Fahrenheit 451

1
Fahrenheit 451
2
Themes

• IDENTITY
• Living divided lives (or split personalities)
• trying to be what were not to please others or
  fit into society
• A lack of self-awareness
• What constitutes happiness (quality of life)?
• Primary symbols Montags hands, warplanes
  splitting his head in two, Mildreds
  crypto-suicide attempt
• CENSORSHIP
• Suppression of ideas
• Government dishonesty
• Eliminating free protest
• Primary symbols burning books
• DUMBING DOWN/SPEEDING UP of culture
• Decreased literacy
• Increased audio-visual stimulation
• Less time spent on family, nature more time
  spent on isolating activities and technology
• Cultural brainwashing (advertisements)
• Primary symbols illicit books, Denhams
  Dentrifice ad, speed minimums

3
Futurism

• futurism
• 1. A belief that the meaning of life and one's
  personal fulfillment lie in the future and not in
  the present or past.
• 2. Expression of a vision of the future and its
  innovations.

4
Allegory

• A symbolical narrative composed of characters,
  settings, and events that metaphorically
  represent other, often abstract, ideas.
• In other words, A story that has deeper or more
  general meaning in addition to its surface
  meaning.
• For example, in The Pilgrim's Progress, by John
  Bunyan, a character named Christian struggles to
  escape from a bog...The story of his difficulty
  is a symbol of the difficulty of leading a good
  life in the bog of this world. The bog is a
  metaphor or symbol of life's hardships and
  distractions. Similarly, when Christian loses a
  heavy pack that he has been carrying on his back,
  this symbolizes his freedom from the weight of
  sin that he has been carrying.

"allegory." The American Heritage New Dictionary
of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton
Mifflin Company, 2005. 08 Mar. 2007.
ltDictionary.com http//dictionary.reference.com/br
owse/allegorygt.
5
Science Fiction

• A narrative that takes a scientific hypothesis
  and then presents a vision of what life would be
  like if the hypothesis were true. This use of
  scientific imaginationthough often
  futuristicallows readers better to understand
  contemporary life.
• Though science fiction is usually set in the
  future, it may also (or additionally) be set in
  outer space, or other dimensions in time or space.

6
Science Fiction

• A science fiction story must be set against a
  society significantly different from our own --
  usually, but not necessarily, because of some
  change in the level of science and technology --
  or it is not a science fiction story.
• Isaac Asimov

7
Common Elements of Science Fiction

• Science fiction writers see the future as a
  result of the present
• The technology of the future is predicted
• There may be aliens involved, but the human
  struggle is ever-present.
• Future societies are portrayed on earth with
  humans struggling with a changed earth

8
St. Thomas Mores Utopia (1516)
http//www.nypl.org/utopia/I_other_1.html
9
Mores Utopia

• Communist city-state, with equality for all
  citizens
• No poverty
• Tolerance of all religions but atheism
• Institutions governed by reason, social harmony,
  and coherence
• Peaceful but prepared to defend itself, if only
  by hiring mercenaries from neighboring lands
• The Cost
• Individual Freedom
• The right to protest

10
Utopia The Best of All Possible Worlds?

• Definition of "utopia" (literally nowhere) Gk.
  ou 'no' topos 'place'
• Webster's Dictionary 1 an imaginary and
  indefinitely remote place 2 a place of ideal
  perfection esp. in laws, government, and social
  conditions 3 an impractical scheme for social
  improvement.

11
Dystopia

• dystopia
• 1. an imaginary place where people lead
  dehumanized and often fearful lives
• (Merriam Webster)

12
Utopia Dystopia

• What would you consider to be a utopian society?
• What are the ideals (e.g., freedom,
  responsibility, justice, community, etc.) that
  should be honored in a utopian society?
• How or why do you think the concept of utopia has
  changed over time or varies between different
  cultures?
• Can a utopian society ever be achieved? At what
  cost would it be worth attaining?
• What is the purpose of fostering and maintaining
  a dystopian society?

