The topic is "choose a novel you have read this semester and explain how that novel is not only a reflection of the time period in which it was written but is also a product of the authors life. You must use spesific references to the novel."

The novel i chose was Fahrenheit 451 because it was the only school assigned book i liked and it was a very good book. So if anyone knows any information partaining to the topic about Mr. Bradbury and Fahrenheit it would be very helpful. Thank you -Tuffy

As I am sure, Tuffy, that the others on this board will tell you, that it will be only through your hard work and research that you can come up with the information that you seek in regard to the class assignment that you have.

No one here on this board will lay out everything that you might need into a tidy package.

But what you have here is a plethora of fantastic pieces of information, not only about Ray Bradbury, but also about F451 and its impact on our society today and its readers.

If you can dig back through the various posts, different topics finding those that pertain to F451 and Mr. Bradbury, there you will find the meat of your assignment. Then all you will have to do is glean this abundance of information, sort it out, and then compile it in your own words into a concise, tight, and specific paper worthy of an excellent grade.

Tuffy,
I notice from another posting of yours that you are sixteen. You are very well spoken for someone that age and show honesty and industry so, with my respects to biplane 1, who has been very generous with information; I’m going to give you some hints.

Lots of people want to use the time period in which the book was written to find a motivation for it. “Ray Bradbury wrote it because…” Be careful about that. There are other factors involved. Does the book reflect the time in which it was written? Yes, to some degree, but remember, the final book stemmed from earlier shorter works. The book after all is about book burning.

How this particular book is a product of the author’s life is really pretty easy. Just read up on Ray’s upbringing and experiences and you should be able to draw some conclusions.

Good luck!

It does depend on your own hard work and research but here is a massive head start: https://raybradburyboard.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3791...711087901#4711087901

Thank you for your help everyone. I did research events that occured in 1952/53 to see if anyting really could anger bradbury or have him write 451. I also did read "The Pedestrian" which points to clarisse's Uncle dosent it? What other Bradbury short stories help or partain to 451? After reading through Chapter 31's hints and the link Dandelion gave me i am very greatful.

A collection is either out, or coming out, but this at least lists the contents of the collection.

https://raybradburyboard.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3791...311022871#6311022871

Tuffy,
You need to go back to Europe, pre 1940.

Tuffy, perhaps I was a bit too brusque in my reply to your query. Perhaps I can help make up for that by providing comments by Ray as a response to a letter written by an exchange student living with us who was writing a paper on Ray.

I tried twice to scan the letter into my computer so I could attach it, but it was too large. So here are his comments:

Dear Anna! Welcome to the USA. Thanks for asking. F451 is the result of growing up in a poor family - my father was out of work for years during the Great Depression. We couldn't afford books, so I lived in the library. When I graduated from high school my father was still out of work, and I sold newspapers on a street corner for three years making ten dollars a week, not enough, again, to buy many books except from the Good Will. During that time I lived even more in the library, two or three days a week! and knew of Hitler's book-burnings in Berlin, plus Stalin's destruction of books AND authors in Russia. It was only natural, finally, that I reacted to the bonfires of knowledge, the endangerment of my true (Ray has underlined true) home base. I settled into the basement of the UCLA Library when I was 30 and wrote F451 (Ray has underlined F451) in nine days, feeding dimes into a slot-machine typewriter! I spent nine dollars and eighty cents in dimes. and here we are, 48 years later with the book still in print! Impossible! I send you fond wishes. Best. Ray B. March 10, 1998

Ray wrote this on stationary, the top portion of the page being an illustration by Joe Mugnaini for The Martian Chronicles. It is too bad that the page couldn't be attached as the illustration and Ray's editorial markings are neat.

I hope that this might help you a bit.

What a treasure trove this place is!

quote:

Originally posted by Chapter 31:
What a treasure trove this place is!

And how!

Sorry, I just really wanted to say "and how", thats twice, ha ha!

WOW. Biplane thank you so much for posting that. Wow once again. Thank you all for your help. I will hopefully keep returning to these forums as i further my Bradbury reading experiences. Thanks again everyone

That was great biplane! Thanks for sharing that insight directly from the source, so to speak. You are so lucky to have and share such a bond with Ray personally. I just checked out from the library a book called: Joseph Mugnaini: Drawings and Graphics. It was put out I beleive by Joe himself and has an intro by Ray. It is 1982 vintage, and it looks amazing after briefly skimming through it. I looked it up on amazon hoping to order one, they had three used copies starting at the low price of $149.00. I passed but if anyone gets a chance to see it, it looks wonderful. Alot of artwork from 451, Martian, Golden Apples, October, etc. Plus it has stuff I've never seen before.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rocket,

biplane--Thank you for sharing that wonderful letter. I'm sure it helped tuffy with his (her?) assignment, but it was also great for all the rest of us to see, too. Even in a simple letter the man is so lyrical. It takes my breath away!

biplane 1, I've shared the letter in your post with my 15-year-old son who's in the middle of F451 right now for his English class.

It's amazing how something like this can bring the whole experience to life for a student, just that special something extra to supplement the reading--thank you for sharing with us all.

Thanks everyone for your comments on Ray's letter. I don't understand why the letter is too large for it to be an attachment. On the old board I got into a bit of trouble in that I had sent the scanned letter to a poster via his email and then he, later without my knowledge or permission, posted it on the board. Members were irate with me because the letter had Ray's address plainly in view.

Now my computer is telling me that the upload of 386 KB exceeds the limit of 300 KB. I'll scan just one note and see if that works.

Dandelion, I believe, was able to cover it up, but the damage had been done. So it was postable then, why not now (by the way I did cover up the address).

I love, in all the notes and letters that Ray has sent back to me, his use of the apostrophe (!) as it just exemplifies his enthusiasm for all aspects of his life. If you haven't gotten a hold of Conversations With Ray Bradbury you have to get it somehow. It is a series of interviews with Ray over the years and it is, as I have indicated before, a "must read" to get into the mind of Ray and understand him a bit more.

I just scanned a couple of Ray's notes into my computer and will see if they might be attached.
This is being done to share with you all, some of the comments that Ray has sent me over the years. These notes are contemporary to the letter to Anna in that Anna's English teacher wanted me to ask Ray about emailing him a question. You can see Ray's reply.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: biplane1,

Note_From_Ray-Email.jpg (44 Kb, 14 downloads)