Background and Pertinent Information

Fahrenheit 451

ContextPublished in 1953

Post-World War II era

Nazi book burnings of the 1930s were widely published after WWII – became a major symbol of the repression in Nazi Germany

ContextTelevision became dominant medium for

mass communication1946: 7,000 TV sets existed in the U.S.1948: 148,000 sets1950: 4.4 million setsTelevision vs. books – debate over bringing

television into schools because reading level of students was dropping

The importance of books and the freedom to read them was a central concern of liberal-minded people during the 1950s.

Context (McCarthyism)McCarthy trials

Senator Joseph McCarthyMcCarthy made a public accusation that more

than two hundred “card-carrying” communists had infiltrated the United States government. Incited a huge “communist scare,” which helped lead to the Korean War and the Cold War.

McCarthy accused many Army officials of espionage and communist ties.

He also focused on writers and filmmakers, creating a great debate on artistic freedom.

Context (McCarthyism)Thousands of people lost their jobs as, all across

America, state legislatures and school boards mimicked McCarthy and his House on Un-American Activities Committee.

Books were even pulled from library shelves, including Robin Hood, which was deemed communist-like for suggesting stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

Above all, several messages became crystal clear to the average American: Don’t criticize the United States. Don’t be different. Just conform.

By 1953, his accusations were at their height. His hearings were held in 1954 and were the first to be publicly broadcast (ruined his reputation and career).

ContextFear of robots and other technology was

prevalent in the 1950s (“mad scientist” movies compounded such fear by portraying machines that turned on their creator).

Mentality of hard work and following orders to get ahead was prevalent at this time.

Atmosphere of fear and repression left over from WWII, development (and use) of atomic bomb, communist scare, the Cold War, and McCarthy made it possible for government or any other powerful group to manipulate public opinion.

ContextMob mentality vs. individual rationalizationSilence of those who were intimidated and the

indifference of those who didn’t can lead to further manipulation in any time period!

“Written five years after the end of the Second World War at the advent of the Korean War, Bradbury’s book evokes an intense atmosphere of entrapment, an oppressive presence of an unavoidable doomsday, and the unmistakable apprehension of individuals living in fear of an authoritarian government.”

TIMELINE OF THE 1950s

1950President Harry Trumanapproves production of thehydrogen bomb.

1951Television first broadcast across the country.

Julius and Ethel Rosenbergare convicted and sentencedto death for passinginformation on atomicweapons to the USSR.

TIMELINE OF THE 1950s

1952Fashion, people and society is very conservative. People are generally respectful of each other, the government, religion and life.

1954The U.S. Supreme Courtwrote in “Brown v. the Boardof Education of Topeka,Kansas” that racialsegregation in schools wasillegal.

TIMELINE OF THE 1950s1954

U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy begins a televised anti-communist witch-hunt. This became known as “McCarthyism”. Basically, the Cold War revolved around the fact that:

The USA was a Democratic country where people could do what they want, become rich and have freedoms.The Soviet Republic (USSR) was Communist, which meant people listened to the government, lived equally and shared resources.

The United States declared Communism countries to be enemies. The US government wanted everyone to think Communists were evil so they spread around hate propaganda.

McCarthy accused random people he didn’t like of being Communists, which basically ruined their lives.

TIMELINE OF THE 1950s1956

Elvis Presley tookthe music world bystorm with five #1songs on theBillboard MusicChart.

Robert Noyce andJack Kilby invent themicrochip.

The first enclosedmall calledSouthdale opened inEdina, Minnesota

1957First British H-bomb exploded atChristmas Island.

First underground nuclear test “Rainier” occurred at the Nevada Test Site.

Britain’s first truly successful thermonuclear bomb test.

The Soviet Union Launches theSputnik, the first artificial satellite.

Censorship“the suppression of speech or deletion of

communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful or sensitive, as determined by a censor”

Fahrenheit 451 is a book about the dangers of censorship. Yet this book itself has been the object of censorship. It has been banned and/or challenged in many places across the United States.

Ironically, Bradbury’s publishers, unknown to him, “cleaned up” or deleted some of the language that Bradbury used in Fahrenheit 451 in order to make the book saleable to the high school market. This edition went on the market in 1967 and was sold for 13 years before a friend brought the changes to Ray Bradbury’s attention. Bradbury demanded the publisher removed the edited version immediately and replace it with the original. The publisher agreed.

OverviewGuy Montag is a fireman who burns books in a futuristic

American city. In Montag’s world, firemen start fires rather than putting them out. The people in this society do not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations. Instead, they drive very fast, watch excessive amounts of television on wall-size sets, and listen to the radio on “Seashell Radio” sets attached to their ears.

Montag will meet a 17-year-old girl named Clarisse McClellan, who will open his eyes to the emptiness of his life by enjoying those things that her society tells her not to.

A series of strange events will unfold for Montag, causing him to question his life, his career, and his society.

Montag will turn to books for answers, which is strictly forbidden in his society.

OverviewProtagonist: Guy MontagAntagonist: Society as a whole and, specifically,

BeattyNarrator: Third person limited from Montag’s

perspectiveSetting: Some time in the twenty-first century;

two atomic wars have taken place since 1990; in and around an unspecified American city

Bradbury’s True Predictions

TV WALLSRay Bradbury explained TV screens that

covered the entire wall. Now a lot of people essentially do have TV walls with projector screens.

Earbud HeadphonesWhen this novel was written huge

headphones were the new cool thing, and no thoughts of changing the size of them to fit in someone’s ear were around, but Bradbury predicted this revolution of headphones. In the novel the main character’s wife always wears the headphones and ignores the life around her much like people do today.

Interactive TV ShowsThroughout the novel Ray Bradbury

describes a large TV on the wall, and it is interactive with the people watching it. 1953 is the year that this novel was written and it also is the year that the first color television came out. Most TV’s at that time didn’t have more than 5 channels yet Bradbury still saw interactive TV shows in the future. Today shows like American Idol ask the audience to vote for their favorite people, making it an interactive show.

RobotsThe mechanical hound is described as a

spider like robot that shoots venom at people which obviously doesn’t exist, but mechanical things with extremely scary capabilities do exist. For example we now have robots that have been created and computers that have crazy intelligence.

Mechanical Hound-

Stomach PumpIn the novel the wife of the main character

over doses on drugs and has to get her stomach pumped by a machine described as a snake that runs down her throat. Now that is almost identical to the modern day stomach pump which did not exist when this novel was written.

Radio TransceiverProbably the most interesting futuristic idea

that Bradbury had was a radio transceiver that fit in a person’s ear. We now have little cell phone type things that clip around our ears called bluetooth headsets much like Bradbury predicted. These devices allow us to talk almost secretly to another person and we still have both hands to complete other tasks. It is unbelievable how Ray Bradbury predicted such an advanced device still to this day.