Good Essay On Fahrenheit 451 – Annotated Bibliography

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.
This is the primary source for the essay – in this Ray Bradbury short story, reading is outlawed, resulting in a dystopian society that censors independent thought and free will. Through close textual analysis and comparison to scholarly literature, the themes of censorship in this book will be explored.
Huntington, John. “Utopian and Anti-Utopian Logic: HG Wells and His Successors.” Science
Fiction Studies 9.2 (July 1982): 122-146.
In this article, Huntington equates Bradbury’s novel with the genius of HG Wells, and talks about the utopian and anti-utopian nature of the book. Notably, the dystopia in the book is defined through people effectively becoming dull through the denial of culture through books and reading.
Moore, Everett T. “Intellectual Freedom.” ALA Bulletin 55.5 (May 1961): 403-404.
Moore’s article provides a contemporary reaction to the book, particularly its valuing of rebellion against conformity and the familiar. Through interviews with Bradbury and discussion of the novel, Moore demonstrates a link between Bradbury’s own fears of censorship during World War II and the bookburning that occurs in the novel.
Pennavaria, Katherine. “Representation of Books and Libraries in Depictions of the Future.”
Libraries & Culture 37.3 (Summer 2002): 229-248.
Pennavara’s article discusses the recurring motif of books and libraries as a symbol of knowledge and information, comparing it unfavorably to technology and cultural advancements. Bradbury’s novel in particular is utilized in order to provide an example of this fear of technology and culture outgrowing books, offering the future as a place that fears knowledge and the past.
Reese, Christopher L. “Review.” World Literature Today. 75.2 (Spring 2001): 341.
Reese reviews Robin Anne Reid’s Ray Bradbury: A Critical Companion, in which Bradbury’s works are filtered through various works of feminism, postmodernism and the like. This source will be used to demonstrate Bradbury’s immense interest in the scholarly and critical community, and the lenses through which his work is often viewed.

Seed, David. “The Flight from the Good Life: ‘Fahrenheit 451’ in the Context of Postwar

American Dystopias.” Journal of American Studies 28.2 (Aug 1994): 225-240.
Seed’s article discusses 1950s science fiction, and Bradbury’s novel in particular, in the context of its implicit fear of the malaise that affects postwar American life. The censorship of the novel is explicitly tied to the American Library Association’s declaration that reading is essential to democracy.
Sisario, Peter. “A Study of the Allusions in Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451.’” The English Journal
59.2 (Feb 1970): 201-205+212.
Sisario takes a generalized look at Fahrenheit 451 and its theme of censorship, amongst other subtexts, by noting the allusions that are found throughout the work. From Biblical allusions to those of Jonathan Swift, Moswell, Mathew Arnold and more, Sisario shows the importance of literacy by inserting literary references within the book itself.

Smolla, Rodney A. "The Life of the Mind and a Life of Meaning: Reflections on" Fahrenheit

451"." (2009): 895-912.
Smolla offers a modern context for Fahrenheit 451 by noting modern examples of censorship that the book prefaced, and exploring its continued applicability to today. This is done through close textual analysis of the dystopian world and its emphasis on commercialism over heart and ingenuity. This article will be used to compare the messages of Bradbury’s book with the modern-day nullification of the senses, offering the book as prescient.