Thursday, November 21, 2013

What happens to the elderly woman whose house was burned by a fireman?

In Part One, Montag responds to a routine alarm regarding a citizen possessing a large stash of books, which are illegal in Bradbury's dystopian society. When Montag and the other firemen arrive, Captain Beatty slaps the woman's face after she refuses to disclose the location of her book collection. The firemen end up discovering the collection of books in her attic and Montag suddenly steals one of the books before he helps the firemen pump kerosene all over the books and throughout the rooms in her home. As Montag is leaving the home, the woman crouches down beside her books and refuses to leave. Beatty warns her that the entire house is about to go up in flames but she refuses to budge. Montag also attempts to persuade her to leave but she ends up holding out a kitchen match. As Montag and Beatty slowly leave the house, the woman waits until they are a safe distance away before lighting the kitchen match. The woman commits suicide by lighting her own kerosene soaked house on fire.

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