More Than Marriage-Gender Equality

Fahrenheit 451 Page 90-100 NOTES

• " It looks like a seashell radio."                                                                                                           "And something more! It listens! If you put it in your ear, Montag, I can sit comfortably at home, warming my frightened bones, and hear and analyze the firemen's world, find its weaknesses without danger" (Page 90) Faber admits to Montag that he's been spending his years hidden away in his house, waiting for someone to talk to him and he knew that day when Montage sat with him in the park that he would bring either fire or friendship. Faber created a listening device like he somehow foresaw this happening, ready to listen  in on the world of firemen and develop a plan with Montag's help. page 90
• Almost getting caught by Mildred's friends, he pretends that once a year Firemen are allowed to bring home one book to mock. He reads Dover Beach to the ladies. The poem made Mrs.Phelps cry  "I've always said poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings, poetry and sickness; all that much! I've had it proved to me. You're nasty, Mr.Montag, you're nasty!" page 101 Mrs.Phelps is actually very moved by the poem, that's why she's crying but they connect it to bad feelings because reading is a nasty act. And poetry is the biggest joke of them all.

Vocabulary: Fall List #8

1. Bobbins: A spool                                                                                                                                                     Many elderly women own bobbins.
2. Coils: sequence of rings                                                                                                                                       It's annoying when the hose forms in coils.
3. Advantageous: beneficial                                                                                                                                         It's academically advantageous to do all of your homework.
4. Praetorian: Having the powers                                                                                                                                 I was never a member of the Praetorian Guard.
5. Profusion: an abundance                                                                                                                                     Sephora sells makeup in great profusion.
6. Insidious: Subtle, but with harming effects                                                                                                               Ebola can be considered an insidious virus.
7. harlequin: a mute  and masked character                                                                                                           I'm thinking about being a harlequin doll for Halloween.             
8. leisure: free time                                                                                                                                                     I love to leisurely lay around my house on weekends.
9. receptacle: space used to contain something                                                                                                     It's always practical to have a trash receptacle.

WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

Post a brief paragraph to your blog (title: WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?) in which you comment on conversations.  Observe what people actually talk about, and think out loud about how we can all get more meaning and/or value out of our daily interactions with each other.

(Listening to random conversations)

• Ebola: This goes under the category of current epidemics. The media is sending people into a frenzy which scares everyone around the world, it's just like the cases of mad cow disease, the suspicion of the return of the black plague in China or Whooping Cough. Paranoia takes over on a huge chuck of society and leads to unnecessary fear. I believe these conversation are inevitable with how much the media spreads these conversations. Being aware that these viruses and diseases do pose real threats is important but it's also over spoken of and won't change the fact that it's a growing issue. The media needs to stop scaring our entire nation's population and we ourselves should keep Ebola conversation to a minimum.
• TV Shows: No matter where you are, you'll always hear talk of people's favorite TV shows such as Orange is the New Black, American Horror Story and The Mentalist. I think people talk about TV shows because social media makes them so wildly popular an we love to have connect with people with our same interests. A simple conversation can turn into a full blown discussion and debate on what is happening on the latest seasons of our favorite series, I think these type conversations can be very meaningful because it's human connection. Nowadays we value entertainment and if you like the same things as others you are more likely to have more conversations with them on other topics later on, maybe suggest "Hey, come over to my place for the season premier" and make new friends.
• Books: Books are a huge part of my life, I'm an avid reader and books are my instant getaway from real life. So when I see someone reading in class I'm instantly intrigued because I know they are reading just because they enjoy it, and that's not something we commonly see especially in my generation. I love finding out someone has read the same book as me and getting their feedback on it. These are, to me, some of the most valuable conversations that I can have with other teenagers. 
• Travel: I don't hear much of this amongst my piers but when I do I jump into that conversation because I always have something to say about travel. Travel in my passion and I respect travelers so much because I see it as a lifestyle. It warms my heart hearing people talk about where they dream of going/doing/seeing one day because my mind is constantly on that place. That is a very important topic to me.

