Y9: Dystopia | Fahrenheit 451 (Week 11)

Hello Year 9,

We’ve now reached the final part of Fahrenheit 451 and, as we have two weeks of the summer term left, I’ve split it into two parts.

Here’s your work for the week beginning 6^th July:

1) Do this recap quiz.

2) Write a title: Montag vs the Hound.

3) Watch this video clip about the myth of Icarus:

See if you can spot the allusion to this story early in the next part of the novel! 

4) Read Fahrenheit 451 from page 107 (Start of Part 3) to page 133 (‘…he swept away in the dark.’).

You can read/download the text here. There is an audiobook that you can listen along with here (skip to 3 hr 37 min 55 sec).

5) As you read, or after you’ve read, answer these ‘keeping track’ questions. You can download an editable word document here, or answer the questions in your book using the document below:

Optional tasks:

6) Read about ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Doublethink’, two ideas which come from Orwell’s 1984:

• Write a sentence or two to explain how the idea of 'Big Brother' or 'Doublethink' are reflected in our world.

• Write a sentence or two to explain how Fahrenheit 451 connects to Orwellian ideas of 'Big Brother' and 'Doublethink'.

7) Look at this comparison of the dystopian worlds of Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, then consider the following questions:

• How does the dystopian world of Fahrenheit 451 compare?
• Is F451 more like 1984 or more like Brave New World?
• If you had to live in one of these dystopias, which would you choose? Which would you avoid?
• Which of these writers was most prescient?

That’s it! Let us know if you have any problems. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any observations or questions about the book.

THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT