Journal 2: Mr. Pocket and the Mean Mrs. Koala.

Once upon a time, in Sydney Australia there lived a kangaroo named Mr. Pocket. Mr. Pocket had been born in Canberra, but moved to Sydney, Australia to be closer to the Sydney Opera House. Mr. Pocket loved to sing, therefore he wanted to be as close to the music as he could possibly be. One day Mr. Pocket was hopping along the road when he heard a beautiful voice coming from inside the Opera House. Bounding inside, Mr. Pocket found Mrs. Koala practicing. Amazed at how well Mrs. Koala was singing, Mr. Pocket said,
"Wow. Your singing is absolutely beautiful. I wish I could sing as well as you did."
"Well no one is ever going to be as good as me. I have been practicing my entire life to get where I am. There is no way someone as amateur as you will ever get to my level of perfection." said Mrs. Koala.
Sobbing, Mr. Pocket left the Opera House and bounced back home. For the rest of the day, Mr. Pocket moped and sat around the house, feeling extremely sad and depressed. When Mrs. Pocket arrived home, she found Mr. Pocket sitting there on the couch watching Mary Poppins and singing along, tears coursing down the fur on his face.
"What's wrong dear?" asked Mrs. Pocket when she saw her husband crying.
"Mrs. Koala said I had no chance of ever being a good singer, and she was totally mean about it." sobbed Mr. Pocket.
"Oh dear. Well you shouldn't listen to her. She is just trying to put you down to make herself look good, that's all."
"Well, I certainly don't feel much better" replied Mr. Pocket.
"Honey, you're a great singer, and don't let anyone ever tell you different." said Mrs. Pocket.
So, Mr. Pocket went into the Sydney opera house the next day and sang his heart out. He ended up getting a part in the upcoming musical, all thanks to Mrs. Pocket's good manners and good heart, she was able to help her husband become the first kangaroo to sing in the Sydney Opera House.

*I am not really the greatest author in the world...I just wanted to throw that out there. So, my story isn't all that great, just saying.

Journal 1: Native American Culture

So I do not know all that much about Native American culture. Basically, all the knowledge I've learned, I got from the movie Pocahantas. I do know that they live, and still live on reservations, which also allows many different casinos to pop up on the Indian reservation. They received the name "Indians" from Columbus, who thought he was going to India, so he named them "Indians." Also, they tend to be extremely tan and some still do live on the reservations. Native Americans did not use technology or any form of electronics, cause hey, they were not invented yet. Native Americans were very intelligent and came up with various types of ways to survive. They had to use spears which used arrow heads for the points. In addition, bows and arrows were invented by the Indians, I think.

When I hear the name "Indians" I think of Chief Illiniwek, Twilight, and Indiana Jones. I think it sounds kinda corny, but it is. Although I do not know the origin of the Indians in those three areas, or if they were even somewhat historically correct, I still think of them. I was fortunate to see Chief Illiniwek before he was asked to leave as the U of I's mascot. I did read a book on Chief Illiniwek, but I do not remember the logistics of it. With Twilight, Jacob Black is a Quilete Indian who just happens to turn into a wolf. However, the members of the Quilete clan live on a reservation, named La Push. So at least that aspect in the extremely fictional series was somewhat accurate. As for Indiana Jones, in the first movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana is exploring an old temple which was in Peru. I do not know once again who exactly built the temple, but it was interesting to watch.

So although I do not know that much about the Native American culture, I hope to learn more as I read various stories about the culture.

Classroom Symbolism Blog

So I have already covered the symbolism in all three novels throughout my summer blogs. However, I feel that Fahrenheit 451 was probably one of the most important novels regarding the symbolism. The burning of the books was extremely symbolic as well as controversal. As I have said previously, burning could be a symbol of the education deteriorating. Also, it showed how reading and knowledge could be considered bad due to the way it allows people to be individuals and go off into unknown, imaginary worlds. So, I felt that for this blog I would just re-express my feelings and beliefs on the symbolism in Fahrenheit 451.

