Interpretations of The Novel...
Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in a way so that the story really enables you to envision the novel in your own way. He never explains any of the futuristic society in detail and doesn't explain the modern technology. He writes the novel as if someone from that time period would understand what "the family" who lives inside the TV is like, or the "seashells" that they wear in their ear. Because Bradbury does not describe every little detail there is a lot of room for the reader to imagine what things looks like and how the modern technology works. I think that being able to imagine things for yourself enables the reader to make a story that suits them and relates to their own life. I think that it would be very interesting to see how different people envisioned different technologies or characters described in the novel. On the following page there are descriptions of different ways that people imagined the novel.
I found the following accounts very interesting because they show all of the different ways that people imagined the same thing. I think that the Hound was really interesting because almost everyone's Hound was made out of metal and had glowing eyes. I think that Ray Bradbury was very sneaky by not describing the Mechanical Hound and making the reader create their own image, because then the reader creates a Hound that is specifically scary for them. For me a hound that looks normal but when it is activated its eyes glow and it grows extra legs scared me but for other people a metal box with spider legs is really scary. Ray Bradbury greatly increases the emotion that a reader feels when reading the novel because he allows the reader to imagine their own version of things. If the author had described the Hound exactly how he thought it looked it might not be scary to you or me.
I admire this aspect of the novel greatly becasue I think it allows the reader to personalize the story. I think that it is a good lesson to all people who are writing that if there is something that doesn't necessarily need an exact description it could benefit your story to leave out some of the detailed descriptions. Although you may have an image in your mind that perfectly exudes a certain feeling it is important to let the reader imagine things that make the story better and more exciting for them.
I found the following accounts very interesting because they show all of the different ways that people imagined the same thing. I think that the Hound was really interesting because almost everyone's Hound was made out of metal and had glowing eyes. I think that Ray Bradbury was very sneaky by not describing the Mechanical Hound and making the reader create their own image, because then the reader creates a Hound that is specifically scary for them. For me a hound that looks normal but when it is activated its eyes glow and it grows extra legs scared me but for other people a metal box with spider legs is really scary. Ray Bradbury greatly increases the emotion that a reader feels when reading the novel because he allows the reader to imagine their own version of things. If the author had described the Hound exactly how he thought it looked it might not be scary to you or me.
I admire this aspect of the novel greatly becasue I think it allows the reader to personalize the story. I think that it is a good lesson to all people who are writing that if there is something that doesn't necessarily need an exact description it could benefit your story to leave out some of the detailed descriptions. Although you may have an image in your mind that perfectly exudes a certain feeling it is important to let the reader imagine things that make the story better and more exciting for them.
The Mechanical Hound
The Mechanical Hound is an interesting invention in Montag's futuristic society. It is a piece of equipment that can identify people's DNA and then find and kill them. I pictured the Mechanical hound as a metal dog with long retractable legs, similar to those of a spider, with green eyes. At other times in the book I imagined that it was a normal dog with fur but it had many legs and green eyes.
"It's main body and legs were composed of large pieces of rusted & shiny shrapnel forced together with large nuts and bolts. Its eyes were, glowing yellow spheres like individual suns shinning from thier sockets; yet their menacing glare not nearly as warming. Its tail was thin, like a rats, but with a red glow of light running down its spine from its forehead to the tip of the monsters tail. Ending with what I imagined to be a long red antenna sprouting from where the glowing line ends on its head. And instead of large canine teeth, the creatures mouth played host to thousands of tiny, sharp fangs."
"I think the Hound looked like a weird dog thing. It is a metal german sheperd but without fur and has a fang that grows from its mouth. The Hound didn't have a long tail just kinda a stub."
"I imagined it being made of copper, with twelve curved copper plates creating the ribs/chest. My image also had the rest of its body looking like a normal dog but only the basic skeletal structure and, again, made of copper. The inside was visible since it's skeletal looking and I imagined an orb type thing in the middle emitting an orange glow. It has digital burgandy eyes and its head is like a normal dog's (not skeletony) except no tongue/teeth and one needle that can unsheath itself from the roof of the mouth when opened."
"I imagined it having a very sturdy rectangular body with 3 spidery legs on each side. The bottom of it's legs come to a sharp point and allow it to move around delicately. It doesn't have any visible buttons on it and no facial features, except for a lens on a tripod coming out of the top of it's body."
"I pictured the mechanical hound as a robot version of a great dane, his body looked like you could seperate each piece and he was very large and male."
