Jacqueline Koch
June 17, 2010
LIT216
RAY BRADBURY
An American author, playwright and icon
Basic bio
Born in August 1920 in Waukegan, Ill.
 Graduated from high school in Los Angeles, ending his
formal education.
 Sold newspapers on L.A. street corners for four years
before becoming a full time writer in 1943.
 First gained fame with The Martian Chronicles, published
in 1950, which “ describes the first attempts of Earth
people to conquer and colonize Mars” (Ray
Bradbury).

Beyond the bio
Found inspiration in space
exploration, his birthplace of
Waukegan, and Los Angeles,
where he did most of his writing.

“I received so much
inspiration from (Los
Angeles) that it is a
wonderful feeling to be a
permanent part of my
hometown,” Bradbury said
after being honored with a
star on the Walk of Fame in
Hollywood (Wong).
Blended science fiction with
technology and critiques of society,
affecting communities across the
country.

“We want to make our city the
best it can be. By reading great
literary works like Ray
Bradbury's we can foster
dialogue among our city's
diverse groups, and we can
create a community that's
unmatched by any in this great
nation,” said L.A. Mayor James
Hahn (Wong).
Beyond the bio
Wrote to improve humanity
and human conditions on earth,
including education and literacy.

"I'm working to prevent a
future where there's no
education," Bradbury said
from his Los Angeles home.
"The system we have has gone
to hell, so I'm trying to
encourage teachers and
parents to rebuild it. We're
not teaching kids to read and
write and think” (Moore).
Used futuristic imagery and
various environments to affect
people’s thoughts.

"He's always been a writer who
wanted to improve the human
condition by showing the way
people really behave," colleague
Ben Bova said. "He's not
interested in rocket ships and ray
guns except as a means of putting
people in a different milieu”
(Moore).
The modern sci-fi movement
Began in the U.S. in the mid-1950s, prompted by end of
World War II.
 Born from the post-Depression era, when Americans
began using more technology, including TVs, and
became interested in the space race with the former
Soviet Union.
 Included social commentary on technological changes and
the dangers technology presents (Rockwood).

Descriptions of science fiction
“Science fiction explores political, legal
and ideological alternatives, commenting
upon both our present and possible
futures” (Rockwood 271).
“Science fiction views our present
situation through the lenses of either a
possible future, or an alternative view
of the past, using such devices as ‘what
if’ counter-histories and parallel
universes” (Rockwood 272).
“People are afraid of fantasy,” Bradbury said. “A lot of intellectuals think science
fiction is trivial. And it's pivotal! People are walking around the streets with phones
to their heads talking to someone ten feet away. We've killed two million people
with automobiles. We're surrounded by technology and the problems created by
technology, and science fiction isn't important?" (Mesic).
“I've written more short stories and novels and plays and poems about other
writers than any other writer in history. I've been madly in love with them.
I've written poems about Edgar Allen Poe being my father. Emily Dickinson
being my mother” (Ray Bradbury).
Influences on Bradbury
Emily Dickinson
 Edgar Allen Poe
 Charles Dickens
 L. Frank Baum
 H. G. Wells
 Jules Verne
 Alduous Huxley

H.G. Wells and Jules Verne
helped pioneer the early science
fiction and fantasy movements. L.
Frank Baum created absurd and
memorable characters in his “Oz”
series. Edgar Allen Poe wrote
short stories, which helped shape
Bradbury’s short story style (Ray
Bradbury).

“The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter
because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is very much the same as it
was when I was twelve. In any event, here I am, eighty years old, feeling no different, full of
a great sense of joy, and glad for the long life that has been allowed me. I have good plans
for the next ten or twenty years, and I hope you'll come along” (Ray Bradbury).
Important works
Dark Carnival
 The Martian Chronicles
 Fahrenheit 451
 The October Country
 Dandelion Wine
 Something Wicked This Way Comes
 Numerous screenplays, short stories, poems and essays (Ray
Bradbury).

