Fahrenheit 451 - A Dystopian Banned Book Study

Join our novel study as we tackle the influential, controversial, and significant novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

"Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.

"Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television 'family'. But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn't live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television". - Citation is provided below!

Throughout the class, we will examine the novel and its importance to our past, present, and future. Bradbury's dystopian society has shocking similarities to history and culture and by using an analytical lens to view it, students will have the opportunity to learn why this enduring novel continues to be a classic piece of literature read by students all over the world each year.

Below is a weekly schedule that we will use for class. While the schedule is posted, the weeks we cover topics might overlap depending on students' reading comprehension, literary analysis, debates, discussions, and more. I am a firm believer in student-led conversations and we will be using the discussions that students participate in to move our conversation forward and to constantly challenge each other to respond to one another and to work together to get everything that they can out of this novel and class. As a result, the schedule might fluctuate a little bit based on student interests and needs. 

Weekly Schedule:
Week One:
     - Introduction and Welcome!
     - Introduction to the Novel and Author
     - Introduction to the Dystopian Genre
            - Examples from Classic and Modern Novels
     - Set Up for the Class
     - Controversial Statements Discussion
Week Two:
     - Introduction to Guy Montag
     - Introduction the Beatty, Mildred, and Clarisse
     - Banned Book Topics
     - Why are Books Banned (Real-Life)
     - Why are Books Banned (In the Novel)
          - Ideas behind the Illegalization of Literature
          - Rationalizations and Reasons
     - The Rules of the Firehouse
Week Three:
     - The Aftermath of the Burn
     - Actions and Consequences
     - The Early Signs of Character Development
     - Breaking the Rules
     - Banned Book Topics
     - The Mechanical Hound
     - Montag has a Secret
Week Four:
     - "The Sieve and Sand"
     - Introduction to Faber and the Past
     - What is there to Love about Books?
     - Character Development
     - Symbolism of the Novel
Week Five:
     - The "Family" vs Family
     - Changes in the Traditional Family
     - "The Sea of Faith" and "Dover Beach"
     - Damages Done and Undone
     - Words of Wisdom, Past and Present
     - Beatty's Truth
          - Paradoxes and Contradictions
     - Cliffhangers
Week Six: 
     - Climax and Resolution
     - Symbolism and Themes of the Novel
     - Character Developments
     - Allusion to Literature
          - Famous Authors and Literature
     - Final Quotes and Messages
     - Tone
     - Application in the Present and Future

Citation:
          - Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1951.