Fahrenheit 451
Our Review Session
About the Author
Ray Bradbury is one of those rare individuals
whose writing has changed the way people think.
His more than five hundred published works -short stories, novels, plays, screenplays, television
scripts, and verse -- exemplify the American
imagination at its most creative.
What Makes
Science Fiction?
Ponders
Impact of
Technology
Futuristic
and
Possible
Can Deal
with Alien
Life but not
Always
Fahrenheit 451
Major
Characters
Clarisse
Montag
Mildred
Faber
Granger
Beatty
In the beginning…
It was a pleasure to burn.
 Kerosene smells as sweet as perfume
 The slogan is “Monday burn Millay, Wednesday
Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn ‘em to ashes, then
burn the ashes.”
 In fact, Guy Montag has a fiery smile that grips his
face until…
He meets
Clarisse McClellan.
 What type of character is Clarisse?
Direct Characterization
Clarisse says:
“I’m seventeen
and I’m crazy.”
Direct Characterization
The NARRATOR tells us:
Her face was slender and milk-white, and in it was
a kind of gentle hunger that touched over
everything with tireless curiosity. It was a look,
almost, of pale surprise; the dark eyes were so fixed
to the world that no move escaped them. Her dress
was white and it whispered.
Indirect Characterization
Montag says to Clarisse,
“You are an
odd one.”
Montag enters his…
MAUSOLEUM
Errr….
I MEAN
He enters his
drear abode where
he discovers…
MILDRED
What has happened to her? What happens to her? What is “Millie” like?
Clarisse
Versus
Millie
Who
Is More
Typical
in this
Dystopia?
Who Is
Happier?
How
Do they Live?
How
Do they
Die?
Who IS the White Clown?
Let’s talk color symbolism….
Clarisse/white dress/good. Mrs. Black/ash/bad.
WHITE clown? WHY MIGHT I SAY WHITE IS USED HERE?
WHO is Beatty?
Why does he view books so differently from Faber?
According to Beatty…
When does the “trouble” start?
Umm…
WHY does Bradbury allude to THIS war when he has such a big
selection of wars from which to choose???
HOW does burning
books (supposedly) keep
people HAPPY?
What has Montag been hiding in the vent in his house?
WHY????
What EVENT sparks a fire INSIDE
Montag that he can’t put out???
Let’s chat ALLUSIONS.
What ARE they? Why do authors USE them?
American
and World
History
Great
Thinkers
Allusions
Religious
Texts
Ray Bradbury uses allusions to
add meaning to his text.
Canonical
Literature/
Mythology
Part One
“Play the man,
Master
Ridley…”
Part Two
“And why do you worry
about your clothing?
Consider the lilies of the
field and how they
grow…”
Part Three
“Old Montag wanted to
fly near the sun, and
now that he’s burnt his
damn wings, he
wonders why.”
While talking Part 3…
The word “Ecclesiastes” comes from a Hebrew root word that means “assembly” or
“one who gathers.”
When considering the ending of the novel, why does it make sense that Montag will
“become” THIS book?
HMMMMMMmmmmmm……… Etymology can be so INTERESTING.
(Ecclesiastes is located in the Hebrew Bible in Writings and in the Old Testament of the
Christian Bible. It deals with how man should use his time under the sun.)
Also, there’s that little note from Revelations. HMMMMMMmmmmmm….
THEMES
Which character might quote W.B. Yeats to Montag?
How might this quote relate to arching themes in
Fahrenheit 451?:
“Education
is not
filling a bucket
but
lighting a fire.”
According to Faber, what’s MISSING
from Society that’s needed for an
individual to CHANGE it?
 Quality Information
 Leisure time to think about/process that
information
 Freedom to ACT on thoughts
US versus THEM
What’s something that our society has in common
with Montag’s society?
What’s something that is DIFFERENT about our
society when compared to Montag’s society?
Do you think Montag’s society is possible? Why or
why not?
The POINT?
When asking yourself what the THEME of a book is,
you should consider, what is the author’s POINT?
WHY, oh, why, oh, why did
Ray Bradbury write this little tome
when he could have gone fishing
instead?
The Phoenix
Why does Granger talk about a Phoenix?
What does he want to build after war has been buried
in an abyss-like trench?
Why?
Mirrors/Reflections/Egos
“An unexamined life
is not worth living.”
That’s not in the book, but it would
fit, wouldn’t it?
Review…
Your vocab quizzes… any questions you got wrong.
The book itself. Make sure you have read and
understand the text.
Be familiar with the meaning of a couple major
allusions.
Work out for yourself whether or not you think Ray
Bradbury’s fear that students/society will stop
learning how to THINK is coming true.
BRING TO THE TEST
 All vocabulary assignments (etymology worksheet
plus definitions for list one and list two)
 Characterization worksheet
 Comp Questions 1-3 with whatever notes you’ve
taken in class.
QUESTIONS?