Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury Born: August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. Although his formal education ended there, he became a "student of life," selling newspapers on L.A. street corners from 1938 to 1942, spending his nights in the public library and his days at the typewriter.  He became a full-time writer in 1943, and he contributed numerous short stories to periodicals before publishing a collection of them, Dark Carnival, in 1947.

Bradbury’s Influences As a child Bradbury wanted more science fiction stories, but the library did not have many; the genre was not considered to be of high literary merit He was also influenced by the burning of the Library of Alexandria - Ancient Egypt - Possibly set fire by Julius Caesar in 48 BC - He saw the burning of this library as a symbol for the destruction of cultural knowledge

Historical Influences Bradbury was horrified by groups targeting books and authors, including: - Hitler and the Nazis burning books - Stalin’s “Great Purge,” when authors and poets were arrested and executed The atomic bombs dropped during WWII, plus the Communist fears of the times, set the perfect stage for Bradbury’s chilling story

The Cold War Cold War: defined as the relationship between America and the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1980. Neither side ever fought the other - the consequences would be too appalling – but the threat of nuclear war was always there.

Achievements Ray Bradbury was nominated for an Academy Award (for his animated film Icarus Montgolfier Wright), and he has won an Emmy Award (for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree). He adapted sixty-five of his stories for television's Ray Bradbury Theater. He was the creative consultant on the United States Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. In 1982 he created the interior metaphors for the Spaceship Earth display at Epcot Center, Disney World, and later contributed to the conception of the Orbitron space ride at Euro-Disney, France. Bradbury received numerous accolades throughout his life, including but not limited to The National Medal of Arts and the Pulitzer Prize.

Later Life Married since 1947, Mr. Bradbury and his wife Maggie lived in Los Angeles with their numerous cats. Together, they raised four daughters and had eight grandchildren. Maggie passed away in 2003. Ray Bradbury passed away in 2012.

Dystopian Novel The depiction of a community or society that is in some important way undesirable or frightening Literally translated as “not good place” Particularly applies to stories set in the future

Dystopian Novel Characteristics Characterized by: - dehumanization - dangers of a totalitarian government - environmental disaster Often calls attention to issues with: - society - ethics - religion - science - psychology - technology

Popular Dystopian Books The Hunger Games Divergent 1984 Brave New World A Clockwork Orange

The World of Fahrenheit 451 In this dystopian society firefighters set the fires instead of put them out The temperature of 451 degrees Fahrenheit is believed to be the ideal temperature for burning books Citizens no longer read or enjoy learning; instead, they only watch TV and become engrossed in entertainment (uh-oh…)