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Influence of history on literature
Literature influenced by history
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THE BURNING OF HUGH LATIMER AND NICHOLAS RIDLEY ⦁ WHY WHERE THEY BURNED AT THE STAKE? -Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned because they were and went against the King’s refusal. ⦁ WHY WAS LATIMER CONFIDENT THAT THEY WERE DOING THE RIGHT THING? -Latimer was confident that they were doing the right thing because he believed that whatever was going to happen was because of God's will and he trusted God. Recall that before they were burned, instead of repenting and backtracking in whatever he said, his last words were "Be of good cheer, Master Ridley, and play the man, for we shall this day light such a candle in England as I trust by God' grace shall never be put put." ⦁ WHY WOULD IT BE IMPORTANT TO REMIND PEOPLE OF HISTORY? - It is important to remind people of history because it teaches them about previous happenings. It shows that for every action there is a consecuence, therefore every action or decision you make will have an effect that will impact your life and the life of the people around you. It also gives you an insight of what happened years ago so that in the near future, we are prepared well enough to make the right decisions in order to avoid reliving similar or previous events. NAZI BOOK BURNING ⦁ IN WHAT WAY MIGHT THESE IMAGES HAVE INSPIRED BRADBURY TO WRITE FAHRENHEIT 451? - This image might have inspired Bradbury to write Fahrenheit 451 since in the image they show university students burning books that have 'unGerman' ideas. I personally think that for them, 'unGerman' apparently means; ideas that don't please their leader. In the website provided, there is a statement said by a German-Jewish poet; "Where books are burned, human beings are destined to be burned too." This specific quote personally leaves me thinking that if they didn't hesitate in burning the books that contained information that didn't please their leader, they certainly wouldn't hesitate in killing a human being that went against their beliefs/ideas or government.
In Fahrenheit 451, the government exercised censorship supposedly for the purpose of happiness. Through technology and media, the government was able to eliminate individuality by manipulating the mind of the people into believing the propaganda of what happiness is. The people’s ignorance made them obediently abide that they failed to realize how far technology and the media have taken control of their minds. The free thought of characters such as Montag and Clarisse collided with that of Captain Beatty, who strongly believe in and enforce the censorship, and the firemen, whose role was to burn illegal books; these clashes were Bradbury’s way
In the 1930s and 1940s many Hollywood writers, actors, producers, and directors were suspected for communist affiliations. During this time, communism was a popular political movement in the United States, especially among young liberals. There was a growing fear of communism invading American society. By the end of World War Two an event known as the Red Scare resulted in communism become increasingly feared and hated by many in the United States. The Hollywood blacklist caused the Hollywood industry a lot of harm in its business and reputation.
The theme of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 can be viewed from several different angles. First and foremost, Bradbury's novel gives an anti-censorship message. Bradbury understood censorship to be a natural outcropping of an overly tolerant society. Once one group objects to something someone has written, that book is modified and censorship begins. Soon, another minority group objects to something else in the book, and it is again edited until eventually the book is banned altogether. In Bradbury's novel, society has evolved to such an extreme that all literature is illegal to possess. No longer can books be read, not only because they might offend someone, but because books raise questions that often lead to revolutions and even anarchy. The intellectual thinking that arises from reading books can often be dangerous, and the government doesn't want to put up with this danger. Yet this philosophy, according to Bradbury, completely ignores the benefits of knowledge. Yes, knowledge can cause disharmony, but in many ways, knowledge of the past, which is recorded in books, can prevent man from making similar mistakes in the present and future.
Often, dystopian novels are written by an author to convey a world that doesn’t exist, but criticizes aspects of the present that could lead to the future. Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in 1951 but discusses issues that have only increased over time. The encompassing issue that leads to the dystopic nature of this novel is censorship of books. The government creates a world in which it is illegal to have any books. Firemen are enforcers of this law by being the ones to burn the books and burn the buildings where the books were found.
BLACKLIST - A list of persons who are under suspicion, disfavor, or censure, or who are not to be hired, served, or otherwise accepted.
Imagine a world where you could not read or own any books. How would you feel if you had someone burn your house because you have books hidden within the walls? One of the most prevalent themes in Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 is the idea of censorship. In Bradbury's fictional world, owning books is illegal. A fireman's job is not putting out fires like one may assume. In Fahrenheit 451, a fireman has the job of starting fires. Firefighters start fires in homes containing books. If this were reality, there would be no homes to live in. Books have become an integral part of American life. However, the theme of censorship is still relevant in American life.
United States Justice, Potter Stewart once said “Censorship reflects on a society’s confidence in itself” Ray Bradbury used this concept when building the story Fahrenheit 451. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury addresses the subject of censorship, suggesting that the major problem in society is self censorship. Ray Bradbury brings us one specific type of censorship, rather than censorship from ruling authority, he uses self censorship. This censorship is the cause of the many smaller problems in this society. In Fahrenheit 451 the citizens are censored from many things.