Final Thoughts On My Final Blog

My last blog. Yay! I was sitting wondering what my last topic was going to be, and I decided to reflect on the past couple of months and the three books I read this summer: The Grapes of Wrath, The Old Man and the Sea, and Fahrenheit 451. All three were exceptionally well written, and I can see why they were put on the list. They all made me think after I was done reading, which I found to be a good thing since I do not usually think about a book after I am finished with it. The Grapes of Wrath was a very long novel, but I am glad I read it first. I read a majority of it while on vacation, which I found appropriate, given the fact that the Joad family was also taking a journey, though not as pleasant. I found it to be very insightful, despite the fact that it was historical fiction. There were very good descriptions given and just a well written book. The Old Man and the Sea was somewhat boring to me at first. It was not a difficult novel to read, but once again, it made me think afterwards. I was just thinking about what I would do if in Santiago's position and how I would handle the situation at hand. I believe Hemingway did a good job writing the novel, and I am glad it was a short novel also. Otherwise, I would have thought it to be just like a drawn out Life of Pi. The third and final novel, which was also my favorite, was Fahrenheit 451. I saved it for last for exactly that reason. I did not really want to have to write a paper on it, and I wanted to be able to take my time enjoying it without the rush of a deadline. Now given, I still had to have the deadline of the blogs, but I was able to read the novel and not have to write a paper on it. I think I liked Fahrenheit 451 the most because one, it was written by Ray Bradbury, and two, it was the most entertaining story to read. It kept me interested all the way through to the end. The other two novels I just wanted to get done with. But with Fahrenheit 451, I thought it a lot more interesting, and not a typical novel I would expect to find on a summer English reading list. So I did enjoy all three novels I read, but Fahrenheit 451 was my favorite out of the three.

Why Ray Bradbury Wrote Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 is an extremely controversial novel. So why did Ray Bradbury write it? While doing research on him last year for my research paper, I discovered that Ray has had a fascination with the future ever since he was young. Therefore, this novel could just be seen as another science fiction novel. However, it was not. The general public read Fahrenheit 451, and immediately began wondering what message Ray Bradbury was trying to get across. Was education bad? Why was he burning books? Ultimately, I believe Ray was trying to get the nation to try and prevent what happened to Guy's society not happen to ours. He was trying to teach us all a lesson, and help us learn from Guy's mistakes. Now, we are not necessarily burning books, but the idea of education and learning is slowly fading from the eyes of children as technology takes over the world. So, Ray Bradbury was correct in Fahrenheit 451. Now he went to extremes by making the books burn, but that was so the readers would stay interested in the novel. I can see now why the novel was so controversal: it made readers think. We still would much rather have things be easier for us rather than have to work for it. Therefore, that could be another reason the book was banned in many schools. The book made people think. It reminded me of the movie Footloose, where the kids are not allowed to dance due to the message it supposidly conveys and their reading is also censored due to what the Reverand says. Therefore, Ray Bradbury was extremely smart for being able to predict how society would act. Because we are heading into the society he made in Fahrenheit 451. Now I doubt we will ever burn books, but the same ideas and messages are still being carried over through time. Therefore, Ray Bradbury was ultimately trying to warn and teach us about the future, and what is to come.

Fahrenheit 451: Good Choice for a Title

So Fahrenheit 451 was originally going to be named The Fire Man. However, after revision Ray Bradbury decided on Fahrenheit 451. Books burn at a temperature of 451 degrees fahrenheit...duh. It says so right on the cover of my novel. However, the title just sounds a lot more menacing and important as opposed to The Fire Man. I finally found this title fitting as opposed to the other two novels, which I did not agree with their titles. For once, Ray Bradbury got it right. However, he has always been good at picking catching titles. This title was fitting more for its literal sense than anything. I saw the cover and read the title and already knew, ok, this book is about books being burned. But when I read the other two titles, I thought Grapes of Wrath was going to be about a family that works in a vineyard and Old Man and the Sea was appropriate, but should have been titled Old Man and the Marlin. However, aside from that, Fahrenheit 451 was actually a complex book apart from its basic story line. Mixed in with the story line was a large amount of symbolism and ideas that made the reader think. I was not quite expecting that when I read the title. I expected symbolism because Ray Bradbury is full of it in his novels. I just was not expecting to still be thinking about the novel after I finished reading it. The novel certainly brings up good topics for discussion, especially since it was written and published in the 1950's, when most of the technology was still in the developing stages. That, I was not expecting as much when I started the novel. The title certainly did have a lot to do with me picking the book. Just because, it sounded a lot more exciting as opposed to the other novels we had to choose from. Plus the fact that it was written by Ray Bradbury also helped. I tend to not only choose a book by its cover, but by its title as well. Fahrenheit 451 seemed a lot more exciting as oppoesed to My Antonia or Their Eyes Were Watching God.

The Ending

Ok, so I am reading Fahrenheit 451, and I am really getting into the novel when BOOM! The book is over...literally with a boom. What happened? I mean, sure Bradbury had to end the novel sometime, but not in the way he did. That is the one thing I did not like about the novel: the ending. Because Guy is getting chased by the police and a mechanical hound, he goes into the river, causing the hound to lose his scent. Then, the police pick an innocent man to kill in the place of Guy as they cannot admit defeat, and Guy meets up with other people just like him. How coincidental is that? Now I get that it is a novel, and needs to have a somewhat happy ending. But seriously? I half expected Clarisse and Faber to show up and they could have a happy book reading party. Then, the entire city just explodes? Now I get that maybe it was a nuclear war or something like that was occurring at that time. But, it is just really convenient that Guy and the group he is traveling with now did not get caught up in the nuclear blast. Because, I am assuming that is what hit the city. Another question I came up with: how are they going to rebuild society with just a couple of books? Because they have pretty much no other supplies other than a couple of books, blankets, and things of that nature. Who's to say that Guy and his buddies are the only remaining men alive in the nation. How is society going to be reborn from them? That part did not make much sense to me either. However, I will give credit to Ray Bradbury for writing an extremely good book. It definitely made me think, and left me with a lot of questions, but ones that could not have been answered in the novel. I would have to ask Ray Bradbury himself these questions. Just because, this novel actually made me think. I got done reading it and just sort of sat there wondering what just happened?

Knowledge Is Power, But It Can Also Lead to Destruction

The every occuring theme in Fahrenheit 451 is "knowledge is power." However, it could also be that not knowing is better too. At the beginning of the novel, Guy just goes along and does his own job, no questions asked. So, he has never known another way of life, and he is happy. But then Clarisse shows up, and shakes things up for Guy. He begins to gain knowledge of a past life when things were a lot different than the times he is experiencing now. He wants to find out more, which is dangerous for him to do in that society. As he learns more about the old times and begins to read books, he becomes a "threat" to soceity. Beatty has a problem with power as well. He knows too much, and uses his power to taunt Guy. Like I have said, Beatty must have been reading books himself because he would just start quoting passages from books and authors, and it made me wonder how he knew all of it. Because, if Guy was being suspected for reading, why was Beatty not. That did not make too much sense to me. But, Millie had no idea what was going on, and she was happy. Therefore, another message could be "ignorance is bliss." Millie was perfectly content with her three t.v. screens and her various reality t.v. shows that she did not need books, reading, or learning to make her happy. She wanted nothing to do with what Guy was getting involved in. Because Beatty knew so much, it ultimately ended in his destruction. Because, he just kept quoting things to Guy and making him mad that finally Guy just snapped and used the flame thrower on him. While I find that is violent, it was also symbolic in that Beatty had become much like a book himself and needed to be burned. I just thought about that for a minute after I had read it and thought "why a flame thrower?" But, it makes sense now. Beatty was becoming a threat, and needed to be disposed of.

Faber

Faber was a peculiar character. He reminded me a lot of a male and older Clarisse. Just because he also believed in reading books rather than burning them, and knew how times were back in the "old days." I was happy when I read that Guy was going to see Faber because after the loss of Clarisse I was starting to feel bad for Guy. I mean here he is trying to get society away from all the technology, and he has to do it by himself. His wife is completely obsessed in her daily television shows and he is there all alone. So, I was happy when Ray Bradbury brought Faber into the picture. I was glad there was another "anti-burner" because if there had not been, the book would have probably gotten real boring, real fast. Because Guy would have had to do everything by himself, and it would have probably not gone too well.