13
First Amendment

• The Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution was
  ratified on December 15, 1791
• CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW RESPECTING AN
  ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION, OR PROHIBITING THE
  FREE EXERCISE THEREOF OR ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM
  OF SPEECH, OR OF THE PRESS OR THE RIGHT OF THE
  PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, AND TO PETITION THE
  GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES.
• Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation
  must begin by subduing the freeness of
  speech.Benjamin Franklin

14
Censorship

• Intellectual Freedom is the right of every
  individual to both seek and receive information
  from all points of view without restriction. It
  provides for free access to all expressions of
  ideas through which any and all sides of a
  question, cause or movement may be explored.
  Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to
  hold, receive and disseminate ideas.
• Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q A

15

• A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict
  materials, based upon the objections of a person
  or group.
• A banning is the removal of those
• materials.
• Challenges do not simply involve a person
  expressing a point of view rather, they are an
  attempt to remove material from the curriculum or
  library, thereby restricting the access of
  others.

16
Banned Books

• Its not just the books under fire now that
  worry me. It is the books that will never be
  written. The books that will never be read. And
  all due to the fear of censorship. As always,
  young readers will be the real losers. Judy
  Blume

17
Who Challenges Books?

• Put simply, those who do not truly value
  intellectual freedom. They seek to suppress
  ideas that conflict with their own beliefs.

18
Between 1990 and 2000, of the 6,364 challenges
reported to or recorded by the Office for
Intellectual Freedom

• 1,607 were challenges to sexually explicit
  material
• 1,427 to material considered to use offensive
  language 1,256 to material considered unsuited
  to age group
• 842 to material with an occult theme or
  promoting the occult or Satanism,
• 737 to material considered to be violent
• 515 to material with a homosexual theme or
  promoting homosexuality
• 419 to material promoting a religious viewpoint.

19
The Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of
2010

• And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and
  Justin Richardson Reasons homosexuality,
  religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,
  by Sherman Alexie Reasons offensive language,
  racism, sex education, sexually explicit,
  unsuited to age group, and violence
• Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley Reasons
  insensitivity, offensive language, racism, and
  sexually explicit
• Crank, by Ellen Hopkins Reasons drugs,
  offensive language, and sexually explicit
• The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins Reasons
  sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and
  violence
• Lush, by Natasha Friend Reasons drugs,
  offensive language, sexually explicit, and
  unsuited to age group
• What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
  Reasons sexism, sexually explicit, and unsuited
  to age group
• Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich Reasons
  drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political
  viewpoint, and religious viewpoint
• Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
  Reasons  homosexuality and sexually explicit
• Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer Reasons religious
  viewpoint and violence

20
The Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of
the 2000s

• 2009 1) ttyl ttfn l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren
  Myracle 2) And Tango Makes Three, by Peter
  Parnell and Justin Richardson 3) The Perks of
  Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky 4) To
  Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee 5) Twilight
  (series) by Stephenie Meyer 6) Catcher in the
  Rye, by J.D. Salinger 7) My Sisters Keeper, by
  Jodi Picoult 8) The Earth, My Butt, and Other
  Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler 9) The
  Color Purple, by Alice Walker 10) The Chocolate
  War, by Robert Cormier
•    2008 1) And Tango Makes Three, by Justin
  Richardson and Peter Parnell 2) His Dark
  Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman 3) ttyl
  ttfn l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle 4)
  Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz 5)
  Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya 6) The Perks
  of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky 7)
  Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar 8)
  Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen 9)
  The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini 10)
  Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
•    2007 1) And Tango Makes Three, by Justin
  Richardson and Peter Parnell 2) The Chocolate
  War, by Robert Cormier 3) Olives Ocean, by
  Kevin Henkes 4) The Golden Compass, by Philip
  Pullman 5) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,
  by Mark Twain 6) The Color Purple, by Alice
  Walker 7) ttyl, by Lauren Myracle 8) I Know Why
  the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou 9) Its
  Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris 10) The Perks
  of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
•    2006 1) And Tango Makes Three, by Justin
  Richardson and Peter Parnell 2) Gossip Girl
  (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar 3) Alice
  (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 4) The
  Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by
  Carolyn Mackler 5) The Bluest Eye, by Toni
  Morrison 6) Scary Stories (series), by Alvin
  Schwartz 7) Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
  8) The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen
  Chbosky 9) Beloved, by Toni Morrison 10) The
  Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
•    

