Fahrenheit 451 Introduction

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What does this film trailer from 1966 tell you about what you can expect when reading Fahrenheit 451?

Video: https://youtu.be/7cQ-yGCyjyM Links to an external site.

• What was the Cold War and arms-race?
  • Known as the Cold War, this conflict began as a struggle for control over the conquered areas of Eastern Europe in the late 1940s and continued into the early 1990s. Initially, only the United States possessed atomic weapons, but in 1949 the Soviet Union exploded an atomic bomb and the arms race began.
• How did a fear of communism lead to censorship and McCarthyism?
  • McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion Links to an external site. and treason Links to an external site., especially when related to communism Links to an external site. and socialism Links to an external site..^{[1] Links to an external site.} The term originally referred to the controversial practices and policies of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy Links to an external site. (R Links to an external site.-Wisconsin), and has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare Links to an external site., lasting from the late 1940s through the 1950s. 
  • Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments, private institutions, and other controlling bodies.
• How did the technology boom of the 40s and 50s impact family and social norms in America?
  • In the 1950s and 1960s, young Americans had more disposable income and enjoyed greater material comfort than their forebears, which allowed them to devote more time and money to leisure activities and the consumption of popular culture.
  • Rock and roll, a new style of music which drew inspiration from African American blues music, embraced themes popular among teenagers, such as young love and rebellion against authority.
  • In the 1950s, the relatively new technology of television began to compete with motion pictures as a major form of popular entertainment.
  • savvy marketers identified the baby boomers as a target demographic and marketed products and entertainment geared to their needs and interests.

Fahrenheit 451 Summary

Montag is a firefighter, but in his society, firefighters set fires, instead of putting them out. Their primary target are books. The community had grown steadily less opinionated, and more obsessed with political correctness. They had begun to find fault with books and had banned them all.

As the story progresses, Montag grows increasingly curious about books, and what they may offer. He becomes particularly intrigued after he encounters a girl, named Clarisse, who opened his eyes to how disturbing the world has become. This is a stark contrast to the behavior of his wife, who regularly chooses to watch TV over interacting with her husband.

Eventually, his curiosity gets the best of him and he begins to read old books which he has saved and hidden. Unable to decipher their meaning, he seeks out a man he once knew, Faber, a retired English professor. Faber can help Montag see the deeper meaning in books and Montag wonders why anyone began to destroy books in the first place.

The novel climaxes when Montag reads a poem to his wife and her friends, who have come over to watch television. The ladies leave disgusted, offended, and are threatening to file a complaint against him. It is his wife though who reports him.

Montag is ordered to burn the books himself. Instead, he kills his chief and the other firemen in order to escape with a few books he has left. He is able to make his way down the river and finds a colony of intellectuals with a love for books. With these people, he hopes to travel to St. Louis where he can speak to a book printer to try and reproduce his books. At the last moment, jets appear overhead and decimate the city. The novel ends with the group searching for survivors in order to rebuild civilization.

Analysis of Theme

CCSS.ELA-LITERATCY.RL.9-10.2 Links to an external site.

Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Character Development and Relationship Between Characters

CCSA.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 Links to an external site.

Analyze how complex characters (e.g. those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Analyze Motifs, Symbolism and Tone

CCSA.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4 Links to an external site.

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g. how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Use Evidence to Support an Analysis

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1 Links to an external site.

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Write a Literary Analysis

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9A Links to an external site.

Apply grades 9-10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare]”).

Compare and Contrast the Novel to Either the 1966 or 2018 Film Adaptation (Optional Consideration)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.7 Links to an external site.

Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).