• Ray Bradbury
• Born 1920
• 1942 published in
Weird Tales, a
famous pulp sciencefiction magazine
• Writer for Alfred
Hitchcock Presents
and The Twilight
Zone
• 1950 The Martian
Chronicles is
published establishing
Bradbury as a
science fiction icon
• 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 • 1953
– Structure
• Science Fiction
– Genre
• Bradbury has structure
Fahrenheit 451 into three
parts which parallel the
stages of Montag's
transformation
– Setting (time)
• Future; 21st Century
– Setting (place
• Dystopian Future Version
of United States
– Point of View
• Third-Person Limited
Omniscient
– Protagonist
• Montag
– Antagonist
• Beatty, Wife and Friends,
Society
– Irony
• 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:• At 451 degrees
– Symbolism
Fahrenheit, paper will
• 451 Degrees and Fire burn. Fire is symbolic of
the destruction of both
books and the freedom of
thought that books
represent.
– Salamander
– Mechanical Hound
• 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