Literary Analysis Reflection
In Expository Reading & Writing Class, we read the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This book was to be the basis for our CSP project which had to do with analysis. This was because after reading F451 we need to create an essay that had to do with our character or theme. Besides just focusing on the book itself, we also looked into who Ray Bradbury was. While I was researching him I discovered a lot about him. I learned that Bradbury was an American fantasy and horror author most notably known for books such as Fahrenheit 451, Illustrated Man, and The Martian Chronicles. Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel centered around a future American society where critical thought is outlawed and books are burned. Ray was born in Waukegan, Illinois where he lived a relatively peaceful and happy childhood. While many argue that his book F451 was exploring the themes of censorship and conformity, Bradbury argued in 2007 that that was not the central themes of his story. Instead, he stated that his book was criticising how TV causes people to read less. In other words, TV discourages reading and thus critical thought. Even with his apparent distaste of TV, he ironically still advocated film adaptations of his works. In class, we also made posters about Bradbury during class in mini groups and I was in charge of writing the tone he takes in his book. Tone is an author’s attitude towards a subject or audience. My group consisted of
In a world where everything surrounding one is so different and so similar in the exact same time… Imagine a society where everything an individual can mentally and physically do is under the power of the government. Self-difference does not exist. In a futuristic setting of the novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’ written by Ray Bradbury, and the short story ‘Harrison Bergeron’ written by Kurt Vonnegut are both two very eventful and interesting readings that will keep one’s mind running on about the outlook on futuristic life and the governments strict needs and wants throughout a society. These two stories can be compared and contrasted by the strict outlook on the governments control, demand and want over a society, the close relation the two main characters from both stories portray and the similar theme demonstrating loss of individuality.
The average person in our society spends 7-8 hours a day(The Washington Post) using technology; that is stuff like television, video games, surfing the web, etc. Let that set in; that’s a long time. Our society procrastinates also is constantly distracted by technology like no other. We are practically glued to technology; before we become slaves of technology we must change that. The theme of technology in Fahrenheit 451 informs us that the overuse of technology makes people lazy/procrastinate, that technology will overpower people’s lives, and technology takes away from people’s education.
When an author produces a work of literature, they are greatly influenced by the world around them. Inspired by life in society, authors are able to create work that speaks to their observations and views on society and its functions. In the book Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury incorporated the corruption of the society in which he lived in into the dystopian society created in his book. Fahrenheit 451, a fictional book about a protagonist’s attempt to overcome a dystopian society’s corruption, was written by Ray Bradbury while living in 1950’s America. The book focuses on themes of censorship, and illustrates the effects of when a society is controlled and limited. The correlation between the story and the time it was written is
If the birds were chirping, no one would have known as the rumble of engines stuck in the heavy London traffic never seemed to cease. If there weren’t buildings blocking the view of the far off horizon, one standing at the apartment window would see the pinks and oranges that painted the sky with the rising sun. Instead, there was no more than a faint pink glow peeking out above the buildings, fading as it met a blanket of dull grey cloud.
Thomas Jefferson once said, “That government is best which governs least…”. In Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian novel written by Ray Bradbury, the government puts extreme laws in place to “protect” the people. Except, that these laws keep the citizens from knowing the truth. The good laws like speed limit aren’t enforced and the things that shouldn’t matter, like owning a book, are so strongly enforced, that if it is you that is found to own a book, your house will be burnt down. The government keeps everyone in check by censoring the citizens. During the 1950’s, the entire country was in fear of communism. There was a blacklist of authors, actors, and public figures. No one would hire them or buy their work. Bradbury wanted to warn the country of what could happen if it continued being ignorant , and by using pathos, rhetorical questions, and repetition, he effectively conveyed his purpose.
My legs are shaking with pain, but I need to know where I am and what strange things lie outside of that door way. Slowly I am making my way there, I hear people having a conversation just outside. I haven’t a clue what they are saying, it seems to be in some odd language. Finally I’m at the door. Terrified, I grab the knob and start to open it. It squeaks when I swing it open. In the hall I see no one, just white walls with white tile. “What the,” I say to out loud. I could have sworn I heard someone. My eye catches my room number, 387, it has my name on it. I look right and left, but see nothing expect florescent lighting and shut doors. I go to the door across from mine and try to open it. Locked, that’s odd. I try the next one, locked once again. I keep going, now at room 365 I give the knob a turn and it actually comes open. I hesitantly wander into the area. It looks the same as mine, minus the painting on one of the walls. It is an extremely abnormal painting. It depicts an out of the ordinary creature. “Why would this be in a hospital?” I whisper to myself.
