"If This Goes On..." Technology, Truth, and Happiness in Fahrenheit 451

Lesson 2
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ELA

Alternate Unit 1

10th Grade

Lesson 2 of 21

Objective


Analyze how Bradbury uses characterization and imagery to convey his central message about technology in the short story "The Pedestrian."

Readings and Materials


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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

How does Bradbury use characterization and imagery to develop his central message about technology? Provide specific evidence from the text to support your ideas and carefully explain your thinking.

Criteria for Success

  • Identifies that Mead values experience, thinking, and nature.
  • Identifies that Bradbury's imagery reveals that people in this society are disconnected, detached, and lifeless.
  • Connects this characterization and imagery to Bradbury's message about the dehumanizing effects of technology.

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Close Read Questions

How does Bradbury characterize Leonard Mead as he walks through the street? Provide specific examples from the text and carefully explain your thinking.

What imagery and figurative language does Bradbury use to characterize the city and its people? Provide specific examples from the text and carefully explain your thinking.

How does Leonard's encounter with the police car shape our understanding of this society? Provide specific examples from the text and carefully explain your thinking.

Vocabulary


Literary Terms

characterization

the way(s) in which an author portrays a character; can be direct (author explicitly tells the reader about the character) or indirect (through actions, speech, thoughts, and what is said about the character)

imagery

a literary device where an author includes vivid sensory details (sight, smell, sound, taste, touch), generally to develop the reader’s understanding of setting

figurative language

language that goes beyond the literal meaning of words and phrases and is used with the intention of creating an image, feeling, or deeper understanding for the reader

Text-based

manifest

v.

to display or show (par. 2)

intermittent

adj.

occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous or steady (par. 3)

ceaseless

adj.

constant and unending (par. 9)

jockey

v.

struggle by every available means to gain or achieve something (par. 9)

ebb

v.

gradually lessen or reduce (par. 17)

regressive

adj.

becoming less advanced; returning to a former or less developed state (par. 67)

Homework


  • Book: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury  pp. 1 – 7

While reading, answer the following questions.

  • What do the "firemen" do for a living? What is the irony of that?

  • Based on pages 1–2, what does Montag think of his job? How do you know?

  • Who does Montag meet on the way home? How would you describe her?

  • What detail about Clarisse's house surprises Montag?

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Standards


  • RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
  • RL.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Supporting Standards

L.9-10.6
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.10
SL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.6
W.9-10.9
W.9-10.10
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