...New Historicism: Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury is a well-known author of stories, screenplays, and multiple novels that have left a lasting influence on American fiction. He left legions of devoted readers and a vast oeuvre that, at its best, combined Hobbesian fears with emotionally resonant hopes for his country and for the human race(Weiner 79). Bradbury’s work contained themes stemming from events and circumstances of the 1950’s. Such as the history of past wars, the times of an irrepressible movement of technological developments, and the censoring of offensive material. Ray Bradbury’s classic novel, Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953, is a cultural time marker, helping us to locate the past, evaluate the present, and imagine the future (Smolla...
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..."Sometimes writers write about a world that does not yet exist. We do it for a hundred reasons" (Gaiman xi). Neil Gaiman says it best in the introduction to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, whether it be to warn the public, or to encourage, examine, or imagine, writers continue to describe dystopian worlds that may not be real. Gaiman tells the readers of Fahrenheit 451 that "there are three phrases that make possible writing about the world of not-yet[…]and they are simple phrases: What if…? If only…? If this goes on…" (Gaiman xi). Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 utilizes the latter of these three phrases. Bradbury pictures that if our society continues to substitute knowledge with instant, mindless gratification, the product would be similar to that of Guy Montag's world. Likewise, "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is created around the phrase, "What if...?" Vonnegut's story was developed while thinking about how the world would be if people were handicapped based on their strengths and weaknesses. The genre of science fiction conveys an author's feelings towards our community, and typically towards our community's future. Both of these texts demonstrate a strong theme, while simultaneously allowing these themes to reveal truths about our society. Firstly, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury demonstrates a theme of how one must be aware and knowledgeable to...
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...In Fahrenheit 451, owning and reading books is illegal. Members of society focus only on entertainment, immediate gratification and speeding through life. If books are found, they are burned and their owner is arrested. If the owner refuses to abandon the books, as is the case with the Old Woman, he or she often dies, burning along with them. People with interests outside of technology and entertainment are viewed as strange, and possible threats. In the book, Bradbury doesn't give a clear explanation of why censorship has become so great in this futuristic society. Rather, the author alludes to a variety of causes. Fast cars, loud music, and massive advertisements create an over stimulated society without room for literature, self-reflection, or appreciation of nature. Bradbury gives the reader a brief description of how society slowly lost interest in books, first condensing them, then relying simply on titles, and finally forgetting about them all together. Bradbury also alludes to the idea that different "minority" groups were offended by certain types of literature. In his discussion with Montag, Beatty mentions dog lovers offended by books about cats, and cat lovers offended by books about dogs. The reader can only assume which minority groups Bradbury was truly referring to. Finally, in the Afterword to Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury clearly expresses his own sensitivity to attempts to restrict his writing. For example, he feels censored by letters suggesting he should...
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...1.72 billion. That is the number of people that are affected by censorship on any given day. The book Fahrenheit 451 is about a fireman named Guy Montag who burns books, which are illegal to own, he goes through lots of self-reflection and evaluates his life and the censored world that he is living in. People in the 1950s thought that this censorship world in Fahrenheit 451 was unrealistic but it was actually foreshadowing the future as seen in North Korea’s censorship of the media, social interactions, and outside communications. The government censors all the media in both Fahrenheit 451 and in North Korea. In Fahrenheit 451 the government makes the citizens watch TV walls to brainwash their minds. Montag was talking to his wife Mildred: "Will you turn the parlour off?" he asked. "That's my family" (Bradbury, 46)....
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...Charlene Henderson Professor Davis English 102 13 November 2014 Fahrenheit 451 and the Society of Americans Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, illustrates a future that is remarkably similar to our current society. His science fiction novel tells the story of a community that relies on technology advancements to guide them in their everyday lives. His characters live in a fast passed society where they don’t read books, watch a lot of TV and drive very fast just like the people today. Bradbury does a nice job at predicting what the world would be like. We are always demanding more advanced machinery, and from the past, we have grown into a much more technological society. Lately, more and more people not only want more technology, they want it to be faster and faster. Faster computers, faster internet connections, better and faster cell phone connections, faster phones, and faster and more powerful cars, just to name a few. People don’t want to waste time anymore waiting for things to load even though they spend hours and hours doing meaningless things on their phones and computers. We want things done quicker without as much effort. We want things to take less to do them so we can have more for other things. Although Bradbury’s technology is more advanced than ours, we too are becoming a world consumed by technology advancements. Our society is similarly addicted to television and many people aren’t choosing to read for leisure anymore. Especially when TV...
