This part of the novel comes towards the beginning and
shows us what Montag's job was and presents us with a world where books are considered
illegal and burnt as a result. However, what is surprising about this is the way that
Montag acts, seemingly in an involuntary fashion, by stealing one of the books he finds
in the old woman's attic and not destroying it as he should. Note how this is presented
in the text:
Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it
all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in each
trembling finger, had turned thief. Now it plunged the book back under his arm, pressed
it tight to sweating armpit, rushed out empty, with a magician's flourish! Look here!
Innocent! Look!
So, Montag
steals a book that should be destroyed in the old woman's attic--an act of rebellion
which is very dangerous. However, you need to note the way that this act of stealing
introduces a motif in the novel. Montag's hands again and again are shown to act in an
involuntary fashion, seemingly independent of Montag's own desires, thoughts and wishes,
and this is the first instance of this motif. You would do well to identify other
examples and consider how this shows the deeply divided self of
Montag.
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