not looking for the books themselves, but the meanings within the book. Montag decides that something has to be done to bring books back, and he persuades the professor to help him. The professor agrees to visit his friend who has a printing press to have more copies of the Bible made, and Montag decides to give Beatty a substitute book, as to keep his copy of the Bible.

Mildred refuses to talk about Clarisse, because she is dead. This shows a denial of death. Montag openly accepts and ponders death. Montag fears that Beatty will appeal to the joy he felt in the transformation by burning, and persuade him to return to his old way of life.

In the title of this section, an important symbol is expressed. "The Sieve and the Sand." It is in reference to an event in Montag's memory in which he tried to fill a sieve with sand as fast as he could in order to get a dime from his cousin. He connects this memory with his attempt to read the Bible as fast as possible, with hopes of retaining some of the knowledge within it.Truth is elusive and impossible to grasp in any permanent way.

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