I am a freshman in high school and I read this book for a book report. I could use a little help understanding it! thanx so much, ttyl

PLZ HELP! this book report is due soon and i really need help! my thesis statement that i have to prove is.... Ray Bradbury tends to write stories whose conflicts are not easily resolved. I need to prove this and tell about bradbury in 1st person, and the book is kinda confusing. plz help!

Hi Freshman,

we tend to respond well to specific questions, and not so well to "Help! I'm in a hurry!" pleas!

For some help with understanding Fahrenheit 451, I would suggest you take a look at the SparkNotes website: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/

... the similar one at Pink Monkey: http://pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmFar45101.asp

Good luck.

Thank you so much Phil. Those sites are really helping me out a lot. I am in a honors english 9/10 class and its kind off a challenge for me. I like it a lot though and am learning much more than if i were just in a regular 9th grade english class. Thanks so much for the sites!
-Hannah
P.S. we are starting Shakespear next quarter. Know anything about him? lol, just kidding

Here's a thought for you Freshman, concerning the book...
"Fahrenheit 451" is an insurance policy written by Ray that does not require payment of premiums.
It helps ensure that books in the future will not be banned by well-meaning but misguided folks.
Every time some person or group tries to enter the old book-banning business, they are always directed to "451," sooner or later...

In what way is the book "kinda [kind of] confusing"? What didn't you understand?

i understand it now, but i need help proving my thesis statement about Ray Bradbury. I read Fahrenheit 451 and then i had to read 2 short stories by him, so i read the trolley and the pedestrian. Now, from reading those stories, i have to prove that Ray Bradbury tends to write stories with unreasolved conflicts. That is my thesis statement. I have to use passages from the story. thanx for the help

My two cents: I think you will have a very hard time proving that particular thesis statement, because I don't believe it's true!

well, that doesnt help me much. I still have to prove it. I'm trying to, but i cant find any passages in the book showing this! Ahhhhh, I HATE BOOK REPORTS!

The key to defending a thesis on unresolved conflicts may be in defining the conflict in a broader scale--a scale outside the story. For example, in "The Pedestrian" the conflict represented is the conflict between individual freedom and the state. While there is some resolution within the story, the larger conflict (the meta conflict) is not resolved. There is still conflict between the individual and the state--and some of that conflict is represented in an attempt by the state to enforce certain behaviors and to encourage or enforce conformity. So in that kind of thesis, Bradbury has certainly identified a conflict that remains unresolved. As the conflict between the individual and the state is one where some interactions will always involve conflicting needs and interests, I think at some levels the conflict will always be unresolved. From that perspective, I think your thesis is defensible.

How can you believe so strongly that there is conflict but then you are having a hard time finding passages that portray this conflict? If you are writing a paper on this and it is not coming to you as easily as it should be (we tend to think with a stream of consciousness) maybe you should rethink your topic choice?

To add a twist to the discussion, the short stories Exiles and Usher II need to be read, in line with F451 and Pedestrian. They all reflect RB's ongoing "conflict" with readings and publications that are seen or declared off-limits!

Did he not just take on the entire country of Cuba, or was it Mexico, for disallowing certain texts from getting to the masses?

Freshman,

ignore my earlier comments about my lack of faith in your thesis statement. Listen to the wisdom of Mr Dark - the way he puts it, I am prepared to believe it. There may also be another angle to this as well, in that some of Bradbury's short stories turn out to be part of a bigger whole, so that while a conflict may be unresolved in the short story, it will turn out to be resolved (or re-addressed) when Ray incorporates it into a novel.

To add to fjp451's suggestions, I recommend a look at "Pillar of Fire" as well which, with "Usher II" is one of the precursors to F451.

Thank You so much everyone for the help! I just finished my speech and I have to give it orally tomorrow. I think it turned out really well, and if not, I'm getting extra credit for doing it the first day and dressing up like Ray. You guys really helped me out a lot, Thanx!
-Hannah

I know I missed the boat on this discussion, but look at what Captain Beatty says about the conflicting nature of books -- an author says silence is golden, another says words are important. How do people resolve the different wisdoms they receive from books? Better, of course, to take books away so that people don't have to be conflicted, says Beatty.