Fahrenheit 451 Pages 80-90 NOTES

• Denham's Dentifrice: An advert for toothpaste ? Dentifrice=Toothpaste in French (Pages 78-80)
• Montag goes to Faber's house. "Nobody listens to me anymore. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; because she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk enough, it'll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand how I read." (Page 82)
• Faber tells Montag that three things are missing to happiness and books.                                           1) Quality of information                                                                                                                 2) Leisure to digest it                                                                                                                       3) The right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first                   two   (Pages 83-85)                                                                                                        
• Montag gets the idea to get a press and print extra copies of books. Faber thinks it's a horrible idea. (Page 85)
• Faber agrees to teach Montag and collaborate with him and his ideas (Pages 88-90)

Vocabulary Fall List #7

1 Pratfall- fall onto one's buttocks
EX:The very drunk man took a pratfall onto the cement.

2.Bewildered- Perplexed and confused
EX: Amanda Bynes bewilders me.

3.Titillation- Arouse by stimulation
EX: Titillation leads to procreation.

4. Theremin- an instrument
EX: I don;t know anyone whom plays the theremin.

5. Tabloids- A newspaper of sorts
EX: You can;t always believe what you read in the tabloids.

6. Centrifuge- Machine that separates fluid of different densities
EX: You can find centrifuges in certain factories.

7. Haltingly- In a halting manner
EX: "Halt! Who goes there?!"

8. Probing-
EX: I wouldn't enjoy being probed by aliens.

9. Stagnant- Having no current or flow, usually an unpleasant smell.
EX: Over time, the river became stagnant.

10. Cacophony- Harsh mixture of sounds
EX:The playing of broken instruments turned into a cacophony.

Fahrenheit 451 Vocab (Pages 50-70)

1. Feign
2. Yammer
3. Exploiter
4. Centrifuge
5. harlequin
6. contemptible
7. dictum
8. tinkerer
9. tom-toms
10. incinerator

Literature Analysis: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

1. What did you expect and/or hope to experience through reading it?
I hope to get more useful information about Ray Bradbury's thoughts and hopefully end the book thinking it was awesome and have gained yet another great book-reading experience. I like reading books other people pick and seeing why they were drawn to them, hoping I'll enjoy it as much as they did. 
2. What kept you reading past the first ten pages?
What kept me reading after the first ten pages was the fact that I have to read it because it was assigned but as a beginning of a book it wasn't too bad, it wasn't a torture to read so I hope the rest of the book ends up being mentally simulating like many people say it is.

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
Fahrenheit 451 is a novel set in the year 2053 in a futuristic and dystopian society which the author, Ray Bradbury foreshadowed in a creepily accurate way. The protagonist, Guy Montag is an ordinary fireman in this estranged era whose life is turned upside down when he meets a young girl who makes him question this twisted society's idea of censorship and his profession. In modern day time, firemen set out fires created accidentally but in this novel firemen set fire to people's homes who are found to be hiding books, as books are illegal to read and possess. Many would say this book is about censorship but what it's really about is the importance of books, not the books or even plots themselves but the ideas and questioning we get out of them. Bradbury fulfills his purpose of the novel by his well thought out/written thesis within the plot.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
The theme of Fahrenheit 451 is, like I stated above, is the importance of reading, not necessarily books themselves but the ideas and questions we form when reading these books. The information they give us has the ability to make us think in ways that test our critical thinking (If you do it right, that is). Our human intelligence would be virtually dead without any type of reading, which is the direction we are heading in and that's exactly what Bradbury foreshadows in this book in particular. 

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
I would describe the author's tone as being pessimistic towards the future. The whole book foreshadows the future to be a gloomy, dark place where people live for their parlor walls, don't communicate with their family and jobs that include burning down people's houses are highly approved.

-"It's like being a pedestrian, only rarer. My uncle was arrested another time--did I tell you?--for being a pedestrian. Oh, we're most peculiar." Being a pedestrian was frowned upon along with many other things we deem normal now but one day things may change and make the world as twisted as this book. Pages 9-10
-"There are billions of us and that's too many.Nobody knows anyone. Strangers come and violate you. Strangers come and violate you. Strangers come and cut your heart out. Strangers come and take you blood. Good God, who were those men? I never saw them before in my life!" Page 16
Montag talks about the doctors taking care of Mildred when she has to go to the hospital when she overdoses. Bedside manners were very different when this book was written, you knew your doctor and a lot of the time they came to your house if you needed them.
-"The first time we met, where was it, and when?"  
"Why, it was at--"
She stopped.
"I don't know," she said.
He was cold. "Can't you remember?"
"It's been so long."
"Only ten years, that's all, only ten!"
We can take from this text the theory that when the world turns gray as foreshadowed in this novel that relationships won't be as important like Montag's and Mildred's page 43

