Fahrenheit 451 Question 8

            This is the last blog I am going to write for Fahrenheit 451! I am so happy.  After this blog, I have to read The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck.  My last blog is going to be about historical events in the novel, responsibilities between various groups and how the Ray Bradbury was influenced.

            Throughout the novel, Ray Bradbury mentions Seashell radios.  “’Well -- so there's more here than I thought. I saw you tilt your head, listening. First I thought you had a Seashell. But when you turned clever later, I wondered. We'll trace this and drop in on your friend’” (Bradbury 118).  This is from when Captain Beatty figured out that Guy Montag was communicating with someone through a small device.  “’The Seashell hummed in his ear.  ‘...watch for a man running ... watch for the running man ... watch for a man alone, on foot ...  watch ...’” (Bradbury 124).  Now Montag actually has a Seashell radio in his ear and he is listening to what the police are saying to each other.  Ray Bradbury thought of this technological advancement and decided to put it in his novel. 

“‘Dover Beach’ is a short lyric poem by the English poet Matthew Arnold.  It was first published in 1867 in the collection New Poems, but surviving notes indicate its composition may have begun as early as 1849. The most likely date is 1851” (Dover).  Ray Bradbury mentioned this in The Sieve and the Sand.  "’What's the title, dear?’  ‘Dover Beach.’  His mouth was numb.  ‘Now read in a nice clear voice and go slow’” (Bradbury 99).  Guy pulled out a book while two of Mildred’s friends were over and she made him read this poem to them. 

I think that Ray Bradbury was influenced by an invention he created and poetry!

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.


"Dover Beach." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 July 2012. Web. 31 July 2012.