The thing I liked about Faber was how he did not have all of the technology in his house. I found at the end of the novel that he had just a small television wall screen to keep up with the rest of society, but he rarely used it. Faber also invented the ear bud green bullet things, which I thought were really cool. Faber hoped to one day have everyone on one large network, able to listen to what the other person had to say. That was Ray Bradbury's ideas of the bluetooth and cell phones. I also like how Faber was extremely cautious on the phone with Guy. When Guy first calls Faber, Faber is very anti-books and says no, all books you are talking about have been destroyed. That shows that Faber does not trust just anyone. Even when Guy shows up at Faber's house for the first time, Faber is hesitant to let him inside until he is sure he is alone. So I liked Faber as well, just because he reminded me a lot of Clarisse, and he helped Guy out when he was in trouble.

The Three Sections and Their Symbolism

An interesting part of Fahrenheit 451 was that it was separated into three sections: The Hearth and the Salamander, The Sieve and the Sand, and Burning Bright. Each of the sections was symbolic to what that particular part of the book meant.

In the Hearth and the Salamander, we are learning about Guy's life at home, or the hearth. The hearth could also have something to do with fire since hey, the whole book involves fire. The salamander can be taken a couple different ways. For one, the fire trucks are called the Salamanders, so Bradbury could be going for a literal sense in putting salamander in the section. However, I believe it symbolizes how salamanders act. They are very quick, and are constantly moving. (Although I am not big into animals or salamanders, so don't quote me on this) But, salamanders almost just sound like it would involve fire because I just kept thinking of its tongue, spitting fire.

I really liked the second section: The Sieve and the Sand. Just because, it was so fitting to what was occurring in that particular section. Guy is trying so hard to absorb all the new information, but it is going right through his brain, and he is not catching barely any of it. Ray even mentions a story about Guy where he kept trying to put sand through the sieve and fill it up, but failed for obvious reasons. I believe this section was very symbolic, and the section title was appropriate.

Burning Bright was another good section title. In this section Guy burns down his own house, and goes mad for a brief period. This section title can also be taken a couple of ways. The literal way in that fire burns brightly, or in the way I took it. I took this section to mean that Guy is the one burning bright because he becomes an unique individual "burning bright," and away from the rest of society. He comes separated from everyone else, and it makes him different.

Conflicts In Fahrenheit 451

Once again, there are many conflicts occurring in Fahrenheit 451. There are two main ones that I managed to pick up on.

Conflict Number One: Guy vs. Society.
This one is pretty obvious. Just because it's the basis of the whole novel. Guy is being rebellious, and wants to do things his way, while often questioning the society's way of doing things. Along the way he fights his own wife and fire chief, and ends up killing his fire chief with a flame thrower. He does win this conflict by running away after his house gets burned down, and he meets up with a book group who wants to help re-build the city.

Conflict Number Two: Guy vs. Himself.
Thanks to Clarisse, Guy's ideas and views on his own life are questioned. For practically his whole life Guy has burned books, no questions asked. However, he meets and talks to Clarisse, and things get all messed up. Now, he does not know what to do, or who to turn to. He has conflicts within himself on whether to continue burning the books like he is told, or stop burning them and actually read the material he was burning and try and stop the book burning. In the end, Guy wins the conflict within himself as well as he does give in to the temptation of reading the books instead of burning them and burns his fire chief for getting in his way. Plus, the fire chief was going to arrest him after he burned down his own house, but that is completely beside the point. The point being that despite having obstacles in his way and being threatened by a giant mechanical hound, he still listened to his conscience and went with reading the books, which is what I would have chosen if given the choice to burn or read books. It would all depend on the consequences. And Guy read even though he knew it could get him in serious trouble, which it did for a brief period of time.

