Montag makes one stop prior to his arrival at Faber's home. Unharmed (except for one-sixteenth of an inch of black tire tread on his middle finger), he travels onward. A fortuitous stumble allows Montag to escape certain death. As he's crossing the street, one vehicle focuses on Montag's running figure. He must either risk crossing the boulevard or face certain execution in a matter of minutes.

(Recall that Clarisse was killed by a hit-and-run driver.) In Montag's case, the danger is compounded because he has a crippled leg, deadened with procaine.ĭespite the danger, Montag has little choice he must cross the boulevard in order to reach Faber. Because the automobiles travel at such high speeds, crossing the street is extremely dangerous - coupled by the fact that, because such little value is given to a person's life, running over pedestrians is a sport. In his journey to Faber's, Montag confronts an unforeseen danger: crossing a boulevard. On his way to Faber's house, Montag discovers that war has been declared upon his town. Only Faber holds some promise for Montag's survival.ĭespite the urgency, Montag rescues some of the books that he hid in his backyard (Millie burned most of them, but she missed a few). The police, Montag is sure, with the aid of helicopters, will immediately begin a manhunt. He is now a hunted man, sought by the police and the firemen's salamanders. In the span of only a few minutes, Montag becomes a criminal, an enemy of the people.

In one quick motion, Montag turns the liquid fire on Captain Beatty, who collapses to the pavement.Īfter pummeling Stoneman and Black, Montag tries to escape, but the Mechanical Hound stuns him in the leg with its procaine needle. While Montag hesitates, Beatty discovers the green bullet in his ear and threatens to track the two-way radio to its source (Faber).Īs if motivating Montag to take action against him, Beatty taunts Montag relentlessly. Montag has also fallen into his former way of thinking as a result of Beatty's verbal assaults and the trauma of what has happened to both himself and his home. Meanwhile, Faber continually urges Montag to escape, but Montag is hesitant because the Mechanical Hound is on the prowl. Little does he realize that Montag finds a certain perverse satisfaction in torching the interior of his home - especially the television screens. While Beatty seems to regret what he must do to Montag, he taunts Montag in a mean-spirited way and reminds Montag that he has given him many warnings about what could happen.įinally, in his conversation with Montag, Beatty forces Montag to set fire to his own home. Bowles, earlier lodged a complaint that Beatty ignored). In this final section of the book, Montag discovers that Millie turned in the fire alarm (though her friends, Mrs.

Smart notes a long walk to water