Lessons in the Novel FAHRENHEIT 451

CENSORSHIP The system of suppressing unacceptable books, movies, etc. for its content. In 1798, it was made it illegal to criticize a government official without backing up one's criticisms in court

In Cold Blood, Truman Capote, 1966 The Jungle, Upton Sinclair, 1906 Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman, 1855 Moby-Dick; or The Whale, Herman Melville,1851 The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane, 1895 The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850 A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams, 1947 Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston, 1937 To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, 1960 Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852 Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak, 1963 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, 1884 Beloved, Toni Morrison, 1987 The Call of the Wild, Jack London, 1903 Catch-22, Joseph Heller, 1961 The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, 1951 Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, 1953 For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway, 1940 Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, 1936 The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck, 1939 The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925 Howl, Allen Ginsberg, 1956 BANNED BOOKS

BILL OF RIGHTS FIRST AMENDMENT “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

WHEN DOES THE 1 ST AMENDMENT NOT APPLY? All speech – and expressive conduct – is presumed to be constitutionally-protected unless it falls into one of the following categories: (a) defamation (false statements of fact published to third parties); (b) child pornography; (c) obscenity; (d) damaging to national security interests; (e) fighting words; (f) verbal acts (shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater). The courts have concluded that the above-referenced categories of speech fall outside the ambit of constitutionally-protected expression, and therefore enjoy no First Amendment privileges. Certain other speech-related activity can also be restricted or criminalized, such as the advertising of illegal transactions, solicitation of criminal acts, and threats of bodily harm, such as assault.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER Do groups of people have the right to censor books? How has censorship expanded to the internet? How does the movie industry self-censor? How does this relate to Bradbury’s point-of-view and the novel, Fahrenheit 451 ?

ALLEGORIES the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one Writers use allegory to add different layers of meanings to their works.

ALLEGORY VS. SYMBOLISM Although an allegory uses symbols, it is different from symbolism. An allegory is a complete narrative which involves characters, and events that stand for an abstract idea or an event. A symbol, on the other hand, is an object that stands for another object giving it a particular meaning. Unlike allegory, symbolism does not tell a story.

EXAMPLE OF AN ALLEGORY Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is an allegory that uses animals on a farm to describe the overthrow of the last of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and the Communist Revolution of Russia before WW II. Chronicles of Narnia, written by C.S. Lewis, is an allegory that uses animals to represent biblical people including God. Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is an allegory representing his idea of human nature and a need to put self above the rest than the way he did with this acclaimed novel.

SO…WHAT ABOUT FAHRENHEIT 451 ?

ART Burning Books by Marco Dente (Italian, Ravenna, active by 1515–died 1527 Rome)

WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE – BY BILLY JOEL You Tube song with lyrics

FIRE… Physical Burning Symbolic The fire within Society’s fire What is the abstract idea…fire representing….

AUTHOR’S CHOICES Symbols Satire Biases

UNIVERSAL THEMES Themes (main ideas) that have been seen throughout history and literature Examples: good vs. evil, true love conquers all, perseverance leads to success, conflict, change is the only constant, power/control