The Mechanical Hounds

Ok. So these things seriously freaked me out. I mean, they are cool sounding and kudos to Ray Bradbury for thinking of them. But as I was reading I was really confused at first as to what these things did exactly, or what it even was. Because I thought it might be a car at first, but then I was talking to Ryan at band camp and I re-read part of a paragraph and was like, "Oh, the Hound is a giant mechanical electronic fire dog." Which, I thought was kind of cool at first, because it was not the typical Dalmatian fire dog. Instead it was giant and mechanical. However, its purpose was to sniff out books and "bad guys" is what I gathered from the novel. Especially when it was threatening and freaking out Guy. Then I was thinking how not nice these hounds were. In a way, I kept thinking of Star Wars droids. Yes I seriously just brought Star Wars into an English blog. But, I pictured the hound as a mix between a droideka and a battle droid, minus the whole take over the galaxy and rule the world thing. That's just what I was imagining this giant hound to look like. I did not actually picture a dog at first even though it is called a hound. I did not make the connection right away.

But like I said, these things freaked me out because they could sniff out your DNA, and find you no matter where you went. However, they obviously could not always find you, as Guy managed to escape into the river. But still. I would hate to have a giant robotic hound chasing me just for trying to read a book. Although, Guy did a bit more than read a book. He kind of burned his fire chief and house down and then fled. But still. They certainly did make me intimidated by Ray Bradbury's descriptions.

Turning Point in Fahrenheit 451

I think the turning point, and my favorite part in the novel Fahrenheit 451 was when Guy was summoned to burn down the lady's house. It was at this point that Guy stole a book from the woman's house and kept it for his own. I think he realized then that what he was doing was wrong, so he took a book to sort of remember. Clarisse had gotten through to him after all, and he ended up stealing a book. It did make me sad that they had to burn down the house, but it seemed necessary for the flow of the novel. Then, when Guy gets home and feels sick, I went yayy! He is finally coming to his senses. Even after that when Guy pulls out all the books from his air vent, I was happy because he was doing something rebellious, and against the law. Of course, I am not trying to promote or believe in being rebellious and breaking the law, but in a novel like this, I found what Guy to be doing appropriate. Just because he had been told what to do and what not to do for so long, he was not an actual person anymore, in my opinion. He was basically a book burning fireman robot, who did what his fire chief told him to do. So like I said, when he stole the book I was actually happy. Also, because some action was finally occurring in the book. Because as I have said earlier, I do not like books with tons of talking. And up to that point, there had been a lot of talking, and not too much excitement. But, after Guy began to question himself and why he was actually burning the books and houses, I found the novel quite interesting and entertaining. Like I said, I think it was my favorite part because Guy was breaking out of his shell, and becoming who he himself wanted to be, despite breaking the law.

Mildred

Mildred Montag, or Millie as Guy often referred to her as, is Guy's wife. I did not like Millie at all. Just because, she was not a real person to me. Sure she functioned as a person, but she was practically lifeless. Her entire life was focused on her three giant wall television screens. She was BORED when Guy was reading passages to her from the novels he had secretly kept. I mean, seriously? How could she be bored. Oh yeah, that's right. It was interrupting her daily t.v. schedule and it was illegal. I can understand the illegal part, but who cares about the television? I rarely watch t.v., and I manage to survive each day. If given the option, I would much rather read an entertaining book rather than watch t.v. By the sound of the shows she was watching, they all sounded pretty stupid and pointless to me. She did not want adventure or excitement. All the adventure and excitement she got, she got from her three television wall screens.

I mentioned similarities in Fahrenheit 451 to Brave New World and one was that of Millie and Linda. Millie seems to always want to not work, and takes pills for everything. The main one Bradbury describes is the sleeping pill. Linda takes to much soma to feel good, and does not want to have to work either. Reading about Millie and how self centered she had become made me irritated. Just because she should get out and DO something rather than sit and complain about how she does not have a fourth t.v. screen. However, she is a good example of how people in our society are becoming. I am not necessarily saying anyone in particular, just as a whole. We as a whole are a lot more technological inclined. Just take a look at this class for example. We're paperless, and email our essays online. Everything is done with technology. People have come to rely on it always being there and when it is not, they do not know what to do with themselves.

A Book on Censorship Being Censored...Ironic?