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...Bradbury's novel, Fahrenheit 451, was written at the onset of the fifties as a call to the American people to reflect on how the dominant social values of their times were effecting both the lives of individual Americans and their government. Fahrenheit 451 attacks utopian government and focuses on society's foolishness of always being politically correct. (Mogen 113). According to Mogen, Fahrenheit 451 depicts a world in which the American Dream has turned into a nightmare because it has been superficially understood. (Mogen 107) In order to understand Bradley's social critique, it is essential to realize that he wrote Fahrenheit 451 in the wake of World War II and the early days of the Cold War, in a political climate that was increasingly favoring security over the civil liberties of individuals (Mogen 124, 114). Due to the Cold War, Americans continuously felt threatened by the idea of communism and the idea of hostility from communist countries (Mogen 115). Any association with communism would immediately ostracize an American politician (Mogen 115). In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury displays a futuristic utopian society where "the people did not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations." (Mogen 111). About sixty years later, some would argue that our society has been guilty of similar downfalls. (Book Rags) The government in Fahrenheit 451 bans books because they do not appreciate the thoughts books created peoples...
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...Introduction How much do mirrors and faces really have in common? Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. It’s a book about a world where books are illegal. If you are found with a book your house and all your books are burned. After your house is done being burned, you are sent to away. To sum up Fahrenheit 451. It is about a man named Guy Montag who is a fireman, and firemen burn books instead of reading them. He meets a 17 year old girl Clarisse McClellan changed the way he saw people, she made him see what was really on the inside. She also reflected Montag through herself so that he could see what he was really like on the inside Faces Have you ever thought of an island being covered in snow? “Her face was like a snow covered island” (11) it...
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...John Quincy Adams once said “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." Throughout history, authors and writers have created characters that are meant to influence and inspire the protagonist. This is present in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. On the other hand, there are some stories such as Test by Theodore Thomas that have taken a different approach. First, in Fahrenheit 451 the author Ray Bradbury writes Clarisse into the novel to inspire the protagonist Guy Montag to take a stand and become an individual and to stop being controlled by the government. She does this by showing him who she is as a person, questioning his morals, and asking him about love. To begin, Clarisse attempts to show Montag who she really is and not for the fugitive that she’s claimed to be. "Well, doesn't this mean anything to you?" He tapped the numerals 451 stitched on his char coloured sleeve. "Yes," she whispered. She increased her pace. "Have you ever watched the jet cars racing on the boulevards down that way? "You're changing the subject!" "I sometimes think drivers don't know what grass is, or flowers, because they never see them slowly," she said. "If you showed a driver a green blur, Oh yes! He’d say, that's grass! A pink blur? That's a rose-garden! White blurs are houses. Brown blurs are cows. My uncle drove slowly on a highway once. He drove forty miles an hour and they jailed him for two days. Isn't that funny...
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...In Fahrenheit 451 people were faced with the issue of having to be suppressed in thought and in mind. For many, they did not question these ideals, but rather went along passively. Although there were some that questioned the lack of their own natural human thought. Some had a need to think and feel. These people were known In Fahrenheit 451 as the book rebels, the people that thrived to think. They committed their very lives to the ideals of thought and creativity. They did this by memorizing works of literature, and by forming groups of thought. If I was to be a book rebel I would dedicate my life to the memorization of George Orwell’s “1984”. I would definitely preserve this book because its meaning extends to all people of all cultures. In my opinion no other work has better expressed the effects of a totalitarian government on people and society. It is of utmost importance to understand the ideals of this book to protect our own individual freedom. This book does not merely serve as an outlet for creativity and entertainment, but as a simulated warning of the hardships man must face, if he does not speak out and think for himself. I believe this book would be most valuable committed to memory especially to the people in the society of Fahrenheit 451. The book of “1984” would not only be the work I commit to memory if I were to be a book rebel. I would also recomend “1984” to moderm society in order to protect their own livelihood and that of there children’s...
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...KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS SETTING The novel takes place in an unnamed futuristic city sometime in the 24th century. The atmosphere is fantastic, for technology has transformed society into a land of virtual reality and ultra- futurism. Television is totally interactive. Giant crematoriums collect and dispose of bodies in a monstrous, helicopter-borne contraption known as the Big Flue. Doors are programmed to announce visitors before they even arrive. Books are illegal, as is any true exercise of thought. Mankind has become lazy and stupid because of the excesses of technology. In fact, the people no longer know how to do simple things because some machine has been designed to do everything. Although there are some familiar things in this society, like neighborhoods, cars, and trees, there are also many fictional creations, like the Mechanical Hound, a robot designed to track and kill violators of the law once it has been programmed with their scent. Houses are so fireproofed that firemen start fires rather than put them out. Houses have built-in alarms that ring when someone has a book in his possession, alerting the firemen to go there and begin the burning. There are so many suicide attempts that traveling orderlies are always on hand to pump stomachs or stitch self-inflicted wounds. In the craziness of this futuristic world, it is comforting to find that beds still have to be made and breakfast still has to be eaten. In short, Bradbury has created a world alien enough to be...
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...Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury is a futuristic novel that incorporates symbolism to represent specific meanings which are in the novel. Bradbury's use of symbolism throughout the novel, makes the book moving and powerful by using symbolism to reinforce the ideas of anti-censorship. The title of the novel: Fahrenheit 451 is a symbol itself. If you break it down and understand the hidden meaning of it, readers can see why Bradbury decided this specific title for his book. Paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit and as readers read the novel they will understand what the book is about and how the title represents it. The Hearth and the Salamander, the title of part one, is the second example of symbolism. The title suggests two things which have to do with fire. Hearth, which people would think of a fire place, can be represented by warmth and goodness. It shows how fire can be used for good and in a non-destructive way. As for Salamander, this can be defined as a small lizard type amphibian which in mythology is known to tolerate fire without getting burned by it. As readers get through part one, they can see how Bradbury uses the salamander as a symbolic meaning for Guy Montag. Guy Montag’s character can be portrayed as a salamander because he works with fire, tolerating its danger yet he continuously believes that he can escape the fire and survive, much like a salamander does. The third symbol which is demonstrated in the novel is the phoenix. A phoenix can be defined as:...
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...Poetic Prose Project for Fahrenheit 451 Due ___________________ Ray Bradbury used figurative language throughout his novel to create mental pictures or images in his readers’ minds. As a result, his prose often sounds much like poetry. Part One: On notebook paper, create your own chart of poetic prose from the novel. Use blue or black ink. Do not write on the back. Skip a line between each example. To avoid using my quotes, don’t use quotes from the first fourteen pages of the novel. On line A, write the page number and the quotation. On line B, write a paraphrase of the quote. FIND FOUR OF EACH TYPE OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. Place the four similes on page one, the four metaphors on page two, and the four examples of personification on page three. Part Two: Choose one of your quotes and make a visual no larger than 9 X 12 expressing its meaning. Neatly write your quote on your visual. Do not put your visual on notebook paper. A SIMILE is a figure of speech in which like or as or similar words are used to make a comparison between two basically unlike ideas. “Alex is as bright as Jason” is a comparison, not a simile. “Alex is as bright as a light bulb” is a simile. A METAPHOR is a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else. Unlike a simile, a metaphor implies a comparison between two basically unlike ideas. Example: Alexander is the sunshine of my day. PERSONIFICATION is a type of figurative language...
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...Censorship in Fahrenheit 451 In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, the people live in a society full of censorship. Montag, the main character of the story, is inspired by a young girl to question law around him and begins to have doubts about what good they serve. In Fahrenheit 451, censorship in the world consists of book burning, manipulative parlor families, and the intolerance of those who attempt to be an individual. Book burning in the story is done by firemen to supposedly prevent society from unhappy emotions and unjust thoughts. Any person who was perceived or proved to possess any sort of reading material was reported to firemen using alarms, which were sent to the fire station. On duty firemen then immediately went to the home of the lawbreaker and burnt the books discovered. Books would be covered in kerosene and torched with a flame-thrower. Houses were made fireproof in order for the firemen to burn the books inside the house without causing too much destruction. Immediately after the books are burned, the offender is arrested and taken to prison. Although book burning was the most abrupt and outlandish form of censorship, people experienced mind censorship in their homes every day. Parlor walls were walls in a room used for watching television and specially designed "interactive" programs, designed to provide people with pleasure. Shows written for the soul purpose to please people in their parlors...
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...Heavens. The reason they want to build this tower is to have power like God. So while they built the tower, God watched them and began to realize that they can someday be powerful. With that in mind, he went down with the angels to confuse the people in Shinar and separated them all over the world with different languages so they could not understand one another. That would stop them from trying to regain the possibility of having the power like God. It was called Babel because of that reason and this is how our world has come out to have many different languages. Allusions are found in many forms of art. One of the arts that hold allusions to a biblical story is literature. Ray Bradbury published one of his most famous works in 1953, Fahrenheit 451. This novel is science fiction and holds the story of a fireman named Montag in a future like city. His job is to start fires, burn books, not put them out. The setting that Montag is placed in is not allowed to get in contact with books because they hold knowledge and their government believes that it gives power. The main character lives this way too until he meets a teenager names Clarisse and an English Professor named Faber. They show Montag the beauty of nature, knowledge, and literature. Further...
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...Statement of Intent: Independent Study Project: Fahrenheit 451 My tentative topic for this ISP will be Ray Bradbury’s use delusion of truth, the desire of ignorance and the fear of freeing oneself from propaganda to express society’s desire for perfect happiness- no matter the cost- in Fahrenheit 451. In this dystopian novel, Bradbury uses Clarisse and her odd family to foreshadow some of Guy Montag’s doubt in himself, his family and his daily life. Clarisse’s role in the novel is made clearer as Montag begins searching for the truth as she is seen as a guiding light to give Guy hope for a better future where he is happy. Given the government dictated culture they live in, the danger and fear of finding the knowledge that Montag is paid to destroy, there is no doubt that Bradbury is using the dystopian society’s unconscious desire to live a lie, the yearn to not know more and the consequences of finding out the truth in order to highlight society’s solution for happiness: delusion. In this Independent Study Project I will attempt to showcase that seeking out the truth in a government enforced web of lies is unwanted, fear inducing and dangerous. To prove this, I will connect the laws, crimes, those who commit and their consequences with those who ignore the truth and act content with their deluded lives. In doing so, I hope to demonstrate that as Guy Montag figures out the truth, he realizes how much the government dictates the culture he lives in In the paper, I will consider...
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