To skip the "any friends of bradbury..." deliberations, these are research paper questions. Having said that, however, I would also like to note that I've read more than a few literary criticisms and Bradbury works. So, as my title suggests, I'm merely hoping for some confirmation on a few points of my paper. Firstly- Bradbury's philosophy. I've searched as thoroughly as possible for a high schooler with limited resources (I used a college library, but only briefly) and discovered no explicit thoughts by Ray Bradbury himself, but rather what others have deduced from his works. Constricted to an loose understanding of Bradbury's metaphorical characters and true implications of his stories, I'm thinking that Bradbury's "working to prevent a future where there's no education" (as stated by Bradbury on this site) is the closest statement on purpose that I've seen from Bradbury himself. Bradbury's preventative nature and fears for the future aren't enough to keep me from misstating his true philosophy on life. Any suggestions would be useful. I have more information that I've presented here, as well as more questions, but in the interest of space, I just wanted to present my lack of knowledge on just this subject and plead for maybe a suggestion of additional reading material, if blatent homework help is too nauseating. Thank you for your time.

Depth Perception,
I hope you get an avalanche of responses because you ask a very good question. A good resource for Rays stated opinions is “Bradbury Speaks: Too Soon From The Cave, Too Far From The Stars”, available at any library or bookstore.

Ray does warn us about a lot of things but he also celebrates life. He once said something along the lines of rather than wetting his finger and sticking it into a live light socket he wanted to screw in a brighter bulb. And so far I think he’s done exactly that.

Best wishes.

Thank you so much for the assistance and well wishes. I'm excited by the new lead and will grab the book on my lunch break. I'm thrilled that you honored my post thus. I promise- I'll stand by you if anyone questions your masculinity again!

“We few, we happy few. We band of BROTHERS.” But wait! Has my perception reached new depths? Dare I assume what gender is this; assigned so eloquent a speaker?

Depth Perception, you might also check out a book called Conversations with Ray Bradbury, which contains dozens of interviews with Ray over many decades, from the 1940s to 2002-ish.

I didn't question anything, granted I should have.

in contrast to chapter 31, i actually am a member of the female gender. unless you saw me with my hair down, you would have to think for a minute, because i have been scarred for life from this generation's lack of modesty. all this to say, i'm a baggy clothes, hooded sweatshirt type of person. i have school uniforms, (there were only three colors offered) so i'm all an all-black wearer. i look like teenaged boy skateboarder.

i must be really delirious because im actually going to post this, along with a HUGE thank you to chapter 31 and philnic for the books.

the paper is due pretty soon, so i'd really appreciate any scarcely known facts or opinions about ray bradbury that should be more well-known but are not. the teacher mandated that no one does the same author, but no one knew that this other kid was doing ray also. the teacher has approved this code violation but made it a bit of a competition. she's going to be reading two papers on the same subject, so i need mine to be significantly better than the other student's.

any suggestions or comments are most welcome.
any more ideas on ray's philosophy or influences?
im focusing on his fear for the future, attempts to effect change, the red scare and mccarthy influences, and general combat of socialistic principles.

Then you will have to study significantly harder than the other one. You might try Weller's book also, Bradbury Chronicles.

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

charmed, i'm sure. i havent had the opportunity to taste the Soapwort Beer of your bitting sarcasm...

that fond of children, are we now?

i appreciate the edit, though, kindly.

Depth Perception,
I’m no expert on Ray but I’ve noticed a few things that I think go beyond the stereotypes.

Ray’s interests change. In the beginning he wrote a lot of horror. He was “Stephen King” before there was a “Stephen King”. He wrote other things to be sure but was mostly thought of as a horror writer. Then the Science Fiction took prominence with “The Martian Chronicles” and “Fahrenheit 451” (although the only Science Fiction novel he ever wrote was “Fahrenheit 451”) and fantasy. Ultimately however, only about one third of what he has written can be considered fantasy. The rest to me are mainstream and they include the Irish, Mexican and religious stories.

He shouldn’t be pigeonholed in any way, especially on politics. And don’t let him ever hear anyone put words in his mouth.

The best thing that he has ever written, to me anyway, is “Dandelion Wine’.

If he ever reads this don’t be surprised if he disagrees with everything I’ve said.

no sarcasm m'lady just truths...
the sarcasm is obviously your bag.

sarcasm aside (yes, it does go with my shoes, greg, thanks for noticing), im somewhat annoyed by the whole sidestepping of politics. i'm not trying to label ray at all, but i can't ignore the influences of the period and the giant themes in his stories about government. i'd flunk if i ignored that angle completely...

your mining this board for all its worth at the same time putting it down.

Dear Depth Perception:

Ray is so interesting, i.e., when I called him today asking as to the origin of the Dust Witch his reply was "I don't know! Why are you asking me?" But I think Ray's reaction was such in that he has written so much, had so many ideas, created so many esoteric concepts, that he hasn't sat down and categorized his ideas to such an extent that he can pull out an idea and say extactly where it came from, day and date, etc., etc.

I wish you the best on your paper. Several years ago an exchange student living with us chose Ray as her subject due to the fact that I have corresponded and visited with Ray over many years. His response to her was short, but added to the paper and she received a good grade on it.

greg- that vaguely resembled a rap, but im at a loss about the meaning erxactly...thank you?

biplane- you are a well of knowledge, friend, and i thank you for the reminder that ray fels out alot of what he does, not planning it all out ahead of time- the purpose and timing all fluid in his works. i suppose that's why im at a bit of a loss. thank you though, that was extremely useful and will be added to my research, in fact.