I read the afterword and coda at the end of the novel, which were both written by Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451. The afterword was interesting to read as it provided an additional scene that was not added into the novel. The scene was one where Beatty takes Guy to his own house, right before he is to take Guy to his apartment to burn it down. While at Beatty's place, Guy discovers Beatty's secret library which is filled with books. When asked about it, Beatty replies, "You can have as many books as you want, you just can't read them." Ok, seriously? Who would have a large library filled with books and not read them. The temptation to read them would be overwhelming, at least for me. That could just be because I love to read, but still. This just fuels my belief that there was more to Beatty than Ray Bradbury initially described.

Then in the coda, Ray Bradbury begins to laugh saying how here is a book written about censorship, and it is being censored in some schools. Even that made me laugh out loud. I was talking to my dad, and we still do not fully understand why Fahrenheit 451 is not allowed in some schools. The best idea we could come up with is because they are burning books, and that could be considered disrespectful. But when you actually think about it, (which this book made me do a lot of) Ray Bradbury was actually right. We are not necessarily burning books, but the idea of reading is slowly fading. People want everything to come easy to them instead of having to work for it. Because, what is the fun in hard work. My dad had a good analogy. He said, "you can take a walk around our block, and it's fine. You work a little bit. But, you go and take a hike in the Smoky Mountains, and it is much more rewarding. Sure it is hard work, but the end result is definitely worth it. And people in today's society are less inclined to work, they would rather have everything come easy to them." I totally agree on what he said, and not just because he is my dad. But because life needs variety, and the people in Fahrenheit 451 did not have that variety; their day was the same all day, every day.

Beatty

Beatty or bee-atty like I liked to call him was a difficult character to interpret. When I first started reading Fahrenheit 451, he seemed like an okay guy. However, as the book progressed, I began to dislike him more and more. He seemed to have some sort of grudge or "unfinished business" against Guy. Either that, or he was jealous of Guy for some reason. However, my mom and I were discussing Beatty and we both agreed that there was something up with Beatty. Because, he could quote a lot of books. During Beatty and Guy's discussion at the firehouse, Beatty just starts quoting off many different people from books. Therefore, I believe that Beatty was also secretly reading himself, and did not tell anyone. Another thing I picked up on was his death, that Guy also noticed. And it was because of Guy talking to himself that I noticed this. But, right before Beatty died, Guy told him to be quiet and he would not shoot him with the flamethrower. However, Beatty just kept talking and ranting and provoking Guy. So, I get the impression that maybe Beatty wanted to die for some odd reason. Maybe he had a guilty conscience and wanted someone else to share in that guilty conscience. But why he would pick Guy I am not entirely sure, since Guy had a guilty conscience as it was. However, I think Beatty had his own secret library as Ray Bradbury included in his afterword. I still believe Beatty was a jerk, as he gave the Hound Guy's scent to mess with him and make him feel threatened. He was a bully and truly believed in knowledge is power. Because, Beatty knew a lot, and that in turn made him superior to everyone because they did not know as much as him. Ultimately, it resulted in his death, which is unfortunate for him, but I think he was asking for it to be quite honest, as bad as that sounds.

Technology Taking Over Society

A common theme I found while reading Fahrenheit 451 was how technology was taking over the people's lives. Everything was there to help make the people's lives easier. Reading this reminded me a lot of Adoleus Huxley's Brave New World, which I had to read last year. In fact, I found a couple of things in common with Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 that made me laugh to myself. The main thing was the enormous amount of technology that was put into the novels. For instance, the people have giant television screens installed in their homes which allows them to interact with people wherever, whenever. Basically, it was Ray Bradbury's idea of cell phones. Also, as I have said before, the sea shells Millie puts in her ears are today's iPods and mp3 players. Because, Guy can put the sea shells in his ear and hear the news and different radio frequencies. There were also the green bullets Faber and Guy used near the middle of the novel. I compared those to today's hands free bluetooth devices. The difference being that the green bullets were put into the ear, much like a hearing aid. At least, that is what I gathered from the descriptions given. I thought the automatic door system was neat, and I noticed that Ray Bradbury must have thought a house could function by itself in the future. At least start slowly advancing that direction. I believe we will soon have the sensor doorbells, alerting us when someone arrives at our door. I am still not so sure about the cars driving 100 miles an hour on the highway. I think that if technology does advance the way it is, we will be able to safely eventually. It was just entertaining and interesting to read Ray Bradbury's portrayal of the future, and how predictable us humans truly are. Because, Fahrenheit 451 was written in 1950, so there was no way cell phones or iPods had been invented yet and still, he was correct in the technological advances.

