Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury

• Illinois, August 22, 1920

• Died June, 5, 2012 at 93 years old.

Mr. Electrico

When do you think this book was written?

Originally published in 1951 as a short story called “The Fireman,” it was adapted into a novel by 1953.

America in the 1940s and 1950s

Invention of the television

1950’s was considered the ‘golden age’ of television

Young people often watched T.V. for more hours than They went to school.

PHYSICAL context

• In the story it is the 24th century and books are considered dangerous and illegal. No one is allowed to own them. Most people are happy being plugged into their technology, where they think too hard. All books that are found are burned.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

• Written during the 1950s (WWII 1939-1945)

• WWII had just ended, the U.S. had dropped the first atomic bombs on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

• Bradbury was influenced by the book burnings of the Nazi regime in Germany during the 1930s.

• Political repression and dictatorship in the Soviet Union and fascist Spain even after WWII when books were banned and intellectuals persecuted.

• During the 1950s was the era of McCarthyism and the threat of nuclear war loomed.

The novel was inspired by real life events

• McCarthyism– fear of communism

• 1950s lifestyle

• Cold War

• 1954- U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy begins a televised anticommunist witch-hunt. This became known as “McCarthyism.” Basically, the Cold War revolved around the fact that:

• The USA was a Democratic country where people could do what they want, become rich and have freedoms.

• The USSR was Communist, which meant people listened to the government, lived equally and shared resources.

• The US declared Communism countries to be enemies. The US government wanted everyone to think that Communists were evil so they spread hate propaganda.

• McCarthy accused random people he didn’t like of being Communists, which ruined their lives.

Timeline of the 1950s

Joseph mccarthy

Fahrenheit 451 themes and genre

Common elements of dystopian novels:

• Over-controlling government

• A specific group the is outcast or oppressed

• At least one individual who questions the system

• An eventual attempt to revolt or overthrow the government

Themes to watch for in f451

• Individual self- expression is important

• Violence is self- destructive

• Mindless pleasure seeking and materialism make for an empty life

• Humanity should preserve and value the culture of the past.

Theme: censorship

• The suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media.

THEME: Ignorance of knowledge

• Bradbury focuses on the importance of learning and how it impacts our ability to make decisions. He believes that without the ability to think about what we’re doing, we’ll be lead to do wrong.

PREDICT OR PREVENT?

• Bradbury claimed he was trying to “prevent the future.”

• He did foresee many future developments:

• Walkmans, earbuds, big screen and interactive T.V.s, rise in violence, growing illiteracy, etc.

More themes

• Humanity has the ability to be reborn or revived

• In the wrong hands, modern technology can be dangerous

• Commercialism can erode spiritual values

• People lose their humanity when not able to communicate and interact with each other on a personal level.