LA302 – Modern World Studies: Allusions Enhancing Fahrenheit 451
While reading Fahrenheit 451, you will give a brief presentation (informal) to the class to help your peers better understand the
allusions that appear in the novel. On your presentation date, you will be responsible for sharing with the class:
- The context in which your allusion appears in the novel
- A brief (one to two sentence summary) of what/who your allusion is about
- An explanation of how your allusion enhances the novel (aka: what is gained from the allusion, is the allusion ironic, etc.)
- The credible source of your information/research
FOR EXAMPLE, a quote stated by Juan Ramón Jiménez appears at the very beginning of the novel. I would share that this quotation
serves as the epigraph of the book (content). I’d explain that Jiménez was a Spanish poet who lived from 1881 to 1958 and oftentimes
wrote to encourage non-conformist behavior during the Spanish Civil War (summary). Finally, I’d state that this allusion enhances
the novel by setting up the idea that rebellion is sometimes needed (enhancement), and I’d share that I found my information in
Webster’s Dictionary (source).
Monday, January 30th
p. 50: Swift, Jonathan
p. 50: Marcus Aurelius
p. 55: Hamlet
p. 59: “People want to be happy” (The Pursuit of Happiness)
p. 68: “It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times…” Jonathan Swift’s Gullivers Travels
Tuesday, January 31st
p. 75: “His name was Faber” (Peter Faber 1506-45)
p. 76: Plato
p. 76: Thoreau, Henry David
p. 76: Jefferson, Thomas
p. 78-79: “Consider the lilies of the field” - St. Luke, 12:27 and St. Matthew, 6:28
Wednesday, February 1st
p. 83: Hercules and Antaeus
p. 86: "Remember Caesar, thou art mortal" – Life/Death of Julius Caesar
p. 87: John Milton
p. 93: The Book of Job (Bible)
Thursday, February 2nd
p. 97: Winston (Winston Churchill)
p. 99: “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold
p. 105: “We're all sheep who have strayed at times” - Isaiah, 53:6:
p. 106: Pierian, Greece (*muses)
p. 106: “The Devil can cite Scripture…” - William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
p. 107: “A kind of excellent dumb discourse” - William Shakespeare, The Tempest
Tuesday, February 7th
p. 147: “My name's Granger” - the word "grange"
p. 151: Plato's Republic
p. 151: Mahatma Gandhi
p. 152: Tom Paine (Payne)
p. 152: Machiavelli, Niccolò
p. 153: Thoreau's Walden: Life in the Woods
Wednesday, Feburary 8th
p. 154: Magna Charta
p. 158: "... disintegrate, leave no stone on another" - St. Luke, 21:6 or St. Mark, 13:2
p. 165: “To everything there is a season…” - Ecclesiastes, 3:1,3 and 7
p. 165: “And on the other side of the river there was a tree of life…” – Revelations 22:2
Fahrenheit 451 Allusion Presentation
Name: _____________________________________________Per.________
Topic: _____________________________________________
Page number______________
 Context: Read aloud the sentence in the book where the topic appears and summarize the relevant plot in that
section. 5 points
 Summary: Where does the allusion come from and what does it mean? Use quotes if directly relaying the
source text. 5 points
 Enhancement: Connect the meaning of the allusion back to the story. (This allusion is used here because it
shows…) 5 points
 Source: Write the MLA citation for the academic source you used to learn about the allusion. You may use a
primary source, such as a teacher or parent. Cite primary sources as a “personal interview.” You may not use
Wikipedia, Enotes, Sparknotes, Ask.com, About.com, or a blog, etc. Be cautious of dictionaries – they may not
provide enough detail to help you make the connection. 5 points