Dystopian Novels

Fahrenheit 451

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)
• The story takes place in the twenty-first century, in an America where books are banned.
• Society feels that “opinion” books contain conflicting theories which are disruptive to society.
• The penalty for owning one is having one's house and books burnt by "firemen."
• 451° F is stated as “the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns…”

Relation to the Real World

• In the novel, Bradbury combined several issues of his contemporary society:
• The burnings of books in Nazi Germany.
• Stalin's suppression of authors and books in the Soviet Union.
• The explosion of a nuclear weapon.
• "I meant all kinds of tyrannies anywhere in the world at any time, right, left, or middle," Bradbury has said.

Relation to the Real World

• The author also addresses the concern that the presence of fast cars, loud music, and advertisements creates a lifestyle with too much stimulation where no one has the time to concentrate.
• He also addresses concerns about censorship at the expense of personal expression.

Summary

everyone equal, thinks the same way	force, spying, secret police	evils of totalitarianism
no war or poverty, only happiness	change what people want	sacrificing culture for “happiness”
absence of things disrup-tive to society	book burnings, no personal expression	consequences of fast-paced society
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• 1984
• Brave New World
• Fahrenheit 451
• The Giver

• Goals Methods Used Theme