Where did Fahrenheit 451 come from?

November 15th, 2006 · 27 Comments
Fahrenheit 451

If you were wondering how Ray Bradbury came up with the book, here’s an interesting video interview with the author. He explains how he came up with the names, the themes, and even some of the technology. (He also claims to have invented a number of things because of this book.)

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He seems like a fairly interesting guy. What do you think?

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27 responses so far ↓

1 Yinka // Nov 15, 2006 at 3:52 pm

Ray Bradbury seems like the kind of guy who makes genius creations by accident. Like the Professor, who made the Power Puff Girls by accident. For instance the name he gave Montag, and it happened to be a stationary company{even though i think that was too much of a coincidence!}.
2 Amanda // Nov 15, 2006 at 3:53 pm

I think it is cool how all of his books were an accident. He is very insprational because he hasn’t worked a day in his life he always just does what he like to do.
3 Yinka // Nov 15, 2006 at 3:54 pm

Oh I also think that Ray Bradbury has that elderly wisdom, kind of like Beatty from the story.
4 Steven // Nov 15, 2006 at 4:38 pm

yes, I think he is a very interesting person. he has a creative way of expressing himself and is obviously happy with what he does for a living. he has a very creative mind he has made some very interesting and funny comments as Mr. Koladse said. But I’m not sure if I would be the type of person that hangs around him. First of all he seems like those old people that are just starting to realize and understand how different the world is from when they were young. I would thinks hes one of those people that talk about the internet and e-mail is high tech. and stuff and i think that would get on my nerves. Another thing I think is funny about him is he has two chins and if i saw him in real life i probably wouldn’t be able to hold in my laughter, but other than that i think he is a very interesting person.
5 Aaliyah // Nov 15, 2006 at 4:55 pm

I think Mr. Bradbury is a nice guy. The reason why he gave some of the characters their name I just think is strange. Also I think he sort of based Montag off of himself, because while watching the clip I think that he had some character traits just like Montag.
6 Ashley // Nov 15, 2006 at 5:22 pm

I think that Mr. Bradbury is a very interesting man. Although he looks kind of funny. He is very interesting but boring at the same time. I think that it was kind of akward on how the things that he wrote about eventually came true while the book was still progressing as one of the Best Sellers. Although he does give off a vibe of being conceited, he is a pretty cool guy.
7 Blair // Nov 15, 2006 at 6:05 pm

Yes, Ray Bradbury is an interesting man. Also, as you said in class he is funny, although it is more of a dry humor. It was very intriging to listen and find out how he got the name of the characters, and the theme of the book. And also finding out the entire way that Farenheit 451 came to be as a book. It surprised me when he said that he hadn’t work a day of his life and he typed the book in a basement, on a typewriter that he rented with dimes. It was also intersting that the title of the book is the tempurature in which book paper burns at. I thought that it was fastinating that everything goes back in a circle. I personally enjoyed watching the interview.
8 William L. // Nov 15, 2006 at 6:41 pm

I think that Ray Bradbury is an interesting person because of his intellectuality. He uses many metaphors throughout his story and they challenge you to think. It suprised me to know that Ray Bradbury his never been to college. He is a gifted writer. He has never worked a day in his life which symbolizes that he has alot of confidence and trust in his work.
9 **Veronica** // Nov 15, 2006 at 7:09 pm

I think that he seems like a nice guy I pictured him as this scary old man who didn’t have a life or friends. But he actually seems like a pretty imaginative guy with a unique veiw on things. He must have had a big thought span to think about that. What I think is cool that he gave the idea for the walkman. I always imagined as all of his books as a Science Fiction but I guess I was wrong. but the part about him getting married to his wife and his worker made me have to read it again because I thought he was gay.
10 Nia Simmons // Nov 15, 2006 at 7:51 pm

To me it’s almost like a history lesson, except it’s about a book and not in one. He’s pretty cool…..for and old dude.
11 Aliyah // Nov 15, 2006 at 8:10 pm

I think he was interesting. He explained in the interview the things that happen while also showing clips of the scenes. He showed how he made and came up with the idea of the book.
12 Philip K. // Nov 15, 2006 at 8:11 pm

Yes, he is a very interesting guy. He never had a real job which shocked me because if his books did not sell very well he could be either dead or in a gutter or dark alley somewhere. Another fact that I found interesting was that he wrote this book withoutthinking logically. He has the very unique talent to let his imagination run wild. Also his stories almost predicted the future in a way. For instance the Walkman. Over all he various projects, most importantly Fahrenheit 451, he has put a lot of work into these stories and it shows through his writing.
13 Jeremy Piper // Nov 15, 2006 at 8:17 pm

He is pretty cool, but is he dead? i heard that this minnie movie was created in 2000. He seems kind of full of himself, asking for the thanks from young men all over the world for him coming in to save “Playboy”. and talking about that “in a way” he created the first walkman.
Jeremy
14 maya jefferson // Nov 15, 2006 at 8:45 pm

think he is interesting, although I think he is a little big headed because he says he invented alot of technology today!!! No he didn’t, just because he had the ideas and his were the one to get recodnized, doesn’t mean that others haven’t thought of it before and just got ignored.
15 David // Nov 15, 2006 at 8:45 pm