"It's main body and legs were composed of large pieces of rusted & shiny shrapnel forced together with large nuts and bolts. Its eyes were, glowing yellow spheres like individual suns shinning from thier sockets; yet their menacing glare not nearly as warming. Its tail was thin, like a rats, but with a red glow of light running down its spine from its forehead to the tip of the monsters tail. Ending with what I imagined to be a long red antenna sprouting from where the glowing line ends on its head. And instead of large canine teeth, the creatures mouth played host to thousands of tiny, sharp fangs."
"I think the Hound looked like a weird dog thing. It is a metal german sheperd but without fur and has a fang that grows from its mouth. The Hound didn't have a long tail just kinda a stub."
"I imagined it being made of copper, with twelve curved copper plates creating the ribs/chest. My image also had the rest of its body looking like a normal dog but only the basic skeletal structure and, again, made of copper. The inside was visible since it's skeletal looking and I imagined an orb type thing in the middle emitting an orange glow. It has digital burgandy eyes and its head is like a normal dog's (not skeletony) except no tongue/teeth and one needle that can unsheath itself from the roof of the mouth when opened."
"I imagined it having a very sturdy rectangular body with 3 spidery legs on each side. The bottom of it's legs come to a sharp point and allow it to move around delicately. It doesn't have any visible buttons on it and no facial features, except for a lens on a tripod coming out of the top of it's body."
"I pictured the mechanical hound as a robot version of a great dane, his body looked like you could seperate each piece and he was very large and male."
The "Seashells"
The seashells are things that have the function of a radio and are put inside of the ear. The seashells broadcast the news about the war and other radio programs. I imagine the seashells as tiny white earbuds that fit into the ear canal and are barely visible. The seashells are the technology that appear throughout the novel and play an interesting role becasue they are worn by society but then Faber uses the sane tehnology to create an earpiece with which he can talk to Montag. Faber using the society's technology in order to create a rebellion is a great act of defiance.
"I imagined them to be similar in appearance to modern day head phones or ear buds. In my head they were a pair of small black speakers inserted into one’s ears that produce a voice. I did not get the impression that they played music, but instead were more like radio stations, where there were people talking to entertain the listener. These voices may possibly even put the listener into a passive state I can only refer to as a trance."
"A small, cheap looking plastic scallop shell (about the size of a marble) connected to a tiny green rectangle by means of a black wire. The wire is adjustable and is connected to the green radio receptor on the end, while the seashell fits into the owners ear- Like a bluetooth."
"I think they are similar to those pointy spiral seashells that look like daggers but you put the pointy side into your ear, and the top part is outside of the ear. At the top of the shell there is an antenna going behind your ear."
"The seashells, to me, look like headphones but without the extensions (the cords, etc..). Then I made them barely visible when in the ear and I also imagined them as having conchlike qualities, such as pastel shades of pink, peach, and orange for the coloring."
"The seashells looked like little baby nautilus shells that fit perfectly into your ear. They aren't visible from the outside though."
"I imagined the seashells looking like a conk but really large and elaborate. The seashells were coral colors."
The seashells are things that have the function of a radio and are put inside of the ear. The seashells broadcast the news about the war and other radio programs. I imagine the seashells as tiny white earbuds that fit into the ear canal and are barely visible. The seashells are the technology that appear throughout the novel and play an interesting role becasue they are worn by society but then Faber uses the sane tehnology to create an earpiece with which he can talk to Montag. Faber using the society's technology in order to create a rebellion is a great act of defiance.
"I imagined them to be similar in appearance to modern day head phones or ear buds. In my head they were a pair of small black speakers inserted into one’s ears that produce a voice. I did not get the impression that they played music, but instead were more like radio stations, where there were people talking to entertain the listener. These voices may possibly even put the listener into a passive state I can only refer to as a trance."
"A small, cheap looking plastic scallop shell (about the size of a marble) connected to a tiny green rectangle by means of a black wire. The wire is adjustable and is connected to the green radio receptor on the end, while the seashell fits into the owners ear- Like a bluetooth."
"I think they are similar to those pointy spiral seashells that look like daggers but you put the pointy side into your ear, and the top part is outside of the ear. At the top of the shell there is an antenna going behind your ear."
"The seashells, to me, look like headphones but without the extensions (the cords, etc..). Then I made them barely visible when in the ear and I also imagined them as having conchlike qualities, such as pastel shades of pink, peach, and orange for the coloring."
"The seashells looked like little baby nautilus shells that fit perfectly into your ear. They aren't visible from the outside though."
"I imagined the seashells looking like a conk but really large and elaborate. The seashells were coral colors."
