1. Fahrenheit 451 by
Ray Bradbury

2. Ray Bradbury
Born 1920
1942 published in Weird Tales, a famous pulp science-fiction magazine
Writer for Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone
1950 The Martian Chronicles is published establishing Bradbury as a science fiction icon

3. Fahrenheit 451 Background
Published during the McCarthy Era, when free expression of ideas could lead to jail or social black listing
The novel reflects Bradbury's concerns about censorship and conformity

4. Fahrenheit 451 Background, Con’t:
Fahrenheit 451 portrays a dystopian future for civilization
Draws on many of the same themes as George Orwell’s 1984
Is Bradbury’s most popular and well known work

5. Overview
Guy Montag is a fireman, but not in the sense we know fireman
Montag’s job is to burn books and set fires instead of putting them in out
In this bleak future people drive fast, watch endless amounts of TV and have radios attached to their ears

6. Overview
In this society people do not read books, go outside for fun or have any thoughts or discussions that require thought
Books are thought to be material that alienates and offends. In order to not make anybody feel inferior all books that are found are immediately destroyed
Montag realizes that his life is an empty shell devoid of any substance

7. Overview
He becomes dissatisfied with his job and search for direction in some books he steals from one of his own fires
With the help of a former English professor named Faber, Montag sets out to change a society that has forgotten how to think for itself and enjoys unquestioning ignorance

8. Literary Focus
Date of Publication
Structure
Genre
Setting (time)
Setting (place
1953
Science Fiction
Bradbury has structure Fahrenheit 451 into three parts which parallel the stages of Montag's transformation
Future; 21st Century
Dystopian Future Version of United States

9. Point of View
Protagonist
Antagonist
Irony
Third-Person Limited Omniscient
Montag
Beatty, Wife and Friends, Society
Beatty, Montag’s boss, seemingly hate books, but through admonishments of Montag reveals he is extremely well-read

10. Literary Focus
Themes and Conflicts
Knowledge Giving Way to Ignorance
Consequences of Passivity
The Value of Education
The Importance of Discussion
Responsibility and Consequences
Alienation and Loneliness
Change and Transformation

11. Literary Focus, Con’t:
Symbols
The Phoenix
Montag’s Hands
Symbolize the human ability to rise up out of the ashes and learn from past failures
Symbolic of his rebellious nature; he often blames his hands for actions society would condemn

12. Represents the dangers of technology unchecked.
Literary Focus, Con’t:
Symbolism
451 Degrees and Fire
Salamander
Mechanical Hound
At 451 degrees Fahrenheit, paper will burn. Fire is symbolic of the destruction of both books and the freedom of thought that books represent.
Representative of the dystopian society from which Montag escapes, the salamander represents the destructive uses of fire
Represents the dangers of technology unchecked.

13. Programmed to repress his own thoughts and feelings
Characters
Guy Montag
3rd Generation Fireman
Programmed to repress his own thoughts and feelings
Wants desperately to break free from society and think for himself
Tries to challenge himself to make a change in society

14. Beatty
The captain of Montag’s fire department. Beatty is extremely well-read, but he hates books and people who insist on reading them.
Cunning, devious and very perceptive

15. Mildred Montag
Brittle, sickly
Watches television non-stop
Will not share her thoughts and feelings with her husband
Tries to kill herself, but will not admit it

16. Mildred’s Friends
Lead miserable lives
Disconnected from other people
All married more than once
Representative of the ordinary person in this bleak world

17. Professor Faber
Retired English professor
Longs for the return of books and even has many words from books memorized
Realizes it is the weakness of the educated to not stand up and challenge the ignorant that led to the burning of books