With a spout of kerosene and a flick of a match, a fireman sets fire to a house and all the books inside it, not waiting for the heat to reach 451 degrees farhenheit; the temperature in which it is said books ignite. This may seem a strange thing, a fireman setting fire, but in the futuristic world author Ray Bradbury created in his work Farhenheit 451(1951) this is the norm. A fireman's job is to hunt those with books and set destroy all the books with thier flames. In the Bradbury's book, the government has deemed books and all who possess them public enemy Number One, and society has accepted that with no questions asked. Books represent knowledge, difference of opinion and ideals that are now unsavory in the public's eye.
It’s no doubt that the plots of Fahrenheit 451 show Ray Bradbury’s worry about the society’s progression as well as his irritation about censorship.Throughout the novel, characterizations and symbolisms illustrate that most people such as Mildred, her friends, and Beatty all lose his or her conscience and abilities as a human. Fortunately, there still exists some people such as Montag and Faber observed the crisis in the society, and these people contributed effort to rebuild culture and civilization.Reflect to today’s society, people are still facing social problems such as lack of communication and technologies replace culture. These phenomenons should catch attentions and be solved.
In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury uses "artificial stimulus", such as television and radio, to provide the reader with a feeling of how isolated the public is and how their minds are being controlled by this conformist government in the twenty-first century. He uses technology, like the Mechanical Hound and also drugs, to show the oppressiveness of the government in his novel. Ray Bradbury chooses to write this book after seeing many of his fellow writers and other entertainers being "blacklisted" by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950's. While he couldn't just openly oppose this behavior, for he would surely be censored, Bradbury writes about an exaggerated version of his own government in which books are burned along with the houses that harbors them. This is to demonstrate to the readers how letting the government censor their art could lead to more drastic measures. Such as editing one line in a book; then a page; then the whole book is condemned and burned along side the many other books and ideas that do not agree with the government. This then leads to the eventual condemnation of all books and forms of entertainment, which is not "politically correct" and/or agreeable to the government's ideas.
In America during the era of the cold war there was a fear of the USSR and communism; Senator Mcarthy’s ideas grew in popularity and “McCarthyism” took hold across America. American people were taught to fear communism and how communism would affect American society. This growing fear led to a witch hunt for communists in America. Hollywood was victim to the bulk of communist accusations in an event called the “Hollywood Blacklist”. The Hollywood Blacklist was a significant event in the Cold War; it affected Hollywood and the victims in many ways.
Hollywood’s Blacklist developed out of complex social, political, and economical conditions. The Hollywood’s blacklist was a method utilized by the federal government to deny employment to many professionals in the entertainment industry, including but not limit to screenwriter, actor, producer, director, musicians, and animators. These professionals were “blacklisted” as a result of suspected political association with the Communist party. The manufacturing of the blacklist sprung out of panic and fear of communist reconnaissance as a result of many events that were taking place around the world such as the Soviet Eastern Europe, Berlin blockade, Chinese Civil War, confessions of high-ranking government officials of espionage for the Soviet Union, Korean War and , Atomic bomb,. The Hollywood’s blacklist was also a manifest of extreme paranoia related to the Cold War. Americans indentified a threat to their freedoms of society and democracy which facilitated a climax of intense anti-communist sentiment during the 1940’2 and 1950’s. This study will examine the creation and influence of the Hollywood’s blacklist on a political platform, and economical consequence, and a social exile of civil liberties.
In Ray Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451, censorship plays a enormous role in the theme, in that books are not allowed by the government, fireman burn books, and citizens have a lack of education on previous events.
Friar Lawrence should be pardoned, despite his large roll in their fate. Friar Lawrence was the main holy man who only wanted to make something good out of the hate
Those who defend Fahrenheit 451 are thinking about the issue rather than just acting on quick judgements, and this is obvious by the higher level of intelligence displayed in their arguments. The opinion that the book should be banned because of its references to drunkenness and use of profane language are extremely weak. What are the chances that a middle schooler hasn’t heard someone say “hell” or “damn” before? It is unreasonable to expect authors to clean up their perception of the world just so that we can pretend that our children’s ears remain unsullied by the profane language that is all too common in today’s society . The other main argument, that Bradbury portrays Christians in a negative light and advocates the burning of Bibles, is equally laughable. If the people making these claims had actually read the book and realized the message Bradbury was trying to convey, they would realize not only how ironic their demands were, but also that they were grounded in nothing but their own prejudiced beliefs. Nowhere in the book does Bradbury advocate burning Bibles (LA Weekly), on the contrary, he shows that he is against the burning of any books, regardless of whether or not they are