Clarisse

As I said earlier, Clarisse was probably my favorite character in the novel Fahrenheit 451. Just because, she was the one who started Guy thinking, and she was not self centered whatsoever. Beatty later goes on to talk about her and she was never thinking of herself. Instead, she was thinking of how and why things occured, and the causes for them. She skipped school because it bored her and she disliked being taught by computers and t.v. screens all day. She was also very knowledgable for her age, which is another reason I liked her. She told Guy of the "old days" where technology was not everything and people did actually still read and enjoyed gaining the knowledge through books instead of computers.



One thing I disliked about what Ray Bradbury did was he took Clarisse out of the picture. From what I read, he made it sound as if Clarisse got run over by a car and killed. However, I read the afterword and coda written by Ray and he said in the movie they have Clarisse come back and she is in the book group Guy joins after he runs from the Hound. In my opinion, I think Bradbury should have kept Clarisse and together, she and Guy could have then joined forces with Faber and tried to bring the books back. Because Clarisse was a big influence on Guy. He missed talking to her after she abruptly disappeared, and I believe it affected him. He was a lot more down once he stopped talking to her. Just because, she helped him learn new things and actually made him think, which was a concept he had never thought of or tried before. I think it would be interesting to find out where Clarisse learned all her knowledge of the old days and how she had not been caught sooner. Ultimately, I see Bradbury's reasoning in taking Clarisse out of the picture. It gave Guy the chance to be independent and think for his own. Clarisse just helped him get started, and then she had to be removed.

Guy Montag

Guy Montag is the main character in Fahrenheit 451. When first reading the novel, I was like, "why name the main character Guy?" However, upon reading further, I realized it was just another one of Ray Bradbury's many symbols throughout the novel. Just from the name, I assumed he must not be all that secure and does not really feel all that safe about who he really is as a person. I do not blame him, as his beliefs and values are shaken up quite a bit through the novel.

Guy meets Clarisse near the beginning of the novel, and as she is telling him of days when firemen actually put out fires instead of started them and that books were actually allowed, he begins to question himself. Then he arrives home and sees his wife passed out from a drug overdose, and he realizes Clarisse is pretty much the only one who can help him. But when she disappears, everything seems to go downhill for Guy. He lost his wife to technology and Clarisse to who knows what. He's pretty much all alone with himself. However, he does not know what he is going to do either, because he wants to read and gain knowledge, but at the same time he is concerned about the Hound, which is growling and threatening him, making him feel more scared and guilty. So throughout the novel Guy is constantly being pulled in different directions within himself.

I did feel bad for Guy by the end of the novel. Because at that point, he had lost everything. His house, all his friends, most of his books, and his job. Plus, he was being chased by a crazy smart mechanical Hound and the police, and was a wanted man. I found that sad, because all he wanted to do was read and gain knowledge. But, in that society it was banned, so I did feel bad for Guy. Although he did ask for it by burning his fire chief to the crisp and running away from the scene of a crime; not that I blame him. Because to be honest, if I was in his situation, I would run to. However, I do not find myself getting in that situation any time soon.

Fahrenheit 451: Finished!

Well, I finally finished reading Fahrenheit 451, and I was pleasantly surprised. I actually enjoyed this novel. It moved along quite well, but raised some interesting topics for discussion. Once again, I like Ray Bradbury's unique writing style, as it allowed me to "feel" the emotions Ray Bradbury was trying to convey. It was certainly not a dull novel to read. Although not my favorite Bradbury novel, (Something Wicked This Way Comes still is) I did enjoy reading it a lot more than The Grapes of Wrath or The Old Man and the Sea.

