Relationship+to+F451

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"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party?" Throughout the 1940s and 1950s America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism growing in Eastern Europe and China. Capitalizing on those concerns, a young Senator named Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred "card-carrying" communists had infiltrated the United States government. Though eventually his accusations were proven to be untrue, his zealous campaigning ushered in one of the most repressive times in 20th-century American politics. Careers were ruined. Lives destroyed. Thousands of people lost their jobs as, all across America, state legislatures and school boards mimicked McCarthy and his House on Un-American Activities Committee. Books were even pulled from library shelves, including //Robin Hood,// which was deemed communist-like for suggesting stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Above all, several messages became crystal clear to the average American: Don't criticize the United States. Don't be different. Just conform. Although Bradbury's chilling and dystopic vision of a society where firemen burn books came partly from nazi book burning in Germany, it was this visceral connection with McCarthyism that made the menace of his firemen seem so possible. The silence of those who were intimidated and the indifference of those who didn't care about the intellectual legacy they were forfeiting reflect a political and social reality still in evidence in this country today -- one in which Bradbury's firemen could indeed flourish.
 * McCarthyism in America **

McCarthyism caused many people to lose their jobs, quit their careers and even the destruction of lives. In F451 many people lost their jobs and had their lives ruined like Faber and the men living in the country on the rails. These were some of the consequences that people of society had to face in 1950's America and the novel F451. Also, McCarthyism promoted everyone to conform and be alike. This is very apparent in the novel since most of society acts the same way and live their dangerous and fun but meaningless lives. In addition, the movement and popularity of McCarthyism caused the limitation of certain books. Most of these books had to deal with communists themes or ideas. However, Bradbury takes it one step further when he sets the scene as all books create a bad impression and are harmful to society. As a result, the reader is introduced to the fireman, who searches and destroys any books that people have to keep peace in society. **
 * McCarthyism Relations (notes/ppt)

The term "cold war" was coined by financier and government advisor Bernard Baruch during a Congressional debate in 1947. A //cold war// is a confrontation between two world powers or groups of powers using all available resources short of armed combat (though armed combat was a terrifying reality during this time). The Cold War began after the end of World War II as a result of disagreements over postwar Europe. Each superpower (United States, Britain, France and Russia) had their own idea of how postwar Europe should be rebuilt. The Cold War rose not from one isolated event, but from the different ideologies and interests between the Soviet Union and the West. On September 23, 1949 President Harry Truman announced to a stunned nation that the Soviet Union had exploded an atomic device. The United States' monopoly of the atomic bomb was over. The Cold War had begun (and would not end until five decades later with the collapse of the USSR in 1991). From the Soviet Union's 1948 blockade of Berlin and the building of the Berlin Wall to the Soviet coup in Czechoslovakia and the 1950 invasion of South Korea by USSR-aided North Korea, mainstream America lived under the threat of communist world domination and total nuclear destruction. Home fallout shelters were built. Gas masks were sold door-to-door. //Bert the Turtle//, a government-issued cartoon character encouraged the nation's schoolchildren to //'duck and cover'// in anticipation of air attacks. Newspaper headlines were emblazoned with details of each new threat. Nuclear anxiety deeply penetrated American culture. Written five years after the end of the Second World War at the advent of the Korean War, Bradbury's book evokes an intense atmosphere of entrapment, an oppressive presence of an unavoidable doomsday, and the unmistakable apprehension of individuals living in fear of an authoritarian government.
 * The cold Cold War. **

The Red Scare cause the people and the government to fear intellectuals such as writers, teachers, and government officials. These people were then accused of being communists because they were creating laws and books, and teaching, for the greater good. They were then tried in court. In F451, these intellectuals had books and were burned. Contrasting to the greater good, these people were accused of exploiting minorities for the worse.
 * Red Scare**

The cold war reflects bradburys concerns of censorship during this period of free expression for ideas. It shows what issues were seen by Bradbury in the era.