• Born 1920• 1942 published in

Weird Tales, a famous pulp science-fiction magazine

• Writer for Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone

• 1950 The Martian Chronicles is published establishing Bradbury as a science fiction icon

• Ray Bradbury

• Fahrenheit 451 Background

• Published during the McCarthy Era, when free expression of ideas could lead to jail or social black listing

• The novel reflects Bradbury's concerns about censorship and conformity

• Fahrenheit 451 Background, Con’t:

• Fahrenheit 451 portrays a dystopian future for civilization

• Draws on many of the same themes as George Orwell’s 1984

• Is Bradbury’s most popular and well known work

• Overview • Guy Montag is a fireman, but not in the sense we know fireman

• Montag’s job is to burn books and set fires instead of putting them in out

• In this bleak future people drive fast, watch endless amounts of TV and have radios attached to their ears

• Overview • In this society people do not read books, go outside for fun or have any thoughts or discussions that require thought

• Books are thought to be material that alienates and offends. In order to not make anybody feel inferior all books that are found are immediately destroyed

• Montag realizes that his life is an empty shell devoid of any substance

• Overview • He becomes dissatisfied with his job and search for direction in some books he steals from one of his own fires

• With the help of a former English professor named Faber, Montag sets out to change a society that has forgotten how to think for itself and enjoys unquestioning ignorance

• Literary Focus– Date of Publication

– Structure

– Genre

– Setting (time)

– Setting (place

• 1953

• Science Fiction

• Bradbury has structure Fahrenheit 451 into three parts which parallel the stages of Montag's transformation

• Future; 21st Century

• Dystopian Future Version of United States

– Point of View

– Protagonist

– Antagonist

– Irony

• Third-Person Limited Omniscient

• Montag

• Beatty, Wife and Friends, Society

• Beatty, Montag’s boss, seemingly hate books, but through admonishments of Montag reveals he is extremely well-read

• Literary Focus– Themes and Conflicts

• Knowledge Giving Way to Ignorance

• Consequences of Passivity

• The Value of Education• The Importance of

Discussion• Responsibility and

Consequences• Alienation and Loneliness • Change and

Transformation

• Literary Focus, Con’t:– Symbols

• The Phoenix

• Montag’s Hands

• Symbolize the human ability to rise up out of the ashes and learn from past failures

• Symbolic of his rebellious nature; he often blames his hands for actions society would condemn

• Literary Focus, Con’t:– Symbolism

• 451 Degrees and Fire

– Salamander

– Mechanical Hound

• At 451 degrees Fahrenheit, paper will burn. Fire is symbolic of the destruction of both books and the freedom of thought that books represent.

• Representative of the dystopian society from which Montag escapes, the salamander represents the destructive uses of fire

• Represents the dangers of technology unchecked.

• Characters– Guy Montag

• 3rd Generation Fireman

• Programmed to repress his own thoughts and feelings

• Wants desperately to break free from society and think for himself

• Tries to challenge himself to make a change in society

• Beatty • The captain of Montag’s fire department. Beatty is extremely well-read, but he hates books and people who insist on reading them.

• Cunning, devious and very perceptive

• Mildred Montag • Brittle, sickly• Watches television

non-stop• Will not share her

thoughts and feelings with her husband

• Tries to kill herself, but will not admit it

• Mildred’s Friends • Lead miserable lives• Disconnected from

other people • All married more than

once• Representative of the

ordinary person in this bleak world

• Professor Faber • Retired English professor

• Longs for the return of books and even has many words from books memorized

• Realizes it is the weakness of the educated to not stand up and challenge the ignorant that led to the burning of books