Allegory

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Allegory Allusion

• Mrs. Groomer
• English I

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Allusion

• a figure of speech that makes a reference to
  people, places, events, or other things either
  directly or by implication
• a reference to or mention of something meant to
  be understood by the reader, listener, or viewer

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Fahrenheit 451

• Allusion
• Volkswagen Beetle
• Magna Carta
• References to these are made throughout the
  story.

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Allusion Number One

• Volkswagen Beetle

References to the Beetle are made several times
throughout the book.
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Historical Background

• First sold in 1938 by a German company called
  Volkswagen.
• In 1933, Adolf Hitler gave orders to a man named
  Ferdinand Porsche to create a car that would hold
  two adults and three children, and travel up to a
  speed of 100 mph.
• The cars were created to be as simple as
  possible, so there would be less to go wrong.
• They were designed to help the typical European
  family.

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Connections to Fahrenheit 451 Beetles were made
simple.

• The society in Fahrenheit 451 was an extremely
  simple environment that contained very dull
  people.
• No one thought much about anything, and they
  didn't take chances.
• They were all just boring people who did the same
  thing every single day.
• The citizens that lived in this society were
  basically forced to be simple just like the
  Volkswagen Beetle.

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• Allusion Number Two
• Magna Carta

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Historical Background

• It was written in ancient Latin, in the year
  1215.
• A document that challenged King John's (The King
  of England) powers, and secured citizens'
  privileges.
• King John had unfair ruling, and the barons of
  England could not find a way to get themselves a
  new king.
• They decided to write a formal document and force
  the king to sign it.
• This document was the Magna Carta.
• It limited the King's powers, and forced him to
  have fair ruling.

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Connections to Fahrenheit 451

• The Barons of England rebelled against the king
  in order to do what was best for the country.
• They fought for their opinion, and didn't take no
  for an answer.
• The "hobos" in Fahrenheit 451 rebel against the
  government, and do what they think is right by
  preserving literature.
• They think the government is being unfair by
  eliminating reading from their society, so they
  stand up for it.
• They know the truth behind thinking, and they
  know it can benefit their world, so they take a
  chance, and start a revolution.

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Allegory

• A literary device in which characters or events
  represent or symbolize ideas and concepts
• The symbolization can usually be interpreted to
  reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or
  political one

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Fahrenheit 451

• Allegory
• Platos Allegory of the Cave

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PlatosAllegory of the Cave
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Allegory of the Cave

• Socrates describes a group of people who have
  lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their
  lives, facing a blank wall.
• The people watch shadows projected on the wall by
  things passing in front of a fire behind them,
  and begin to attribute forms to these shadows.
• According to Socrates, the shadows are as close
  as the prisoners get to viewing reality.
• He then explains how the philosopher is like a
  prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to
  understand that the shadows on the wall are not
  representative of reality at all, as he can
  recognize the true form of reality rather than
  the mere shadows seen by the prisoners.

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What does Plato mean by all this?

• Plato's main concept of the cave is that people
  view reality by what they can actually see when
  it is really more than that.
• With a fire behind them, the prisoners can only
  see shadows of images, therefore they believe
  this to be reality.
• However, if one of the prisoners was to climb out
  of the cave, he would begin to see the true image
  and not just the shadow of the image.
• Then, if this prisoner was to go back to the
  cave, he would find that it would be impossible
  to conform back to his old world.
• And, if the returning prisoner were to tell the
  other prisoners about the light and that their
  shadows were not real images, they would not
  believe him and would accuse him of trying to
  disrupt their way of life.

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Your Assignment

• Watch the video
  The Allegory of the Cave.
• Answer Questions
• With your group, determine what lesson Plato was
  trying to teach us and how it relates to
  Bradburys Fahrenheit 451.