Fahrenheit 451 pp. 154-165

DUE, WEDNESDAY 1/30 Fahrenheit 451 pp. 154-165
Read Fahrenheit 451 pp. 154-165 (finish the book)

Question: What does Granger mean when he says, quoting his grandfather, “Shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass”? Why is this quote important? How does it fit into the novel, what is Bradbury trying to say with this?

Response: What does Granger mean when he says, quoting his grandfather, “Shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass”? Why is this quote important? How does it fit into the novel, what is Bradbury trying to say with this?I think that he means that the city and the majority of the population is the sloth. He thinks that the tree, or the comforts and ignorance of modern life, needs to be shaken out from under the sloth, or the people of the city. In other words, they have to realize that other peoples lives are not as easy as their own. To realize this, their comforts would need to be taken away from them, the city being demolished. Now they need to start over. They have to go without their homes or walls with "the family." They now know how the less fortunate parts of the world feel. The are experiencing it basically for the first time. I think that the author is saying that to know how the poor or the less fortunate feel you actually have to experience their type of pain, you just assume.