Fahrenheit 451 at Savannah College of Art and Design - Lucas Theatre

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2. Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury which was first published in a shorter form as "The Fireman" (Galaxy Science Fiction, Vol. 1 No. 5, February 1951). The short novel presents a future American society in which the masses are hedonistic and critical thought through reading is outlawed.

The novel's title refers to the supposed temperature at which book paper combusts. Although sources contemporary with the novel's writing gave the temperature as 450 °C (842 °F), Bradbury is believed to have thought "Fahrenheit" made for a better title; however, in an introduction to the 40th anniversary edition of the novel, Bradbury states that a person he spoke with at the local fire department said "Book-paper catches fire at 451 degrees Fahrenheit".

Written in the early years of the Cold War, the novel is a critique of what Bradbury saw as issues in American society of the era.

Fahrenheit 451, a stage adaptation of his 1953 novel, touches on the themes of human alienation in the world dominated by electronic media; dangers of state censorship; and the effect of passive consumption on human intellect. "Fahrenheit 451", an ode to literature and a manifesto of several generations of American intellectuals, is a complex dramatic piece open to wide directorial interpretation. It is full of socially relevant and theatrically inspiring challenges, that Balagula's artistic team is known to tackle.

The central character, Guy Montag, is employed as a "fireman" (which, in this future, means "bookburner"). He lives in a lonely, isolated society where books have been outlawed by a government fearing an independent-thinking public. People in this society, including Montag's wife, get their information from wall-size television screens. After Montag falls in love with book-hoarding Clarisse, he begins to read confiscated books. It is through this relationship that he begins to question the government's motives behind book-burning. Montag is soon found out, and he must decide whether to return to his job or run away knowing full well the consequences that he could face if captured.