Fahrenheit 451

1. Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

2. utopia • In 1516, Sir Thomas More published Utopia. “Utopia” is a word compounded by More from the Greek “not” and “place”, and literally means “nowhere”. • Today, the word utopia is used to define an ideal community, especially pertaining to laws, government, and social conditions. • Most utopias describe the ideal government, but at the same time, they usually criticize the social and economic conditions of the writers.

3. dystopia • A dystopia is a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.

4. “Why do we like dystopian novels?” (opinion) non-fictionClose Reading: • Number the paragraphs. • Go through and circle any new vocabulary words. (Do this without actually reading the text – skim.) • Underline main ideas. • Highlight interesting information. • Write notes in the margins. • These notes can be about questions you have or comments you want to make. They can also be symbols. • On the back of the reading, define the words you circled. Make sure your word’s definition makes sense with how the word is used in the sentence it’s found. • Write a summary of the article, pointing out the author’s main ideas, on the back of this article.

5. Metaphor Activity • Directions: • Select a metaphor. • Write it at the top of your paper. • At the bottom of your paper, explain what the metaphor means. • In the middle, illustrate the metaphor (what it’s literally saying, not what it means). • Metaphors from Fahrenheit 451 • “It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.” (7) • “With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world…” (7) • “…his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history.” (7) • “…his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next,” (7) • “…he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black.” (7) • “He strode in a swarm of fireflies.” (7) • “…while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house.” (7) • “Her dress was white and it whispered.” (9) • “The trees overhead made a great sound of letting down their dry rain.” (9) • “He saw himself in her eyes, suspended in two shining drops of bright water, himself dark and tiny, in fine detail, the lines about his mouth, everything there, as if her eyes were two miraculous bits of violet amber that might capture and hold him intact.” (11) • “She had a very thin face like the dial of a small clock seen faintly in a dark room in the middle of a night when you waken to see the time and see the clock telling you the hour and the minute and the second, with a white silence and a glowing, all certainty and knowing…” (14) • “Every night the waves came in and bore her off on their great tides of sound, gloating her, wide-eyed, toward morning.” (16) • “Two moonstones looked up at him in the light of his small hand-held fire; two pale moonstones buried in a creek of clear water over which the life of the world ran, not touching them.” (17)

6. K-W-L-P (lit. Group) • K • W • L • P • What do you know about the novel so far? • What do you want to know? (questions) • What did you learn? (If your questions weren’t answered, not that but still write down what you learned from reading today.) • Predict what will happen next. • (This chart should be placed in your group’s folder.)

7. Timeline (Lit. group) • Each group member needs to create a timeline of events for today’s reading. Be sure to include important conversations, revelations, actions/events, people introduced, etc. that occur. Include the page numbers the events, conversations, etc. are found. This should be done in your notebook and will be checked off the next time notebooks are collected.

8. M.I.P (Most Important Passage)(lit. group) • As a group, decide on the most important passage from today’s reading. You must all agree on the passage. Write it down on a piece of notebook paper. Include the page number. Then, defend your group’s decision. Write your defense below your passage and place the passage in your folder.

9. Reflection (pgs. 35-52) • Reflect on the two major events that take place. • Things to think about: • What characters are involved? How are they involved? • How does each event impact Montag? • How do they impact, or will they impact the plot? • Be thorough and analytical in your reflection. Make sure to reference the book and use examples in your reflection. I should be able to tell by reading your reflection that you understand what is happening in the novel and that you are thinking about what may happen next. Make predictions. One of the best ways to stay engaged with a story is to try to figure out what is going to happen next.

10. Reflection • Reflect on the major events that take place. • Things to think about: • What characters are involved? How are they involved? • How does each event impact Montag? • How do they impact, or will they impact the plot? • Be thorough and analytical in your reflection. Make sure to reference the book and use examples in your reflection. I should be able to tell by reading your reflection that you understand what is happening in the novel and that you are thinking about what may happen next. Make predictions. One of the best ways to stay engaged with a story is to try to figure out what is going to happen next.

11. Questions pgs. 52-67 • What is Beatty’s view of the Constitution? (62) • Summarize Beatty’s reasoning for the disappearance of books. • Predict what Beatty and Montag will talk about or do the next time they see each other after Beatty’s speech. • Compare and contrast Beatty’s description of society on pages (58-59) with the world today. • Is our society too saturated by electronic media (e.g. TV, the Internet, iPods, etc.)? Propose a solution to this modern-day issue: “The mind drinks less and less. Impatience. Highways full of crowds going somewhere, somewhere, somewhere, nowhere” (61). • Critique Beatty’s question, “Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts?” (59-60). How would you respond to this question? • What is Beatty’s explanation on why books are illegal? Does it have any merit? Explain. Do you think our society will ever reach that point?

12. Pgs. 35-52 pgs. 52-67 • Reflect on the two major events that take place. • Things to think about: • What characters are involved? How are they involved? • How does each event impact Montag? • How do they impact, or will they impact the plot? • What is Beatty’s view of the Constitution? (62) • Summarize Beatty’s reasoning for the disappearance of books. • Predict what Beatty and Montag will talk about or do the next time they see each other after Beatty’s speech. • Compare and contrast Beatty’s description of society on pages (58-59) with the world today. • Is our society too saturated by electronic media (e.g. TV, the Internet, iPods, etc.)? Propose a solution to this modern-day issue: “The mind drinks less and less. Impatience. Highways full of crowds going somewhere, somewhere, somewhere, nowhere” (61). • Critique Beatty’s question, “Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts?” (59-60). How would you respond to this question? • What is Beatty’s explanation on why books are illegal? Does it have any merit? Explain. Do you think our society will ever reach that point?

13. TWPS (Think-write-pair-share) • Prompts: • Who is Clarisse, and how has she impacted Montag’s life? • Who is Mildred and how has she impacted Montag’s life? • Who is Beatty, and what role does Beatty play in Montag’s life and how is he important so far? • What prompts Montag to realize that he is not happy? • How does the incident where the old woman on Elm Street chooses to die with her books impact Montag? • What information does Beatty give Montag about books?

14. “Sound of Silence” questions • Who is his “old” friend and why do you think the singer wants to talk with “him”? • What is the sound of silence? Explain. • Compare contrast: halo of a street lamp and flash of a neon light. • What might the two different lights symbolize? • What is “talking without speaking” and “hearing without listening”? • Why do you think that no one will disturb the sound of silence? • Is silence a good thing? Explain. • What do you think the singers/songwriters are trying to say with this song? • If Montag were listening to this song, what do you think it would make him think about? Explain. • How might this song be relevant for today’s society? Try to think of specific examples.

15. “Sound of Silence”opinion piece (non-fiction) • Purpose for reading: What is the author’s opinion on the meaning of the song? • Highlight the author’s opinions. • Underline the supporting details the author uses to support his opinions • Underneath, or on the back, write a summary of the author’s opinion using the highlighted and underlined information. • * Hand in to the basket when finished.

16. “Dover beach” • If this poem had a favorite color, what would it be and why? • Poems are broken into stanzas (poem paragraphs). Number each stanza. • Highlight or underline the imagery in each stanza. • Circle the word(s) that set the mood for each stanza. • Draw a  or a  next to each stanza depending on its mood. • Identify which stanza you like the most and write a sentence or two explaining why. • If Montag had a favorite stanza, which one would it be and why? • Identify some parallels (things that are similar or the same) that the poem has with the novel. • Why do you think Bradbury chose this poem for Montag to read aloud?