Ray Bradbury's Literary Canon

'Literary canon' is a term used to describe a collection of ground-breaking books which have stood the test of time and warrant in-depth study because of their aesthetic beauty and universal appeal. A literary work may be considered worthy of canon status, if it meets the following criteria: the book must integrate themes, such as love, death and faith, which readers from an extensive range of backgrounds can relate to; it has to have persistent influence and express artistic quality; and it must be a pioneering piece of literature in its genre or style. In spite of the complex and much disputed formative process, books are canonized based on their literary merit as judged by influential literary critics, teachers and any other academics whose

M. Montgomery in 1908, relates the story of Anne Shirley, a skinny, red-headed orphan girl who is mistakenly adopted by unmarried siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. While Matthew is immediately taken aback by the wide-eyed, eccentric 11-year-old, Marilla is sensibly apprehensive as “A girl would be of no use...” to them. After much consideration, Matthew eventually convinces Marilla to let Anne stay at Green Gables, reassuring her that Anne is “…one of the sort you can do anything with if you only get her to love you.”

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel written by Ray Bradbury in 1953. Set in a futuristic American civilization, the novel tells the story of Guy Montag, a fireman who burns books by “…spitting venomous kerosene upon the world…” The people in this society refrain from reading books – an illegal action – and watch excessive amounts of television which prohibits them from thinking independently or having meaningful

Clarisse acts as the catalyst that compels Montag to examine himself and reveals to him the lack of love, pleasure and contentment in his life. For young readers it might prove difficult to imagine a world without books as one which is dull, unimaginative and full of dissatisfaction, especially when the hours of the day could be occupied with nothing but television. Their emotional immaturity prevents them from comprehending the real motive behind Montag’s inner turmoil and so they fail to appreciate one of the most powerful abilities of classic literature, that is, to evoke empathy in its reader. His feelings of guilt, resentment and discontent, which are foregrounded throughout the novel, are thus clearly more relatable to and intended for older readers, who not only identify them as mere emotions but subconsciously questions their own ideals and