I think the most interesting concept in the novel was the actual plot. Bradbury uses an interesting concept of book burning as his basis on which to write the novel. When I first started reading it, I had certain ideas of what was going to happen, but I was actually not all that accurate. I figured Guy would get a whole fireman rebellion going, and eventually turn his whole city back to the idea of books and learning through books again. Instead he sorta just gets chased by the Hound and ends up with this group who is just like him and want to keep books around. I did find it ironic, but the major point of the story, in that Guy first loved seeing books burn, but after talking to Clarisse, he begins to question himself and his ideas and values and eventually turns away from the whole book burning idea. I would have to say Clarisse was probably my favorite character just because she was "normal" to me in her ways of thinking. She was one I could relate to the most as opposed to the other characters who were all used to their futuristic way of life. I do not really understand why Bradbury had her disappear, but I will get into that in another blog entry.

So, I did enjoy Fahrenheit 451 despite its grim topic. I am certainly glad it is not being censored by our school, as many passages in this novel are censored by schools.

Ray Bradbury's Writing Style

One thing I have had a difficulty with understanding, but is typical for me reading a Ray Bradbury novel, is the vast amount of symbolism Bradbury uses. Also, it is interesting to read about how Bradbury is describing the future, and how incredibly accurate he was; it is kinda spooky. The first thing I want to point out is the tube the doctor uses to pump out Mildred's blood, and replace it with new blood. Instead of saying "they pumped her stomach," Bradbury describes the tube as a long black snake injecting its venom into her. My dad and I were discussing this, and Bradbury could have just been simple about it. However, by using the snake, Bradbury paints a much more elaborate picture in the reader's mind and sets the mood. I could tell by reading that this tube was not necessarily a good thing, and Guy even says how his wife is just an empty shell now. The doctor took out all the bad blood and replaced her insides. Basically, she got a new soul. Bradbury also is describing everything in great detail, which I found is similar to the way Steinbeck wrote. Bradbury truly does paint an image into my head of how the town looks at night, or the way his room looks. One thing I still have not figured out, however, is what The Hound is. I just got to that part, but I am curious as to what it is, and what it symbolizes.



The way Bradbury talks of the future and how accurate he is can be, like I said, spooky. The seashells he describes in Mildred's ears are basically today's iPods. At first I thought it was symbolism for drifting off and dreaming, but I re-read it and discovered that it was our iPods. Also, Mildred is obsessed with the three t.v. screens in her house, and in today's society, we are all constantly on a computer, cell phone, or watching t.v. Therefore, I found it interesting how Bradbury was able to predict the technological advances in technology.

Predictions for Fahrenheit 451

So far, Guy has met a girl, Clarisse who has made him think a lot. She tells Guy of a time when firemen would put out fires instead of burn them. When Guy gets home, he finds his wife overdosed on sleeping pills, and has to have all new blood put into her. My dad asked me why I thought books were prohibited, and I think it is because the government or society does not wish people to be independent or use their imagination. I predict that Guy will become separated from his wife, as she is caught up in all the hype and media. Guy will continue to spend time with Clarisse and eventually try to make the law banning books to be overthrown. However, I do not think Guy will realize the consequences of his ideas, and it could get him into trouble. I do not believe Guy is going to let the ideas and possibilities Clarisse suggested out of his head, as there are many possible, though dangerous, ideas for him to pursue. I could tell Clarisse had an impact on Guy, as he did not brush her off like many others before, according to Clarisse. In addition, Guy continues to think about what she said as he goes home. I did notice the relationship, even early on, between Guy and Mildred is dwindling. Mildred is all about staying up on the modern times and fitting in, while Guy seems to be the complete opposite. Therefore, I predict their relationship is going to go downhill eventually. I hope Guy spends more time with Clarisse, as she makes Guy think and seems like a good character. I believe that as soon as Guy sees what the society has done to his wife, he will have no one to turn to for guidance. However, Clarisse will be there for him, and together they can try to bring books and knowledge back into the world, getting rid of a majority of the media and technology that is taking over their everyday lives.