Guy Montag and Granger
Guy Montag and Granger meet in the wilderness after Montag's escape from the city, a meeting that transforms Montag from a hunted fugitive into a member of a scattered network of people who carry books in their minds. Granger, the leader of a small group of wanderers camped by a railroad track, recognizes Montag from the televised chase and offers him coffee and a chemical drink to alter his perspiration and throw off the Mechanical Hound. This act of immediate trust and practical aid establishes the foundation of their relationship, which is built not on suspicion but on a shared understanding of what Montag has been through and what he might become.
Recognition and Welcome
When Montag stumbles out of the forest toward the campfire, Granger calls out, "All right, you can come out now!" and then, "You're welcome here." He knows Montag's name because he has watched the chase on a portable battery TV set by the fire. Granger explains that they figured Montag would wind up south along the river, and when they heard him "plunging around out in the forest like a drunken elk," they did not hide as they usually do. Granger shows Montag how the police are faking the hunt, using a scapegoat to end the show with a snap ending, and then welcomes Montag back from the dead. This immediate acceptance contrasts sharply with the suspicion and fear Montag has faced from everyone else, including his own wife.
The Community of Living Books
Granger introduces Montag to the other men around the fire: Fred Clement, former occupant of the Thomas Hardy chair at Cambridge; Dr. Simmons from U.C.L.A., a specialist in Ortega y Gasset; Professor West, who did quite a bit for ethics at Columbia University; and Reverend Padover, who lost his flock for his views. Granger himself wrote a book called The Fingers in the Glove; the Proper Relationship between the Individual and Society. Each man is a living book, having memorized a complete work to preserve it. Granger tells Montag that if anything should happen to the man who carries the Book of Ecclesiastes, Montag himself will become that book. He explains that they are "book-burners, too"—they read the books and then burned them, afraid they would be found, keeping the knowledge in their heads where no one can see it. Montag is astonished, but Granger assures him that the method works: "All of us have photographic memories, but spend a lifetime learning how to block off the things that are really in there."
Shared Purpose and the Future
Granger outlines the group's philosophy: they are not important individually; they are "nothing more than dust-jackets for books." Their goal is to keep knowledge intact and safe, waiting for the war to end so they can be of use. When Montag asks what they do tonight, Granger says, "Wait," and they put out the fire together, moving downstream. In the morning, after the city is bombed, Granger speaks of the Phoenix, a bird that burns itself up and is born again, but notes that humans have one thing the Phoenix never had: "We know the damn silly thing we just did." He tells Montag that they will go build a mirror-factory and put out nothing but mirrors for the next year, so people can take a long look at themselves. Montag finds himself walking ahead of the group, with Granger nodding him on, and he feels the slow stir of words inside him, ready to offer what he remembers when his turn comes.
