fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

What Will The Future Look Like? Clothing in the Year 2000!

Kitchen of the Year 2000

Computer of the Future!

What DOES the Future Look Like?

The Future Is Now!

I. Utopia vs. DystopiaA. Utopia

1. First example is in Plato’s Republic (300 B.C.)a. Ideal world led by “philosopher king” who sees things

for as they truly areb. No private goods, no families, militaristic government

2. Has since become a broader term for an ideal or perfect type of society.

3. The word “utopia” has two contradictory meanings, depending on translation.

a. “Good Place”b. “No Place” Why is this ironically

appropriate?

I. Utopia vs. Dystopia (cont.)

B. Dystopia

1. Translates to “bad” or “difficult” place

2. A type of paradox – dystopias are worlds that in their efforts to become utopian become corrupt or evil

3. Dystopian literature has grown into a popular literary genre, usually science fiction or fantasy

Dystopian Art

And, of course…

II. Ray Bradbury

A. 1920 – 2012

B. Modernist Luddite – fears technology and its effects on society1. On Technology, he said: “We have too many cell phones. We’ve

got too many Internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now.”

C. Self-titled “Christian Positivist Buddhist” – believes in a God and a morality based around love.1. On his religion, he said: “I love you and I forgive you. I am like you

and you are like me. I love all people. I love the world. I love creating. ... Everything in our life should be based on love.”

II. Ray Bradbury (cont.)

D. Bibliophile: lover of books.

1. On literature: “Without libraries, what have we? We have no past and we have no future…You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

E. A type of prophet – Bradbury correctly predicted many technological and cultural changes in America decades before they happened.

1. On his ability to predict the future: “I don’t try to describe the future. I try to prevent it.”

A Few More Quotations: Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine.

The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spent the rest of the day putting the pieces together.

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.

We are the miracle of force and matter making itself over into imagination and will. Incredible. The Life Force experimenting with forms. You for one. Me for another. The Universe has shouted itself alive. We are one of the shouts.

III. Themes in Fahrenheit 451

A. The dangers of censorship1. Written in 1953, Bradbury reflects on the book burning of the nazi

regime 2. As a bibliophile, Bradbury fears a world where knowledge can be

banned

Ironically, Bradbury’s

text was once censored!

III. Themes (cont.)B. Over-abundance of technology causes alienation and

depression

1. Characters made unaware of their own unhappiness

2. Media saturation (the “parlor,” the “seashells”) numbs characters to their own feelings, ambitions, and families

How do characters reveal

their unhappiness, and

how does the dystopian society make them feel

“better?”

IV. ClarisseA. The catalyst for Guy’s conversion – a mysterious,

dreamlike figure

B. Character linked to images of nature – a contrast to images of machinery and technology

C. Her question, “Are you happy?” Most important question of novel.

For Bradbury,

what does it mean to be “Happy?”

V. Fire As A Paradoxical SymbolA. Fire: both a source of destruction and of life.

B. Early in the novel, fire destroys knowledge, promotes ignorance

C. Midway through the novel, fire is a weapon against society

D. By the novel’s conclusion, it is a symbol of warmth and life

E. Guy = Phoenix

The only thing I would hunt at Loyola would be spicy

buff.

Bradbury’s Point Life in the modern era, like literature, is full of contradiction, challenge,

and paradox. We suffer by ignoring this.

He portrays a nightmarish future in order to warn against consequences of current social evils

The author challenges the reader to ask important questions, reflect on the world around them, and be strong enough to act when you know what’s right.

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