I think that Ray Bradbury is a smart guy and is very interesting. Mr. Bradbury could be thought of as weird because he thought different than other writers. He dosen’t care about racial issues in his books. I think that this makes him a unique person.
Mr. Bradbury dindn’t even expect for certain things about his book to be in them such as writting the name Montag. He says that later after his book was published he finds that Montag is a paper company. This also makes him unique.
David
16 maya jefferson // Nov 15, 2006 at 8:48 pm

But over all he seems like he is a nice guy. It is kind of interesting to hear him talk about writeing his book and how he didn’t go to college. I think it can show people that even though you aren’t rich or aren’t fully educated, doen’t mean that you can not acheive your dreams. Even though college is mandatory.
17 Jordan // Nov 15, 2006 at 9:43 pm

I think that it was interesting that he hadn’t gone to college, but it wasn’t all that suprising, in a way. It was suprising to me that the man I watched in the interview was the same man who depicted every little detail in Fahrenheit 451 so well. It seemed like he, based on his personality, wouldn’t be able to write something like that, in my opinion atleast. I also think that he did get a little big headed at times, but I would be too if I “created” the walkman.
18 Yazrian // Nov 15, 2006 at 10:14 pm

Yes, I think Ray Bradbury is very interesting for many reasons. I like the fact that he is okay with not having went to college and that he was self-educated, because some people are ashamed if they dont get a full education but he does’nt care and he seems like he is smarter then most people who do have a full education. I thought it was funny how he took a bag of dimes to the library and rented out the type writer for 9 days, and the fact that he wrote the whole novel in 9 days shows a great amount of skill. He was humble and arrogant in some ways about his acomplishments. I think he was acting kind of weird when he said every young man and old man owed him because he help start playboy when really his story probaly was;nt the only thing in the magazine, so if they owe him then they should owe everybody who had any part in starting the magazine. Also I think the situation is vice versa because his writng career may not have launched when it did or he would not have had a career if playboy had not published his story and he had not became known as writer. I think he is also very humble for the most part because before I watched the video I thought he would be very conceited about how smart he was and how he wrote this best selling book and “predicted” the future but really he said him self he did’nt care what was going on it was just him and his type writer and he didnt think in deep thought about what he was writng and put all these extra intellectual things in his book he just wrote what he thought, and obviously what he thought was good.
19 Melissa // Nov 15, 2006 at 10:19 pm

I think he is a very nice and creative guy. I like how he had created the names of his charectors, and the tilte of his book. I also think its interesting that he said that he never made it to college, and he ended up being a great writer even without a college education. And i also thought it was cool that he inspired the walkman.
20 Victoria // Nov 16, 2006 at 2:00 pm

I think that he is very wise and basically, he is Beatty because in my opinon he is exactly like him. I also agree with Melissa that he is cool because he inspired the walkman.
21 Neil // Nov 16, 2006 at 4:54 pm

I think Ray is an amazing and historical writer because in his darkest times of no money and his wife’s pregnancy he found a way to still write his short stories, that seem like they took forever. I like how he uses his real life experiences throughout his writings cause they make the books more interesting. I find it very interesting and funny that because of him hugh heffner became rich and famous while he was still sitting where he was sitting!
22 Breanna // Nov 16, 2006 at 5:04 pm

Ray Bradbury is an interesting guy, I like how just most of the stuff he put in his book became a reality product, and that is really cool how with not having a job he still sold enough books and made enough money to support him and his family.
23 Kelsey // Nov 16, 2006 at 6:29 pm

I think that Ray Bradbury is a over all nice person. He seems like he would be a nice person to meet. I think that he thinks that he is great then he actually is though. He thinks that he is the creator of so many things but I do not think that he was.
24 Alec // Nov 16, 2006 at 8:26 pm

I like how his stories weren’t panned ahead, that he was inspired by incedents in the real world, and made books solely depending on them
25 Raya // Nov 16, 2006 at 9:53 pm

I think he is kind of an interesting guy. I liked how he explained all his books. Watching this helped me understand why the book is the way it is. The book isn’t seem “stupid” anymore.
26 Raya // Nov 16, 2006 at 9:54 pm

I think that Ray Bradbury world be a cool dude to hang out with.
27 William J. // Nov 19, 2006 at 5:56 pm

Well, obviously you can tell that he is most passionate about his art. He goes into an abstract, yet concrete details about how the book, Farenheit 451, was influenced and how it influenced him. He shows how his work never seemed like a job, it was his own doing or “calling” to write these unique books. He constantly shows that you cannot judge him, as an author, just by Farenheit 451. Although that was one his most critically acclaimed books, you should never forget the other books he wrote. Because each and everyone of them, he loves all the the same.