Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury
Conflicts
• An external conflict between Montag,
who rejects book burning, and the fire
captain, who defends it
• Montag’s internal conflict between
accepting the new world—one of violence
and conformity—and wanting to return
to the way things were in the past—
gentler, with room for different ideas
Bradbury’s Satire
• Satire: The use of irony/sarcasm/ridicule
to criticize faults
• Some societal faults Bradbury satirizes
in F451:
– Technology
– Mass media
– Organized sports
– High-speed automobiles
Other important terms
• Dystopia: an imaginary place or state in
which the condition of life is extremely
bad, as from oppression and/or terror.
• Censorship: the suppression of what is
thought to be dangerous or offensive.
Symbols
• The numbers 451: the temperature at
which paper will burn
• Fire: seen as a destructive force in the
beginning and a way to be warm in the
end.
• The mechanical hound: symbolizes
destructive technology that is not easily
destroyed. Demonstrates why people are
better than machines to Bradbury
• The salamander: represents the
destructive forces of fire. Mythological
lizard born from the fire. Name of the
fire trucks that carry kerosene not
water.
• The phoenix: in this myth, fire is a
source of renewal/rebirth—mythological
bird burns and rises out of the ashes.
Contrast to the salamander. The symbol
of a Phoenix is used throughout the
novel. uniforms and
Themes
• Life is meaningless in a controlled
society in which everyone is alike and
imagination is repressed
• Technology can isolate people and
inhibit the sharing of thoughts, ideas,
and emotions.
• Without knowledge, a civilization dies or
kills itself
Connection to Plato’s
“Allegory of the Cave”
Plato’s cave
• Prisoners are there since
childhood; it is all they
know
• They can only see
shadows, and the
images are “real” to
them
• The people are chained,
they cannot leave or
move
• Fire is a source of light
behind them, it casts the
shadows
Montag’s cave
• His grandfather and
father were firemen, it is
expected of him.
• His world of burning is
all he knows
• What are his chains?
Mildred, Beatty, and the
media try to hold him
back
• Fire is at 1st a source of
pleasure and
destruction. It casts the
shadows of Montag’s
“happiness.”
If a prisoner is released…
Prisoner is free
He will feel pain.
His eyes will hurt in the light.
He will feel confused.
He will prefer the shadows,
and previous life.
He will eventually adjust.
He will become acustomed
to the fire and light.
He will have an instructor to guide him.
Other prisoners will think he is crazy, and want to harm him.
When Montag is released…
Montag is free
He sweats, has headaches.
He vomits as he thinks of
the woman.
He is very confused at 1st.
"Of course I am happy."
He soon prefers thinking
for himself.
He is curious, seeks
conversations, and interactions.
He has Clarisse and Faber to guide him.
Mildred and Beatty think he is crazy, and want to harm him.
Other important similarities
• Plato refers to the
intense confusion of
the released prisoner
• Plato mentions the
use of reflection
when the prisoner is
outside the cave. He
will see himself and
objects first through
reflection, then he
can see the true
realities.
• Montag spends most
of the novel in a
state of confusion
• Bradbury mentions
mirrors often as a
symbol. Clarisse
reflects Montag’s
reality, then
Granger says they
will build a mirror
factory to rebuild
society.
What is real?
• Plato says reality is that we are
prisoners, and we must seek
enlightenment through searching.
• We should not believe our eyes or the
physical world, because they can be
wrong.
• What does Bradbury say? What is his
message or theme about reality?
Historical Context
• Book burnings of the Nazi regime
• Stalin’s suppression of authors and
books in the Soviet Union
• The consequences of an explosion of a
nuclear weapon (atom bomb)
• Censorship in the McCarthy era
Book Burning
• Adolf Hitler in Germany and Josef
Stalin in the Soviet Union had used
book-burning demonstrations to rally
supporters and intimidate those with
opposing views.
• Authors had been suppressed through
state-directed writers' organizations.
• Persistent writers with challenging
views were thrown into jails or exiled.
Nazi Book Burning
Literary Devices Review!
• “I Remember the newspaper dying like
huge moths.”
• Montag discovers that the house he is
about to burn is his own.
• “Denham’s Dandy Dental Detergent,
Denham’s Dentifrice…”
• Job of firemen in Montag’s society
Study for your test!
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Literary devices
General plot
Symbolism
Characterization
Satire
Themes
Historical connection
Dystopia/censorship
Connections to “Allegory of the Cave”