The last twenty pages of "The Sieve and the Sand" have scenes where Montag meets with Faber about books and reading, Montag speaks to his wife's friends, and Montag returns to the firehouse and Captain Beatty. Montag is on a search to find out where he belongs in such a corrupt and hedonist society. He wants to know if his purpose in life can be found in books. Within each of the afore-mentioned scenes, Montag seems to lack a sense of belonging.
When Montag meets with the old English professor, Faber, he complains there are too many distractions in life, including Seashells, televisions, fast cars, and drugs. Montag articulates his concerns to Faber as follows:
Nobody listens any more. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll makes sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read (82).
Montag doesn't feel like he belongs in his own home with all of the distractions and a distracted wife. He thinks books may be the key, but Faber tells him books aren't the answer to his problem. Faber suggests that Montag can find a sense of belonging in nature, meditation, and old memories. He needs to find life where life exists, not necessarily in books. Faber continues by saying,
Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them at all. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us (82-83).
From what Faber says here, Montag should realize he doesn't necessarily belong with books because those are the memories and stories of other people. There is, however, still a lot to be gained by reading to gain wisdom from those who have passed on, which Faber understands. Faber also knows that without societal support for literacy, books won't be of any use to Montag because he'll be hunted down for studying them.
Montag and Faber come up with an idea to thwart the current system of justice by planting books in the homes of firemen. They also plan to start printing books illegally. Montag then goes home, but doesn't feel like he belongs there, either. When his wife's friends come over to watch television, he turns it off because he's annoyed with it and starts to talk to them about their families. He discovers that the women are callous and emotionally unattached to their husbands and families, which doesn't sit right with him. The women don't see anything wrong with their understanding of life because they are examples of the popular mindset of their society, which values independence and fun for everyone. This causes Montag not to feel like he belongs in society again because he believes people should care about their loved ones.
Montag returns to work with the idea that he will sabotage the firemen one by one. Where once he felt like he belonged to the brotherhood of firemen, he is now an official outcast, partly because Captain Beatty won't be quiet. He keeps taunting Montag about a dream he had that showed the two men verbally fighting with quotes from popular writers. Montag feels isolated as Beatty comes at him with phrase after phrase against the meaning, purpose, and benefit of books. "The Sieve and the Sand" ends with the firemen heading to a job to burn someone's house down. On the way, Montag thinks about how he doesn't feel like he belongs with the firemen anymore:
"I can't do it, he thought. How can I go at this new assignment, how can I go on burning things? I can't go in this place" (110).
Montag doesn't feel like he belongs anywhere. Also, he does not know at the end of "The Sieve and the Sand" that the firemen are heading to his house.
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