Is Fahrenheit 451 the Next Step in the Evolution of the Tale
The genre of the tale has evolved over hundreds of years. A tale is a piece of literature that seldom has well developed characters and also has a stated or implied moral that the author wishes to convey to the reader. Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury is an excellent example of a tale. Not only does Bradbury’s book follows the definition of a tale but it also uses many other aspects that are common to a tale along with adding/evolving other aspects as well. The tale starts out relatively simple with the writing of the Decameron in the thirteen hundreds. The pieces of literature, The Canterbury Tales, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Secret Sharer, and the Heart of Darkness all add something specific to the evolution of the genre of the tale. Fahrenheit 451 is no exception. Bradbury continues the evolution of the tale employing many of the same tools that the authors of these pieces of literature use and then adding to or evolving upon them to make a truly exceptional tale. The tools that these authors use and then evolve upon are the use of similes, metaphors, and colors. The authors also use settings and structure to convey their tales.
The first tools that Bradbury employs is the use of similes, metaphors, and color. In The Secret Sharer and The Heart of Darkness, similes and metaphors are really a stress. These two pieces of literature are the first really to stress similes and metaphors. Bradbury develops on this with his tale. Bradbury uses similes and metaphors to describe inanimate objects. Another concept that Bradbury employs and develops is the use of color. The Secret Sharer and The Heart of Darkness describe everything in vivid color to give the reader a better sense of description. Bradbury writes in a white and dream-like state, which is mostly black and white. He then throws in splashes of color to show emphasis on certain aspects of the tale that are important for the understanding of the tale. One such example is at the beginning of the text when Bradbury describes Montag’s uniform as “gray and black with an orange salamander on it” (page 5).
The next tool that Bradbury employs that so many writers employed before him while writing tales is the use of...