Fahrenheit 451
- Genre: Fiction; dystopian
- Originally Published: 1953
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 890L; grades 9-10
- Structure/Length: 3 parts; approx. 167 pages; approx. 5 hours on audio
- Protagonist and Central Conflict: Firefighter Guy Montag is complicit in a future society’s protocol of burning books, which are now illegal; as his relationships with two dissenters develop, Montag must grapple with his newfound convictions about human thought, freedom, and knowledge.
Ray Bradbury, Author
- Bio: 1920-2012; born and raised in the Midwest before relocating to Los Angeles; produced more than 500 works of literature, ranging from novels to short stories to plays, screenplays, TV scripts, and verse
- Other Works: The Martian Chronicles (1950); The Illustrated Man (1951); Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962)
- Awards: National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (2000); National Medal of Arts (2004)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
- The Impact of Censorship on Society
- The Triumph of Knowledge Over Ignorance
- Technology and the Natural World
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will: