Gender and Language in "Fahrenheit 451". The Fictional Orality Regarding the Reproduction of Stereotypes of Female Speech

Abstract or Introduction

This term paper, discussing Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451", aims at verifying or falsifying the hypothesis "In terms of linguistic gender stereotypes, the represented utterances of Clarisse are less stereotypical than the ones of Mildred." The author does so by analysing linguistic forms that support linguistic prejudices regarding women in a hybrid approach, which combines quantitative and qualitative aspects.

The hypothesis is to be regarded as verified if less than half of the stereotypes taken into consideration is reproduced more often in the direct speech of Clarisse. This analysis is interdisciplinary by the result of considering the branches sociolinguistics and stylistics. The analysis of the fictional orality reveals how linguistic stereotypes contribute to the portrayal of both characters and the instances of deeper meaning in this novel. Moreover, it shows to a certain degree, in how far this novel upholds the preservation of language-related clichés. Indicated stereotypical aspects of the novel can be a basis for critical questions and reflections on language-related gender stereotypes in literature, advertisement and media. Furthermore, the preparation of the examination results in an analytical framework for literary texts.

This paper starts off by, first of all, explaining the sociolinguistic perspective on linguistic gender differences to provide a clear comprehension of stereotypes, their significance, the deficits of early research on this variation and the complexity of this subject. Subsequently, the corpora's composition is illustrated and significant results of the application of the framework of analysis to the representations of direct speech of both characters are displayed. The next chapter then includes an in-depth examination of a specific part of the novel to obtain more comprehensive information regarding the contribution of representations of linguistic clichés to literary functions and a comparison of the findings. Finally, explanations for the analysis results are considered in the final chapter to justify their reliability and increase the understanding of the influences of linguistic assumptions on this novel.