4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
SYMBOLISM- Fire is used as a symbol for transformation in this novel. Add a little kerosene and something burns and transforms into ash. Just like Montag transforms during the book.
ALLUSION-From the first page up until "He turned the corner" page 5 He turns both physically and in his life as he grows new eyes, if you will. He now feels uncertain and out of character.
HYPERBOLE- "Kerosene"... "is nothing but perfume to me." page 6 He exaggerates to cause shock and make the statement jump out at you.
OXYMORON- "They walk in the warm-cool blowing night." page 6
SIMILE- "Her face bright as snow in the moonlight." page 7
ALLUSION- "Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner.." page 8 
He's talking about burning the works of these authors, not the authors themselves.
PERSONIFICATION- "...put his hand into the glove hole of his front door  and let it know it's touch, The front door slid open." page 10   Like the door recognizes his hand and let's him in as it has a mind of it's own.
SYMBOLISM- When Montag hears the jets fly by over head on page 14 he initially knows there's war coming as well as war in his own relationship with his wife,
FORESHADOWING- "So it was the hand that started it all . . . His hands had been infected, and soon it would be his arms . . . His hands were ravenous." page 41 You can tell that Montag is thirsty for more books, this "poison" is his guilty pleasure.
METAPHOR-   " With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head..." page 3 
ANALOGY- "A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it."
CACOPHONY- " Trumpets blared. Denham's Dentifrice...shut up, shut up....A fierce whisper of hot sand through empty sieve. "Denham's does it." ...tapping their feet to the rythm...Denham's Dandy Dental Detergent..one two, one two three, one two, one two three.."

1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?

DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION-"Her face was slender and milk-white, and it was a kind of gentle hunger that touched over everything with tireless curiosity. It was a look, almost, of pale surprise; the dark eyes were so fixed to the world that no move escaped them.....the white stir of her face turning when she discovered she was a moment away from a man who stood in the middle of the pavement waiting."
"The girl stopped and looked as if she might pull back in surprise, but instead stood regarding Montag with eyes so dark and shining and alive that he felt he had said something quite wonderful."
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION- "And in her ears the little Seashells, he thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean sound, of music and talk and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind. The room was indeed empty."
"She was an expert of lip reading from ten years of apprenticeship at Seashell ear thimbles."
When we are first introduced to Mildred, Montag's wife, he always explains her as having her headphones, like she is closed off from the world and Montag feels lonely in their empty house.
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION- "I want to stay here"..."you can stop counting," she said. She opened the fingers of one hand slightly and in the palm of the hand was a single slender object. And ordinary kitchen match. 
Bradbury doesn't explain the elder woman's characteristics but we can tell by her actions that she is a very headstrong woman which brings great importance to the novel because she represents all the people who hide books in that time, they risk so much just for what they believe in and that is what Montag slowly becomes. He transforms into a heroin when he began as a clueless, coward man.
DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION- "Beatty smiled his smile which showed the candy pinkness of his gums and the tiny candy whiteness of his teeth." ... "He looked like a flame" 
  
The author uses direct characterization to give us a picture the characters in our heads while reading but uses indirect characterization to connect the characters  to personalities. Some characters are better explained through indirect characterization and others with direct characterization.

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
When Bradbury talks about Clarisse they adjectives he uses are positive and magical as seen through Montag's point of the view but when he talks of the other characters his words become dark. I think it;s because Clarisse symbolizes hope in humanity whereas the other characters represent what's screwed up in the world.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
I would describe Montag as being definitely a dynamic character. He goes through a lot of changes from the beginning of the book to the end, morally. His opinions change completely and what he sees as right and wrong are reversed as he slowly turns into the work fireman ever. He's complex and round.

 After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
After reading the book, I can't say that I've come away feeling like I know these characters just because I didn't connect to the book as well as I can connect with others. I don't have much input. 

