The Economic Structure of the Future

Here is a link to an article that discusses the potential economic structure of the society within Fahrenheit 451. It is a hypothetical inspection of subtle story elements that, through conglomeration, construct a general economic model within the story, and can further be understood as Bradbuty's antithesis to appropriate economic practices.

Please read and leave your thoughts. Thanks for checking in.

Happy reading!

The Economics of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

Here is a link devoted solely to the novel Fahrenheit 451, with character synopsis, plot summary, and analysis of the story.

It is a brief, introductory site that offers a few insights regarding the importance of the dystopian novel in modern times, as well as a slew of study questions to guide your personal interpretations.

As always, enjoy, and thanks for checking in.

Freewebs: Fahrenheit 451

The Simulacrum of Carnival

Attached is an article about the novel written by Johnathan Eller and William Touponce. In it, they discuss character themes, plot, and analyze social norms as they propell Montag from complacent citizen to enlightened outsider.

This article is wonderful supplimentary material to the novel, and offers a poignant discussion of the finer qualities of Bradbury's writing.

Enjoy and thanks for checking in!

The Simulacrum of Carnival

"While Your At It": Reading Other Books on Dystopia

If you enjoy reading about the general decline of society to entertainment and numerous vices, here is a short list of other texts to look into:

1) I am currently reading a book called "Empire of Illusion" by Pulitzer laureate Chris Hedges. It discusses the general decline of literacy and the 'triumph of spectacles/fantasy' within contemporary Western society. Hedges analyzes the trends in Academia, Pornography, and the entertainment industry at large so as to better understand the dire cultural state we are in today.

2) While "Fahrenheit 451" has become a ubiquitously required high school text, many have the option of choosing to study other texts such as "1984" and "Brave New World". If you are one of those who chose "Farenheit", please venture forth and read the latter two books. They are gamechangers in the dystopian sci-fi genre, and deserve no less repute than they have garnished thus far.

3) "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" is Philip K. Dick's novel later adapted for film under the pseudonym "Blade Runner". It chronicles the dystopian society that, since the creation of androids, has lost touch with humanism and the quest for intellectual progress. A must read for sci-fi fans and fiction buffs alike.

4) Isaac Asimov's "Cave of Steel" is a story about the dominance of technology in modern society and how immediate gratification has grown to such excess that people no longer venture outside of shopping malls and theaters within an underground city. Asimov created a overpopulated, agoraphobic world to best elicit the ongoing struggle between fantasy and reality that is present in "Fahrenheit 451".

5) The Eastern European and Russian states during the mid 20th century have also been regarded as prime examples of social control and propagandistic nationalism. With this in mind, I suggest reading Czeslaw Milosz's "The Captive Mind". Told from the perspective of an escaped citizen, "The Captive Mind" deconstructs communism and fascism so as to deter its rebirth.

6) And last, but not least, "Children of Men" by P.D. James is a necessary read for those interested in propaganda and the power of fear in a world devoid of hope. For those of you who have yet to see the movie, read this first, then take a few weeks off to stabilize. The book is just as disturbing and will put you in a disassociative funk, to say the least.

Ray Bradbury and the Busty Origins of Fire

In 1947, Bradbury wrote a short story titled "Bright Phoenix" (later revised for publication in a 1963 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction).Bradbury later expanded the basic premise of "Bright Phoenix" into The Fireman, a novella published in the February 1951 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. A few months later, the novel was serialized in the March, April, and May 1954 issues of Playboy.

Bradbury wrote the entire novel in the basement of UCLA's Powell Library on a pay typewriter that he rented for a fee of ten cents per half an hour.

It's poetic that a quintessential book about the decline of literacy would be confined by rental fees and initially published in a soft-core porn mag.

Playboy has a respectable list of subsequent articles and stories published. Joyce Carol Oates, Roald Dahl, Norman Mailer, Haruki Murakami, Vladimir Nabokov, and a many others have published awardwinning material in the magazine. Yes, people do buy Playboy for the articles. Not that Playboy lacks filler content otherwise.

This was the cover for the May 1954 issue that included the first installment of Farenheit 451.

This is one of the few portraits of Austen. It is a still life completed during her childhood, which many call simply "The Rice Portrait".

Quote from Pride and Prejudice

"To yield readily--easily--to the persuasion of a friend is no merit.... To yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either."

Jane Austen