Allusions in Fahrenheit 451
An allusion is a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art. Ray
Bradbury is a master of allusions. To illustrate the themes in Fahrenheit 451 and make his case not
only for knowledge but also against censorship and ignorance, he relies on allusions. For students of
literature, recognizing the allusion is not sufficient. To uncover the indirect meanings and appreciate
the craft of writing, you need to be able to recognize the allusion’s original source and context and
explain why the author chose to use it.
The allusions will be split up between the classes and then be analyzed.
Each class will consist of 5 groups. Each group will need a group leader. That leader will be
responsible to maintaining the group’s Google document and sharing the information on the class
wiki. Each group will have to divide up the work amongst itself.
3rd hour: Part 1: 1-8, Part 2
Group 1= Part 1 1-8
Group 2= Part 2 1-8
Group 3= Part 2 9-16
Group 4= Part 2 17-24
Group 5= Part 2 25-34
5th hour: Part 1: 9-16, Part 3
Group 1= Part 1 9-16
Group 2= Part 3 1-7
Group 3= Part 3 8-14
Group 4= Part 3 15-21
Group 5= Part 3 22-30
All the allusions will be explained and compiled on the class wiki. Please organize your findings for
each in the following format in a Google document, then by Tuesday they’ll be copied to the
website.
Allusion: Name, book, quote
Category (Biblical, Historical, Literary, Mythological):
Quote from Fahrenheit 451 (quote the original passage containing the allusion and cite its page
number):
Original Source or Context (Research the allusion. Explain or summarize the information. Make
note of the source, author, and time period. Include any contextual information necessary for the
understanding of the allusion.):
Links: Include any website links that include the original source (allusion’s source) or are helpful in
describing the allusion. (these can be videos or images as well)
Effect/Insight (Explain the effect of the allusion on the passage/novel and the insight the reader
gains in understanding the context of the allusion. Consider Bradbury’s purpose in choosing the
allusion. Is it effective?
Allusions in Fahrenheit 451
Part 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Juan Ramón Jiménez
Millay, Edna St. Vincent
Whitman, Walt
Faulkner, William
Phoenix
Benjamin Franklin
"Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall
this day light such a candle, by God's
grace, in England, as I trust shall never
be put out."
8. Tower of Babel
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Part 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Dante, Alighieri
Swift, Jonathan
Marcus Aurelius
Civil War
Constitution
Little Black Sambo
Uncle Tom's Cabin
“It is computed that eleven thousand
persons have at several times suffered
death rather than submit to break
their eggs at the smaller end”
“That favourite subject, Myself”
Plato
Shakespeare, William
Jefferson, Thomas
Thoreau, Henry David
“Consider the lilies of the field ...”
Hercules
Caesar, Gaius Julius
"Remember Caesar, thou art mortal"
Pirandello, Luigi
Shaw, George Bernard
John Milton
Sophocles
Aeschylus
O'Neill, Eugene
The Book of Job
…” their Cheshire cat smiles…”
Dover Beach
“All isn't well with the world”
“Who are a little wise, the best fools
be”
21. Ruth
22. “We're all sheep who have strayed at
times”
23. “Words are like leaves and where they
most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely
found”
24. “A little learning is a dangerous thing
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian
spring”
25. Pierian
26. “He is no wise man that will quit a
certainty for an uncertainty”
27. “Truth will come to light, murder will
not be hid long”
28. “Oh God, he speaks only of his
horse”
29. “The Devil can cite Scripture for his
Purpose”
30. “This age thinks better of a gilded
fool,
than of a threadbare saint in wisdom's
school”
31. “The dignity of truth is lost with much
protesting”
32. “Knowledge is power”
33. “A kind of excellent dumb discourse”
34. “All's well that is well in the end”
Part 3
1. Burning bright
2. “Old Montag wanted to fly near the
Sun and ... he's burned his wings”
3. “You think you can walk on water”
4. “There is no terror, Cassius, in your
threats”
5. Keystone Comedy
6. Thomas Hardy
7. U. C. L. A
8. Ortega y Gasset, José
9. Columbia University
10. Ecclesiastes
11. Revelation
12. Plato's Republic
13. Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels
14. Charles Darwin
15. Schopenhauer, Arthur
Allusions in Fahrenheit 451
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
Einstein, Albert
Albert Schweitzer
Aristophanes
Mahatma Gandhi
Gautama Buddha
Confucius
Thomas Love Peacock
Mr. Lincoln
Byron, George Gordon Noel Lord
Tom Paine (Payne)
Machiavelli, Niccolò
27. Thoreau's Walden or Life in the
Woods
28. Magna Charta
29. “To everything there is a season. Yes.
A time to break down, and a time to
build up. A time to keep silence and a
time to speak”
30. “And on either side of the river was
there a tree of life ... And the leaves of
the tree were for the healing of the
nations”