Fahrenheit 451 Pages 50-60 NOTES

• "We burnt a thousand books. We burnt a woman."                                                      "Well?"....."She nothing to me; she shouldn't have had books. It was her responsibility, she should have thought of that. I hate her. She's got you going and next thing you know we'll be out, no house, no job, nothing." (Page 50-51) Montag confronts Mildred about possibly quitting his job after a horrid experience of burning an elderly woman along with her books and what's more disturbing is his wife's reaction.
• "Mildred's hand froze behind the pillow. Her fingers were tracing the book's outline and as the shape became familiar her faced looked surprised and then stunned." (Page 56) Mildred discovers that Montag is hiding a book he had stolen for the old lady's house behind his pillow just as Beatty is giving Montag the speech about how every firefighter at one point has the urge to steal a book out of curiosity.
• She didn't want to know how a thing was done, but why. That can be embarassing. You ask why to do a lot of things and you end up very unhappy indeed, if you keep at it. The poor girl's better off dead."                                                                        "Yes, dead." (Page 60) Montag brings up Clarisse to Beatty and he explains that they had close watch on her family and they seemed fishy. Girl's like her were too curious and didn't ask the right questions so she was obviously better off dead than in a world of people who didn't accept the type of person she was.

Vocabulary: Fall List #6

tatters-irregularly torn pieces of cloth, paper, or other material.
EX: When I wasn't looking, my dad tore my paper to tatters.merely-only;just
EX: You must not get angry with me, I was merely asking.
vast-of very great extent or quantity
EX: There isn't anything more beautiful than vast fields of Spring flowers.parlor- a sitting room 
EX: I enjoy drinking scotch while reading in my parlor.
abrupt(ly)- sudden and unexpected
EX: New drivers tend to stop abruptly before the stop light
refracted-make (a ray of light) change direction when it enters at an angle.
EX: The beam of sunlight refracted off of my disco ball.immense-extremely large.
EX: The crowd at the concert I just went to was immense.
imperceptibly-impossible to preceive
EX: She looked at me almost inperceptibly.
ventilator- an application for artificial respiration.
EX: It's annoying to have a broken ventilator.
olfactory-relating to the sense of smell.
EX: The olfactory candy

Wikipedia Info on Fahrenheit 451 (Writing in red is my commentary)

1. Bradbury stated that he wrote Fahrenheit 451 because of his concerns at the time (during the McCarthy era) about the threat of book burning in the United States. Being horrified by censorship of books during the holocaust, he is like a predictor of futures because he is sure that there will come a day when books will be burnt again. He references to the burning of the Bible in the uncensored version of Fahrenheit 451.
2.  She (Clarisse) is unpopular among peers and disliked by teachers for asking "why" instead of "how" and focusing on nature rather than on technology. That is ironic because teachers should want their students to question things, that's how we learn. That hasn't happened yet but we can foresee that some day in the future.
3. Captain Beatty is Montag's boss. Once an avid reader, he has come to hate books due to their unpleasant content and contradicting facts and opinions. Like many people in the dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451, Captain Beatty doesn't want to hear that his opinion is wrong and by reading those books that contradict each other he would be condoning it which nobody wants to do in that fictional era.
4. Bradbury was horrified by the Nazi book burnings and later Joseph Stalin's campaign of political repression, the "Great Purge", in which writers and poets, among many others, were arrested and often executed. He predicts a third world war of sorts where book burning will reoccur unless we put down our technology every now and then and actually learn a thing or two about the past and how not to repeat it.
5. Among the changes made by the publisher were the censorship of the words "hell", "damn", and "abortion"; the modification of seventy-five passages; and the changing of two episodes. In the 21st century, it's perfectly acceptable to use such language whereas back in the late 50's it was not and people were shocked when authors included these types of words in their writing.
6. Bradbury described himself as "a preventor of futures, not a predictor of them." He did not believe that book burning was an inevitable part of our future, he wanted to warn against its development. In a later interview, when asked if he believes that teaching Fahrenheit 451 in schools will prevent his totalitarian vision of the future, Bradbury replied in the negative. Rather, he states that education must be at the kindergarten and first-grade level. If students are unable to read then, they will be unable to read Fahrenheit 451.In terms of technology, Sam Weller notes that Bradbury "predicted everything from flat-panel televisions to iPod earbuds and twenty-four-hour banking machines." Ray Bradbury was obviously right about these three things that we gained in our modern world of technology, that proves what he writes in somewhat true therefore it;s a positive thing to read books so we don't become exactly like Fahrenheit 451 because it looks like we are already on that track. Hopefully I die before our country gets to that point.