Context For F451 Flashcards
What was redscare
Fear of communism in US
Brasburys quote that states his book was not really the future but life rn
‘To look into the future but it’s really looking at a reflection of what is already in front of us’
US gov on Bradburys book
investigated him and an FBI file made on him
Irony
Bradbury ‘the book was pointing the finger at Communists too…I don’t care if the FBI spies on be
Context of the burning of Montags house
Equivalent of a gov worker being out of trial by the House Un-American Committee in the 1950s
House Un-American Committee heading were mass spectacles of the media where people would confess and then ‘demonstrate their rehabilitation to prove their allegiance to the new world order to Cold War domestic conformity’
The committees theatrical politics borrowed from spectacle of game shows that came into their heyday with the advert of TV- shows how Cold War politics were connected with mass culture and homogenisation of thought
Context of innocent man killed in Montag’s place
End of McCarthy cases
Bradbury was concerned that the American press ‘voluntarily’ withheld information for ‘patriotic reasons’ so through killing an innocent man in Montag’s case, he had Americans a classic example of why freedom of information should always be respected
The real tragedy of McCarthyism was the effect of ‘us v them’ polarity that was created out of this mass spectacle
Context of HOBOs
HOBOs are similar to ‘Hollywood Ten’ who were unfriendly witnesses who refused to answer the questions of House Un/American Activities on the ground that their first amendments rights protected them from being question on their political beliefs
Seashells reference to
AirPods
Main consumer in F451
Mildred
Contextually why was there a rise of mass culture
Advertising
Social human impact of technology shown in book
Hound
Bradbury on mass technology
Donavon ‘violently opposed to machinery in any form’
What does F451 argue about technology
Power for good but is often used for evil
Tv stats
1945- 10,000 TV set
1950- 5.5 million
Nazi
Book burning
Bradbury said ‘I hated book burners and I loved libraries’
Bomb in book
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Survey of 50s high school students
Prompted with questions about nuclear war
Said it’s due to greedy irrational people
Like joyriding
Context of Beatty checking loyalty
The real US federal loyalty oaths were created - dismiss any federal employee found to be disloyal and required employees to sign a contract that they will be faithful to American values
Burning books
Bradbury personal life
Burning of library of Alexandria
Bradbury political views
Volunteered for Stevenson campaign and worked on McCarthy presidential bid 60s- tangible evidence that throughout the years he strongly aligned w dem party
1952- letter to Republican Party- ‘leave our individual rights alone’
Bradbury prep books
The big black and white game
Examines race relations and shows his more socially liberal views
Books now
41% decline in state funding for US public libraries in 2009
Guy gets messaged from Faber through small earplugs he wears
Message said ‘the book of job’
Biblical
Reminding guy he must have faith - fought venture
Why books does Guy have to memorise at end of novel and what is significant
Book of Ecclesiastes and
Old Testament
Guy remembers biblical quote
Elaborate
End
Book of revelations
“There was a tree of life…leaves if trees were for the healing nations”
Reinforces the idea of a cyclical world but also gives a key to Bradburys hope that the ‘healing’ of the nations can best come about through rebirth of a man’s intellect
Bradbury draws upon the Biblical notion of a heavenly Jerusalem, the holy city where men will dwell with God after the apoloclypse
‘Car full of children, all ages…yelling’ context
Adolescent rebellion
40+50 increasing
Going we’re learning underlying value of postwar society while ignoring glossy suburban image
Science fiction context
1950- golden age of science fiction
Depression - 1930 - science fiction ‘depression’