Analysis of Fahrenheit 451
In a totalitarian, futuristic American city, fireman Guy Montag’s job is to burn books. People in
that society do little for pleasure; instead, they tune into a television and radio for all their
information and entertainment (Bradbury).
Guy meets 17-year-old Clarisse McClellan, who seems free-spirited and happy. She asks him
questions about the emptiness of life. Guy’s world is changed when his wife attempts suicide
and Clarissa is killed by a speeding car. He begins to steal books instead of burn them
(Bradbury 11-82).
Guy works with an English professor to read and reprint books, then hide them in firefighters’
houses to incriminate them. Guy turns his books over to his boss, then burns his own house. But
Guy also torches his boss, kills other firefighters and destroys the Mechanical Hound, which
attempted to kill Guy (Bradbury 71-92).
War is declared, but Guy runs away and meets up with a traveling group of readers who
memorize classic works. Guy is asked to memorize the Book of Ecclesiastes from the Bible
(Bradbury 126-147).
Analysis of Fahrenheit 451
Many critics and readers wrongly assumed Fahrenheit 451 was a critique against
censorship, especially in a heightened McCarthyism era. But Bradbury said in 2007
that the novel has less to do with censorship than it does with society’s reliance on
television instead of the written word. Bradbury is, first and foremost, speaking out
against the dullness and ignorance of society when it does not read (Moore).
"I see 'Fahrenheit' all over the place, these days," Bradbury said. "Programs like
'Jeopardy' and 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' are ridiculous. They're the stupidest
shows in history. They're making us dumber. They don't give us information, they give
us facts, factoids. You don't learn who Napoleon was and how he was motivated. You
learn what year he was born, and when he died. That's useless” (Moore).
Analysis of Fahrenheit 451
One cannot argue, however, that Fahrenheit 451 does not contain a theme of
censorship. One of the firemen’s rule is to burn everything. That includes books, which
give people knowledge and also cause friction among people when something
inciting is published.
The fire chief, Beatty, tells Guy that because civilization is so different, books
offended too many people. “’Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it.
White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it. Someone’s written a
book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn
the book’” (Bradbury 54).
Bradbury’s point is simply. When someone attempts to cater to the masses, anything
worth knowing and learning is tossed by the wayside. People too afraid to express
opinions or share thoughts because they may hurt someone else only hurt entire
societies.
Analysis of Fahrenheit 451
Another enduring theme is the future of education in America and how people must be
engaged in their subject matter to learn. Clarisse discusses how dull her school days are when
she doesn’t learn anything. “’… we never ask questions, or at least most don’t. (Teachers) just
run the answers at you, bing, bing, bing, and us sitting there for four more hours of filmteacher. That’s not social to me at all’” (Bradbury 27).
Again, Bradbury warns of the lack of education and how it affects society: “’School is
shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, history language dropped, English and spelling
gradually gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored. Life is immediate, the job
counts, pleasure lies all about after work’” (51).
Bradbury foresaw a future that was nothing more than rote memorization and recitation of
facts. He grew critical of a society that prized factual knowledge over creative and practical
knowledge. Fahrenheit 451 was meant to show what happens when an uninformed society is
not education enough to speak up for itself or to have any original thoughts.
Analysis of Fahrenheit 451

Books
Books, to Bradbury, symbolize knowledge and entertainment. Books are the
means by which people learn and grow. To burn books is to burn people’s
originality of thought and their chance to be more than mindless drones.
“’(Books) have quality… it means texture. This book has pores. It has features.
This book can go under the microscope. You’d find life under the glass,
streaming past in infinite profusion’” (Bradbury 74).


The Mechanical Hound
The mechanical hound symbolizes the government, which is sometimes at a
distance and which sometimes pounces when a person needs to be punished.
The mechanical hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live in its gently
humming, gently vibrating, softly illuminated kennel back in a dark corner of
the firehouse” (Bradbury 24).

Analysis of Fahrenheit 451

Fire
Fire represents the destruction of knowledge and thought at the hands of dull
people. Fire is representative of the government, authority figures and anyone
else who tries to suppress learning by downplaying the notion of original
thought and criticism.


Firemen
Firemen serve as watchdogs in Bradbury’s society. They could be likened to
snitches during the McCarthy era, who ratted on neighbors for Communist-like
behavior. They are also similar to policemen in that they enforce the laws of
society and punish those who do not follow them. Firemen are “’custodians of
our peace of mind, the focus of or understandable and rightful dread of being
inferior; official censors, judges, and executors’” (Bradbury 53-54).

Argument for Bradbury’s inclusion
In 2007, received a Pulitzer citation “for his distinguished,
prolific and deeply influential career as an unmatched author of
science fiction and fantasy” (Pulitzer).
 In 2004, received the National Medal of Arts, the highest
honor bestowed to artists by the U.S. government (Ray Bradbury).
 In 2002, received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame (Ray
Bradbury).
 In 2000, received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to
American Letters by the Board of Directors of the National Book
Foundation (Ray Bradbury).

Argument for Bradbury’s inclusion
The premier science fiction writer of all time.
 Helped popularize the science fiction and fantasy genres.
 Successfully blended prose with social critiques and futuristic
predictions.
 Books and short stories are read in thousands of high schools
across the country.
 Helped design parts of Epcot Center in Disney World (Ray
Bradbury).

Influential Bradbury
Called the greatest sci-fi writer of all time (Gaines).
 An icon who shaped science fiction by describing the
wonders of life and fascinating readers with his blend of
well-liked characters and sharp prose (Harper Collins).
 In short stories, created the Elliot family, who would later
become the popular and well-known “Addams family”
(Gaines).
 Filmmaker Michael Moore played off of Bradbury when
the director entitled his movie “Fahrenheit 9/11” (Gaines).

Similarities with F. Scott Fitzgerald
Both wrote highly acclaimed modern fiction novels.
 Both make appropriate use of symbols. In “The Great
Gatsby,” Fitzgerald employs the green light to represent a
symbol of hope.
 Both use their works to make social commentaries on life.
Fitzgerald used Gatsby to comment on the way society loves
wealth and money, but how those can leave society unhappy or
ultimately destroy it.
 Though Bradbury wrote science fiction and Fitzgerald wrote
modern fiction, they use similar literary devices to make a point
about society.

Differences with Crane
Crane wrote during a much earlier time period (late 1800s)
than Bradbury.
 Crane’s genre is naturalism, which uses a work’s natural setting
and descriptions of that setting to move the story along. For
Bradbury, setting is less important (though it is set in a future
time) than social critiques and writing about a futuristic society
where life has gone awry.
 In “The Open Boat,” Crane uses descriptive language to talk
about the men’s plight and describe the ocean. In Bradbury’s
works, he uses the setting for only its location and lets the action
and dialogue between characters move the story (Crane 10001014).

Reception
Bradbury uses his works to advocate education for children
and adults, and asks readers to question their own lives. “Though
Bradbury's topics are hardly true-to-life, they do carry with them
themes that we can apply to our daily lives—courteousness,
perseverance, flexibility, and self-awareness” (Clark).
 Bradbury creates a vivid world of sensory images and
fantasy, causing readers to want to physically be a part of the
plot. “Because Bradbury's world is a better one than the vale of
tears that we inhabit, it sometimes hurts to close the book and be
snapped back to contemporary reality” (Smigelski).

Criticism
Bradbury began his science fiction writing with moral
evangelizing or personal opinions that he infused into his writing,
detracting from a work’s meaning. Only since the 1970s has “his
own set of values” become one with his works (Sullivan 1314).
 Bradbury’s short stories, as in Dandelion Wine, sometimes
appear to have no connection among them. “It has no more
reason to end than it has to begin. Its cause and effect
relationship is a spontaneous one…” (Bradford 161).
 Bradbury’s message is sometimes confused, as in the censorship
versus societal dullness seen in Fahrenheit 451.

Works cited
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Books, 1953. Print.
Bradford, Tom. “Review.” Chicago Review 22.2/3 (1971). 160-166. Web. 12 June 2010.
Clark, Tracy. "Ray Bradbury: Overview." Contemporary Popular Writers. Ed. Dave Mote. Detroit: St.
James Press, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 June 2010.
Crane, Stephen. “The Open Boat.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New
York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2007. 1000-1016. Print.
Gaines, John. “A History of Science Fiction: Ray Bradbury & Arthur C. Clarke.” Librarypoint. 3 Feb. 2010.
Web.
Harper Collins Publisher. “The Bradbury Chronicles.” Harper Collins, n.d. Web. 10 June 2010.
Mesic, Penelope. “Cosmic Ray.” Book Magazine. Dec. 1998/Jan. 1999. Web.
Moore, Roger. “Ray Bradbury Can Still Burn Through Paper.” The Orlando Sentinel. 20 Aug. 2000. Web.
Ray Bradbury. Harper Collins and Authors on the Web, 1998. Web. 12 June 2010.
Rockwood, Bruce. “Law, Literature and Science Fiction: New Possibilities.” Legal Studies Forum. 23.3
(1999). 267-279. Web.
Smigelski, Joseph. Letter. The Huffington Post. 8 June 2010. Web. 12 June 2010.
Sullivan, Anita. “Ray Bradbury and Fantasy.” The English Journal. 61.9 (1972). 1309-1314. Web. 12
June 2010.
“The 2007 Pulitzer Prize Winners: Special Awards and Citations.” Pulitzer.org. Pulitzer, n.d. Web. 12
June 2010.
Wong, Julie. “Ray Bradbury Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.” Office of Mayor James Hahn. 1
April 2002. Web. 14 June 2010.