Ray Bradbury August 22, 1920 June 5, 2012 Zachary Gustafson Honors English 12 Mrs. Getchell 5/3/2014

Early Years  He was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in He didn’t go to college but he was still an avid learner.  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 Dark Carnivals was his first published work, a collection of short stories in He was raised during the Depression and since he couldn’t go to college he went to the library three times a week for ten years!

Adult Years  He married his wife Maggie in 1947 in Los Angeles where they raised four daighters.  He was a writing fanatic; writing over thirty books and over 600 short stories!!!  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 in Disney and also helped create several other rides.

Writing Highlights  The Martian Chronicles in 1950 is what first made him gain reputation as a credible author. His third published work, Fahrenheit 451, is considered to be his greatest work. Something Wicked This Way Comes is very popular.  Ray Bradbury's work has been included in four Best American Short Story collections. He has been awarded the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America, the PEN Center USA West Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also was awarded National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Historical Context of Fahrenheit 451  The large amount of censorship in this book was believed to be caused by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. This was during the “Campaign of Terror” were he accused many senators and directors in Hollywood of being Communists.  The war that is present in the book is symbolic of the many wars in Bradbury’s life time. World Wars and the Cold War

Fahrenheit 451  This story takes place in the future and in this time all books are outlawed. Guy Montag, a firefighter, whose job is to burn these illegal books has secretly been stealing and reading these books. While the rest of the world is ignorant to what I going on in the world, Montag is aware because of the insight from the literature. He then is discovered and kills another firefighter and goes on the run for his life where he meets a group of people like him. Who are memorizing literature to preserve it. They may live in the woods and on the run but he realizes this is where he needs to be. As he leaves the city, there is talk of war and after he leaves the city is bombed to the ground in a the flash of eye. The story ends here with Montag joining the group of literature preservers. ''I don't try to describe the future. I try to prevent it.''

Key Concepts of Fahrenheit 451 Symbolism- Montag’s wife, Mildred, is symbolic of the ignorance the World has because of this ban on books Foreshadowing- When Beatty, the fire chief, talks to Montag about how Firefighters usually take a book home with them at least once, it foreshadows that he knows what Montag has done. Mood- The mood was sort of eerie in this book. It seemed as if the whole world was going down the drain and that there was no coming back from the destruction was being caused.

“Remembrance”  The poem’s title is very straight forward about what the poem is about. The speaker comes back to where he used to play and possibly grew up as a child. He is very reminiscent of the memories he has and now he just wishes he could go back and re-live them. And he finds a letter in a tree that he wrote to himself and it says “Remember you, remember you”

“Remembrance”  Allegory- “And stand them still to contemplate Christ’s handiwork: His clear blood bled in syrups from the lovely wounded trees”  Hyperbole- “I had climbed up and screamed for Skip to get me down. It was a thousand miles to earth”  Personification- “Ravines are special fine and lovely green And secretive and wandering with apes and thugs And bandit bees that steal from flowers to give to trees.”

Love and Hate  The representation in “Remembrance” isn’t the usual case between two individuals. In this poem it is about the love of the past and the slight hate of the present  He loves and cherishes the wonderful times that he had at this place as a kid but now he hates the fact that life isn’t like that anymore and that the area is no longer appreciated like it was when he was a kid.

Fun Facts  The only girl Ray Bradbury has ever asked out or dated was his wife. She was a clerk and the only reason he got to talk to her was because she thought he stole coffee because he wore a long trenchcoat.  He did not trust cars at all. He never got his license either. He saw a fatal accident at a young age and he thought cars should be illegal for everyone

More Fun Facts  Ray Bradbury He wrote Fahrenheit 451 in just nine days in a basement. He hated all things futuristic like computers. He was not a fan of Bill Gates NASA named the landing site for the Mars Rover on Mars “Bradbury Landing” due to his series of books the The Martian Chronicles

Works Cited  Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 2 May  Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, Print.  "JiffyNotes: Fahrenheit 451: Summary: Main Characters." JiffyNotes: Fahrenheit 451: Summary: Main Characters. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May  "Ray Bradbury." Ray Bradbury. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May  "Ray Bradbury." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Nov Web. 2 May  "Redirect Notice." Redirect Notice. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2014.