Unquestionably, all novels can convey multiple meanings depending on a variety of factors with the most important being the manner in which the audience interprets the author’s words. More importantly, to professionally draw conclusions concerning the message the author demonstrates throughout a text, it is essential to discuss and apply the five literary elements of literature to the text. In greater detail, when a work itself is criticized or evaluated, usually one literary element is focused on to prove an argument pertaining to a novel. To bring the topic into focus, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 possesses many points that could be argued in contradictory ways based upon factual
In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury shows that people cannot be forced to change through his use of irony and symbolism. Instead, true change must come from within one’s self. The society portrayed in the book has a strict societal norm that life should be focused on shallow entertainment rather than the deeper meaning that can be found in books. Bradbury uses this backdrop to illustrate how forcing people to conform with or rebel against the societal norm doesn’t work. His use of irony and symbolism portray this in such a way that helps give the reader a deeper understanding of such a concept.
The world of burning books, talking parlor walls, and speeding cars captivated the readers who read Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451. Through the use of figurative language, Bradbury creates a complex, yet a dull-minded, society where literature and human philosophy are degenerating. Bradbury illustrates this society through the protagonist, Guy Montag, who develops and changes his mentality on his society throughout the novel after realizing the truth behind it. However, Bradbury does not only paint the truth about Montag’s society, but he also conveys a representation of our society through the media of Fahrenheit 451. The media of Fahrenheit 451 displays a rather disillusioned, ‘perfect’ image of how this society portrays itself to be even though it is the opposite.
It has been 3 months since I came to Oahu to help grandpa. Time flew by so quickly, considering that it seems like it was just yesterday when I left you in Maui. I grew 2 inches and became way more tan since I came here; you wouldn’t recognize me if you saw me right now. I miss you terribly and I really hope I go back soon. The work here is tedious, and requires a lot of manual labor. The weather is seems to be a lot more hotter here than in Maui, though. And yesterday, I saw a strange thing happening. In the harbor, a gigantic ship pulled in, and people who were as white as the sand began coming out of it. I wondered what it was, and when I asked grandpa, he said they were here to catch whales. I didn’t want them to, because I didn’t want
The progression of society is dependent upon the free flow of ideas and information, as outlined in the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. At the time Bradbury wrote the novel, the United States government was censoring a fair bit of literature deemed to be offensive or dangerous. The author brought to light the destination towards which the country trod. The novel itself was, at one point, banned, the act of which underlined the extent to which suppression of culture and expression because it makes us uncomfortable slows the advancement of the society as a whole. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury clearly states that the free exchange of ideas is necessary for a societyś progress.
Imagine living in a world where you are not in control of your own thoughts. Imagine living in a world in which all the great thinkers of the past have been blurred from existence. Imagine living in a world where life no longer involves beauty, but instead a controlled system that the government is capable of manipulating. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, such a world is brought to the awareness of the reader through a description of the impacts of censorship and forced conformity on people living in a futuristic society. In this society, all works of literature have become a symbol of unnecessary controversy and are outlawed. Individuality and thought is outlawed. The human mind is
Ray Bradbury 's novel, Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953, depicts a grim and also quite feasible prediction of a futuristic world. In Bradbury 's technology-obsessed society, a clear view of the horrific effects that a fixation for mindlessness would have on a civilization shows through his writing. Being carefree is encouraged while people who think "outside the box" are swiftly and effectively removed. The technology Bradbury 's society is designed to keep the people uninformed, which the vast majority of are happily and voluntarily in their ignorant state. There are many details in this novel that suggest that the future of a society obsessed with advanced technology is not
In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, irony is used to convey information and it contributes to the overall theme of the novel. Written during the era of McCarthyism, Fahrenheit 451 is about a society where books are illegal. This society believes that being intellectual is bad and that a lot of things that are easily accessible today should be censored. The overall message of the book is that censorship is not beneficial to society, and that it could cause great harm to one’s intelligence and social abilities. An analysis of irony in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury shows that this literary technique is effective in contributing to the overall theme of the novel because it gives more than one perspective on how censorship can negatively affect
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a display of how humans are relying more and more on technology for entertainment at the price of their ability for intellectual development. It is a novel about technological dystopia, often compared to other novels such as, George Orwell’s 1984 and Asimov Ender’s Game. Although today’s technology has not quite caught up with Bradbury’s expectations, the threat of having his vision of a dystrophic society is very realistic. He sees a futuristic society in which this submission of thought is highly valued. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury displays a futuristic utopian society where "the people did not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations" (Mogen, Pg. 111).