Introduction to Fahrenheit 451

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Introduction to Fahrenheit 451

• Ray Bradbury

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DYSTOPIA

• The future through the eyes of fiction writers

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What is a dystopia?

• Dys difficult, bad
• Topia place
• In practical terms, a dystopia is a vision of the
  future that is bleak or dismal. It is also
  usually a cautionary tale, a story that warns us
  what could happen if certain trends continue.

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Dystopian vs. Utopian Lit.

• Utopian literature describes an ideal imaginary
  world. The term comes from Thomas Mores Latin
  work Utopia, written in 1516.
• Dystopian literature paints the opposite of the
  ideal world, a place that is highly unpleasant.

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What should be private and what should be public?

• One of the central questions of most dystopias is
  how much power a government should have on its
  citizens, and on what results when people in
  power abuse it or when the government becomes too
  powerful.

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Some of the most famous dystopias

• 1984 - George Orwells grim vision of Big Brother
  and ultimate government control.
• Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradburys vision of a world
  where books and ideas are dangerous, and firemen
  burn books instead of putting out fires.
• Brave New World - Aldous Huxleys vision of a
  world where genetics are manipulated and all
  people stay within their own class. The
  government is your parent!
• A Clockwork Orange - Stanley Kubricks film about
  the ultimate acceptance of violence in a society.
• The Island - a film where clones are farmed as
  spare parts for
• real citizens.
• V for Vendetta - a film where the government has
  suppressed all dissent and controls all aspects
  of peoples lives.

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Common elements

• Over-controlling government
• A specific group that is outcast or oppressed
• At least one individual who questions the system
• An eventual attempt to revolt or overthrow the
  government

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What happens when government has no checks and
balances? When one person has all the power?
When rights are taken away for the purpose of
serving the greater good ?
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Historical Context

• Written in the 1950s
• World War II (1939-1945) had just ended the US
  had dropped the first atomic bombs on the
  Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Bradbury was influenced by the book burnings of
  the Nazi regime in Germany during the 1930s
• Political repression and dictatorship in Soviet
  Union and fascist Spain even after World War II
  when books were banned and intellectuals
  persecuted.

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• By 1949, communism had spread to Eastern Europe
  and China
• After World War II, Europe US versus Soviet
  Union in COLD WAR. The threat of nuclear war
  increased.
• By mid-1950s, nearly 60 of Americans were
  members of the middle class
• More to buy.
• Consumerism Success

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• The electronics industry became the 5th largest
  industry. Television had a widespread impact in
  American homes
• The US became an automobile culture in the
  1950s.
• The increase in prosperity after the war led to
  an increased passivity and conformity. Jobs were
  plentiful and the common adage of the time period
  was follow orders, you will succeed. (ie.
  Montag at beginning).

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• Published during McCarthyism era
• Sen. Joseph McCarthys hearings which
  investigated spread of communism through
  government infiltrators led to an atmosphere of
  fear and distrust in the US.
• In the early years of filmmaking, censorship was
  allowed on the grounds that movies were
  entertainment and not an expression of free
  speech.
• Sen. McCarthys hearings into the political
  background of artists led to the blackballing
  of several prominent Hollywood writers during the
  1950s

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• In an essay in 1953, Bradbury commented
• Some nights, when the wind is right, the future
  smells of kerosene.

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• In 1979, Bradbury discovered that his editors
  had censored language in 75 separate sections of
  Fahrenheit 451 without his knowledge or consent.
• Students, reading the novel which, after all,
  deals with censorship and book-burning in the
  future, wrote to tell me of this exquisite irony.

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Now that youve seen Future Fright, write a
150-word paragraph response to the movie.
Discuss any thoughts or feelings it brings up,
and also consider how it may relate to any
current events that you are aware of.