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Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451. The act of writing is, for me, like a fever -- something I must do. And it seems I always have some new fever developing, some new love to follow and bring to life. -- Ray Bradbury. 451 Settings & Conflicts. Physical Setting Sometime in 24 th century

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Fahrenheit 451

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  1. Fahrenheit 451 The act of writing is, for me, like a fever -- something I must do. And it seems I always have some new fever developing, some new love to follow and bring to life. -- Ray Bradbury

  2. 451 Settings & Conflicts • Physical Setting • Sometime in 24th century • In and around unspecified city • Social Setting • Two atomic wars since 1990 • Written words prohibited • External Conflict: • Montag (rejects book burning) vs. Fire Captain Beatty (defends) • Internal Conflict: • Montag accepting new world (violence/conformity) vs. Montag wanting old world (gentler/creative) Dystopia: an imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from oppression and/or terror.

  3. 451 Historical Context • Written in 1950–1953, Los Angeles, CA • Futuristic, inspired by 1950’s reality • World War II recently ended • Middle class & consumerism rising • Era of McCarthyism • Threat of nuclear warfare loomed (Many Sci-Fi books and movies reflected this fear) • Attack on Censorship Based on History • Future based on life Bradbury knew • Book burnings of Nazi regime and Soviet Union • Authors suppressed through state-directed writers' organizations. • Dissident writers were thrown into jails or exiled.

  4. 451 Character Names • Guy Montag (Fireman/Protagonist) • Guy Fawkes? (English Revolutionary) • Name of a paper company • Clarisse McClellan • Form of Clara, Latin for “bright” • Often associated with brightness different from a fire’s • Professor Faber • Name of a pencil company • Fire Captain Beatty • Insists society is ok

  5. 451 Structure • Each chapter has a title that represents its theme 1: The Hearth and the Salamander 2: The Sieve and the Sand 3: Burning Bright • We will explore this idea more as we read

  6. 451 Themes • Self-expression is important and powerful. • Violence is self-destructive. • People lose their humanity when not able to personally interact with each other. • Mindless pleasure seeking and materialism make for an empty life. • Life is meaningless in a controlled, uniform society without imagination. • Technology can isolate people and inhibit the sharing of ideas and emotions. • In the wrong hands, modern technology can be dangerous. • Without preserved knowledge of the past (books), a civilization dies or kills itself. • Humanity can be reborn or revived. Censorship: the suppression of what is thought to be dangerous or offensive.

  7. Predict or Prevent? • Bradbury claimed he was trying to “prevent the future,” not predict it. • He did foresee future developments: • Walkmans, earbuds, big-screen and interactive TV, rise in violence, growing illiteracy, condensation of info into “sound bites” • In F451, Bradbury satirizes: • Technology • Mass media • Organized sports • High-speed automobiles Fahrenheit 451 -- the temperature at which books begin to burn

  8. 451 Symbols • Fire & Burning: destructive force at first; way to be warm in the end • Blood: repressed spirit • Water: baptism, rebirth, cleansing • Unpleasant Insects/Animals: intrusive technology • Mirrors: self-understanding • Mechanical Hound: destructive technology not easily destroyed.(Demonstrates why people are better than machines.) Fahrenheit 451 -- the temperature at which books burn

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