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Analyze how Fahrenheit 451 reflects 1950s American culture, censorship, and societal fears. Explore narrative voice, allusions, and Bradbury's imagery of fire. Evaluate relevancy to contemporary society.
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Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury’s dystopian masterpiece "There must be something in books, things we can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing."
Fahrenheit 451: Historical context: Take notes on “The Fifties” informational text in “historical context” section of notes: • Include at least five bullet points. • Paraphrase using your own words. • List at least five major events and/or characteristics of the time period. • Identify at least two quotes from the novel that reflect the historical and cultural period in which it was written.
CENSORSHIP: • Nazi book burnings of late 30s • Senate hearings of Joseph McCarthy during the “Red Scare” • Blacklisting • 1970s censorship of Fahrenheit 451
Technology • "Out of the nursery into the college and back to the nursery; there's your intellectual pattern for the past five centuries or more," Captain Beatty tells Montag. • Cold War • Fear of Technology and robots • Image of “the mad scientist”
“On each landing, opposite the lift-shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.” –George Orwell, 1984
Contextualizing: Write a clear and detailed two paragraph commentary evaluating how Bradbury’s F451 reflects the culture of the time period: • Describe American cultural fears and concerns of the era and how each came about. Include at least one quote from the text to show how Bradbury commented on that issue. • Analyze how at least one of the concerns Bradbury describes in the text is still a valid concern today. Include at least one quote from the text to support your comments.
Narrative Voice: Define each type: • First person • Second person • Third person omniscient • Third person limited Narrative voice exercise: Choose one passage that you wrote about for your summer assignment—describe the scene from the first person point of view of a character other than Montag.
Structure of the novel: Novel’s three part structure reflects Montag’s shift from passivity to active rebellion against the dystopian society. How does each chapter title reflect his state? “The Hearth and the Salamander” “The Sand and the Sieve” “Burning Bright”
Technology as progress? Reread Beatty’s visit to Montag when he is “sick”—aprox. pages 57-62. • Why is he there? Why doesn’t Montag want him there? • What does he reveal to Montag and the reader about the history of this society? Describe the shifts in education, technology and public preference. • Who are the “parlor aunts” heard in the background? What is their significance? • What direct connections can you make between Beatty’s description of their current society and ours today? Should we be worried about some of the same problems as Montag?
Allusions in literature: • Define allusion and provide one example and supporting quote for each. Explain the significance of the allusion. • Biblical allusions: Book of Job • Shakespearean allusions: Caesar • Mythological allusions: Hercules • Historical references: heretics burnt at stake
Bradbury and his use of imagery: • Read the background about Bradbury and the interview with him about F451. • Evaluate how he portrays images of fire, both literal and figurative in each section of the novel. • Consider how the associations with fire shift over the course of the novel. • Provide at least three specific supporting quotes to support your analysis.