21
The Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of
the 2000s

• 2006 1) And Tango Makes Three, by Justin
  Richardson and Peter Parnell 2) Gossip Girl
  (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar 3) Alice
  (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 4) The
  Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by
  Carolyn Mackler 5) The Bluest Eye, by Toni
  Morrison 6) Scary Stories (series), by Alvin
  Schwartz 7) Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
  8) The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen
  Chbosky 9) Beloved, by Toni Morrison 10) The
  Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
•    2005 1) Its Perfectly Normal Changing
  Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, by
  Robie H. Harris 2) Forever, by Judy Blume 3)
  The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger 4) The
  Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier 5) Whale Talk,
  by Chris Crutcher 6) Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn
  Reynolds 7) What My Mother Doesnt Know, by
  Sonya Sones 8) Captain Underpants (series), by
  Dav Pilkey 9) Crazy Lady!, by Jane Leslie Conly
  10) Its So Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm,
  Birth, Babies, and Families, by Robie H. Harris
•    2004 1) The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
  2) Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Meyers 3)
  Arming America The Origins of a National Gun
  Culture, by Michael A. Bellesiles 4) Captain
  Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey 5) The Perks
  of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky 6)
  What My Mother Doesnt Know, by Sonya Sones 7)
  In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak 8) King
  King, by Linda deHaan 9) I Know Why the Caged
  Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou 10) Of Mice and Men,
  by John Steinbeck 
•    

22
The Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of
the 2000s

• 2003 1) Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds
  Naylor 2) Harry Potter (series), by J.K.
  Rowling 3) Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
  4) Arming America The Origins of a National Gun
  Culture, by Michael Bellesiles 5) Fallen Angels,
  by Walter Dean Myers 6) Go Ask Alice, by
  Anonymous 7) Its Perfectly Normal, by Robie
  Harris 8) We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
  9) King King, by Linda de Haan 10) Bridge to
  Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
•    2002 1) Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling 2)
  Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 3)
  The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier 4) I Know
  Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou 5)
  Taming the Star Runner, by S.E. Hinton 6)
  Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey 7) The
  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain 8)
  Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson 9)
  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D.
  Taylor 10) Julie of the Wolves, by Jean
  Craighead George 
•    2001 1) Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling 2) Of
  Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck 3) The Chocolate
  War, by Robert Cormier 4) I Know Why the Caged
  Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou 5) Summer of My
  German Soldier, by Bette Greene 6) The Catcher
  in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger 7) Alice (series),
  by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 8) Go Ask Alice, by
  Anonymous 9) Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean
  Myers 10) Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis
  Klause
•    

23
The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of
19902000

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier
    and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna

24
The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of
19902000

1. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
3. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
4. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
5. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
6. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
7. The Witches by Roald Dahl
8. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
9. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
10. The Goats by Brock Cole
11. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
12. Blubber by Judy Blume
13. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
14. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
15. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
16. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
17. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
18. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
19. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

25
The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of
19902000

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. Beloved by Toni Morrison
3. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
4. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
5. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
6. Deenie by Judy Blume
7. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
8. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
9. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
10. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin
    Schwartz
11. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
12. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
13. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne
    Rice)
14. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
15. Cujo by Stephen King
16. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
17. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
18. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
19. Ordinary People by Judith Guest

26
The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of
19902000

• What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys A
  Growing-Up Guide for Parents Sons by Lynda
  Madaras
• Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy
  Blume
• Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
• Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
• Fade by Robert Cormier
• Guess What? by Mem Fox
• The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
• The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• Native Son by Richard Wright
• Women on Top How Real Life Has Changed Women's
  Fantasies by Nancy Friday
• Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
• Jack by A.M. Homes
• Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
• Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
• Carrie by Stephen King
• Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
• On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer