Fahrenheit 451

• Genre: Fiction; dystopian
• Originally Published: 1953
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 890L; grades 9-10
• Structure/Length: 3 parts; approx. 167 pages; approx. 5 hours on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Firefighter Guy Montag is complicit in a future society’s protocol of burning books, which are now illegal; as his relationships with two dissenters develop, Montag must grapple with his newfound convictions about human thought, freedom, and knowledge.

Ray Bradbury, Author

• Bio: 1920-2012; born and raised in the Midwest before relocating to Los Angeles; produced more than 500 works of literature, ranging from novels to short stories to plays, screenplays, TV scripts, and verse
• Other Works: The Martian Chronicles (1950); The Illustrated Man (1951); Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962)
• Awards: National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (2000); National Medal of Arts (2004)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Impact of Censorship on Society
• The Triumph of Knowledge Over Ignorance
• Technology and the Natural World

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will: