Activity Overview
Utopian/ Dystopian literature is a rapidly growing sub-genre of popular fiction. Authors often use utopias to convey a message about the world we live in today.
Dystopias are extremely flawed societies. In this genre, unlike other literature genres, the setting is often a fallen society, usually occurring after a large scale war, or other horrific event, that caused chaos in the former world. In many stories this chaos gives rise to a totalitarian government that assumes absolute control. The flaws in this sort of a dystopia are center around oppression and restrictions on freedom by central authorities.
Fahrenheit 451 as a Dystopia
No Independent Thought (or Speech)
Society has become obsessed with the media, TV, and radio. It has censored thought and knowledge through the banning of books.
Puppet Government
The government has amended the constitution, mainly to take away rights of the people.
Lack of Free Will
Choices are taken away. Those who break the rules or laws suffer the consequences, like those who have their books burned!
"Sameness/Uniformity"
Uniformity or individuality is expressed through the media and especially through the TV. Technology has become so advanced that giant wall-sized TV's can be found in every home and TV programs can incorporate the viewer's name and preferences to get them to interact with the show.
Perfect Society
The government's censorship and a ban on books is portrayed as being for the good of society. Without religion and books, ideas cannot spark differences between people, leading to a more sedate society.
Citizens are Under Surveillance/Fear
The government uses citizens to police each other. Family members, friends, and neighbors are so afraid that they will turn on one another. This is evident when Mildred reports Guy for having a book.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows the six elements of a dystopia in Fahrenheit 451.
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Identify events or characteristics of the story that fit into the elements of a dystopia
- Illustrate the examples for each event or characteristic.
- Write a short description below each cell that specifically relates Fahrenheit 451 as a dystopia.
Lesson Plan Reference
- [ELA-Literacy/RL/8/1] Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
- [ELA-Literacy/RL/8/2] Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text
- [ELA-Literacy/RL/8/5] Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient 33 Points | Emerging 25 Points | Beginning 17 Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dystopian Elements | The six common dystopian literature elements are correctly identified and portrayed from the story. The quotes and/or explanations give context to the scene, and are accurate and appropriate to the element being depicted. | 4-5 dystopian literature elements are correctly identified and portrayed from the story, or some of the elements may not be identified correctly. The quotes and/or explanations give context to the scene, but may be minimal, and are mostly accurate for the element being depicted. | 1-3 dystopian literature elements are correctly identified and portrayed from the story, or most of the elements are inaccurately depicted. The quotes and/or explanations are too minimal, or missing altogether. |
| Artistic Depictions | The art chosen to depict the scenes are accurate to the work of literature. Time and care is taken to ensure that the scenes are neat, eye-catching, and creative. | The art chosen to depict the scenes should be accurate, but there may be some liberties taken that distract from the assignment. Scene constructions are neat, and meet basic expectations. | The art chosen to depict the scenes is inappropriate. Scene constructions are messy and may create some confusion, or may be too limited. |
| English Conventions | Ideas are organized. There are few or no grammatical, mechanical, or spelling errors. | Ideas are mostly organized. There are some grammatical, mechanical, or spelling errors. | Ideas may be disorganized or misplaced. Lack of control over grammar, mechanics, and spelling reflect a lack of proofreading. |
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Fahrenheit 451
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