FAHRENHEIT 451 Fahrenheit 451 is a social criticism
- Slides: 20
FAHRENHEIT 451
Fahrenheit 451 is a social criticism that warns against the danger of suppressing thought through censorship and media. Developed in the years immediately following WWII, Fahrenheit 451 condemns not only the anti-intellectualism of Nazi Germany, but more immediately America in the early 1950 s – the heyday of Mc. Carthyism
1950 s The era following WWII in the United States was know for its productivity, its affluence, and its social conformity The economy was strong The technology of tv, air travel, and the transistor brought the future to the forefront The neighborhood Montag lives in probably looks like Levittown
Levittown (New York was the 1 st one) Conformity
Conformity Here is an example of the type of ‘ 50 s conformity propaganda that was prevalent at the time https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=JDz. Ni. Vs KWIs https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=XEtaa. W 3 UFZA Why was this done?
Major science fiction books of the 50 s: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury The Illustrated Man by Bradbury The Currents of Space by Asimov Lord of the Flies by William Golding Solar Lottery by Philip K. Dick
Although the 50 s are remembered as a decade of peace and prosperity, they were anything but The Korean War, which ended in the year that Fahrenheit 451 was published, (1953) saw tens of thousands of American deaths The Cold War was a lingering anxiety People worried that the world could be destroyed with the push of a button
Censorship at this time was alive and well Communists were assailed in the press Comic books were condemned as subversive by parents and educators This was a time of atomic tests, racial segregation, government censorship, and growing angst 1946 – 7, 000 television sets in US 1950 – 50, 000 – big on traditional American values
PROGRESS THROUGH SCIENCE 1951 – 1 st IBM mainframe computer 1952 – Hydrogen bomb test 1953 – DNA structure discovered 1954 – Salk vaccine tested for polio 1957 – 1 st commercial U. S. Nuclear Power Plant 1957 – Russians launch Sputnik I 1958 – NASA was created
Atomic testing: 1946 -1962 – US exploded 217 nuclear weapons over the Pacific and in Nevada Created the “duck and cover generation”
Ray Bradbury Born August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, IL Starting writing Fahrenheit 451 in 1950. The first, shorter draft was called “The Fireman”. He finished the final version in 1953
Themes Censorship Knowledge vs. Ignorance Technology Identity Conformity vs. Individuality
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT How is knowledge power? How do we benefit from ideas and learning different points of view?
Why would those in control of a society want to suppress knowledge?
Why are ideas dangerous? What ideas historically have been dangerous?
How do books represent us (mankind)?
List 3 reasons if you had power over people why their literacy could threaten your power
Is there an idea you would be willing to die for? Explain why.
If you were going to write a book, what would it contain? What things do you think are important for the world to know?
If all books in the world were going to be burned tomorrow and you could only save one, which would it be and why?
- Literary criticism fahrenheit 451
- Bible verses about constructive criticism
- What is constructive criticism
- Similarities between new criticism and formalism
- Descriptive criticism vs prescriptive criticism
- Mechanical hound quotes
- Allegory of the cave fahrenheit 451
- Guy montag character traits
- Symbols in fahrenheit 451
- How was beatty given montag hints
- Fahrenheit 451 pre reading activities
- Ethos pathos logos in fahrenheit 451
- Fahrenheit 451 journal prompts
- Ignorance is bliss
- What is the genre of fahrenheit 451
- Themes of fahrenheit 451
- Technology in fahrenheit 451
- Kerosene definition fahrenheit 451
- Theme of fahrenheit 451
- What symbolic number is engraved on montag's helmet?
- Salamander in fahrenheit 451