Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury

The act of writing is, for me, like a fever -- something I must do. And it seems I always have some new fever developing, some new love to follow and bring to life.

Ray Bradbury  Born August 22, 1920, Illinois  LA high school-- “student of life”  Dark Carnival--1947

Ray Bradbury  Published more than 500 works The Martian Chronicles The Illustrated Man Fahrenheit 451 Something Wicked This Way Comes

“The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is very much the same as it was when I was twelve. In any event, here I am, eighty years old, feeling no different, full of a great sense of joy, and glad for the long life that has been allowed me. I have good plans for the next ten or twenty years, and I hope you’ll come along.”

F451  Bradbury’s masterpiece  Set in a future world where written words are prohibited  Attack on censorship

F451--Background  Fahrenheit 451--the temperature at which books burn  Written in the 1950’s  Based future life on life as he knew it= visionary  Futuristic novel, but has similarities to our society Look for similarities as you read

F451--Characters

F451--Structure  Each chapter has a title that represents the theme for that chapter 1: The Hearth and the Salamander 2: The Sieve and the Sand 3: Burning Bright

F451--Themes (The idea or insight about life that a writer wants to share with a reader)  Life goes by quickly, too fast to enjoy it  Thinking for yourself is powerful  The importance of books  Only having fun can be unhealthy  There is hope for society

F451--Literary Elements  Metaphor Bradbury often compares two unlike things: the suicide pump=snake  Simile When Mildred tries to kill herself: “Her face was like a snow-covered island” Function: to give the reader a mental picture

F451--Literary Elements  Dynamic Character A character that changes and develops Montag Who helps change Montag?  Tone The attitude or feeling in a work Confusing or disjointed scenes?  Montag is confused or disjointed as well!

“If they give you ruled paper, write the other way” Don’t be a Mildred!