chronology - When is Fahrenheit 451 set?

Is there an allocated time period in Ray Bradbury's novel? I'm not too sure if there is a timeline that led up to the events in the book, so the time in which it is set is unclear to me.

Answer

Within the book itself there is no definitive date but with a little creative analysis we can we can date the book as being set in the year 2053 (or maybe a couple of years afterwards).

Within the text of Farenheit 451, Clarisse states that her uncle was arrested for an unusual crime;

"My uncle was arrested another time. Did I tell you? For being a pedestrian. Oh, we're most peculiar."

That particular story was told in another Bradbury short story called 'The Pedestrian' which contains a reference to being set in the year "A.D. 2053" (coincidentally 101 years after the date of publication).

In an interview with 'American Author' on the occasion of his 80th Birthday, Bradbury clearly states that 'The Pedestrian' is a direct prequel to Farenheit 451.

"When I was walking on Wilshire Boulevard one night, 50 years ago, with a friend, a police car pulled up and the police inquired why we were walking on the sidewalk. And I said well we're putting one foot in front of the other. Well that was the wrong answer, and the policeman was very suspicious of us for walking in an area where there were no pedestrians... He told us to go home and not to walk any more. Then I went home and wrote The Pedestrian, which is the beginning of Fahrenheit 451. All because that policeman stopped me, thank God for that policeman."

Additionally, the novella from which 'Farenheit 451' was adapted (namely 'the Fireman' originally published in Galaxy Magazine in 1951) explictly states that the year is

Thursday morning, October 4th, 2052, A.D.

Given Bradbury's apparent predilection for placing his futuristic books a hundred and one years in the future, the figure of 2053 makes perfect sense.

Comments

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