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Fareinheit 451. Terms. Censorship – the practice of examining materials like books, movies, etc. and removing or suppressing unacceptable parts Dystopian – an imaginary place where bad conditions (due to terror, oppression, etc.) are continually getting worse. Ray Bradbury.
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Terms • Censorship – the practice of examining materials like books, movies, etc. and removing or suppressing unacceptable parts • Dystopian – an imaginary place where bad conditions (due to terror, oppression, etc.) are continually getting worse
Ray Bradbury • Born 1920 in Illinois • His first story was published in a science fiction magazine in 1941 • Became most famous in the 1950s: • The Martian Chronicles – 1950 • Fahrenheit 451 – 1953
Life in the 1950s • WWII and the atrocities of the Holocaust were a fresh memory • The story of Fareinheit 451 may have been influenced by the Nazi book burnings • 1984 was published in 1949, making the idea of dystopian future popular
Life in the 1950s • The economy was improving, leading to increase in materialism • The social and political climate was very conservative (not open to new ideas or lifestyles)
Life in the 1950s • 1951 – television begins to be broadcast coast to coast
Life in the 1950s • The Cold War escalates: • Both the United States and the USSR race to develop more atomic weapons • The Rosenbergs are convicted as spies and sentenced to death for giving atomic weapon info to the USSR • Kruschev becomes leader of the USSR and works to spread communism to other countries
Life in the 1950s • 1954 – Senator McCarthy leads the House Un-American Activities Committee • Investigated connections between many artists, writer, politicians, etc. and communisim • Compared to “witch trials” (inspired Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”) • Many people were blacklisted (prevented form working) and the work of many writers was censored
Title • Fareinheit 451 – the temperature at which paper burns • How does this title relate to the subject matter of the novel?
Epigraph “If they give you ruled paper, write the other way” -Juan Ramon Jimenez • What might this statement mean? • Why would Bradbury select it to open his novel?
Central Characters • Guy Montag - The protagonist, a complacent man thirty years old. He has been a fireman for ten years. • Mildred Montag - Guy’s wife, also thirty years old. • Clarisse McClellan - Montag’s new neighbor, sixteen years old. • Captain Beatty - Montag’s superior, the Fire Captain.
Central Characters • Unidentified Woman - A woman from “the ancient part of the city” who becomes a martyr • Faber - An elderly man, a retired English professor. • Granger - An exwriter who lives out of the city. • Stoneman & Black - Montag’s fellow firemen. • Mrs. Phelps & Mrs. Bowles - Mildred’s friends.