Choose to respond to one of the following prompts. Write a complete paragraph of at least six sentences. Use examples and details from the story to support your response.
Do your own work. Do not copy and paste or paraphrase from online sources.
Then, respond to two different posts from your classmates. You must reply to at least one post that addresses a prompt different from yours. Replies should be thoughtful and a minimum of three sentences. You may wish to agree or disagree with a post. You may wish to comment about how a post is insightful or relevant. Conversation within the blog is encouraged but keep comments relevant to the discussion of the novel.
- Contrast the Fahrenheit 451 society with our current one. Discuss at least three differences. Note any similarities.
- Contrast the characters of Clarisse McClennan and Montag. Describe each of them. Be sure to contrast how each one thinks.
- Identify three symbols in Section One. Provide details from the story to support your claim.
- Describe Mildred as the reader first encounters her. What kind of medical help is given to her and why? What else do we learn about Mildred as Section One progresses?
- Identify three allusions in Section One. Explain the significance of each reference and how it pertains to the story.
Montag and Clarisse are two very different characters! Montag is a very reserved character. He doesn't talk much and he's pretty much your average Joe. Clarisse on the other hand, is a different story. She is very talkative and asks a large amount of questions. Montag has a very narrow view when comes to thinking about life and Clarisse is very curious about life and she often questions it. This shows how very different Montag and Clarisse as far as who they are and how they think.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post Logan. You handled the prompt well by elaborating on what both Montag and Clarisse think and act. I believe this explains how some people are in today's society because everyone is unique and different in there own way.
DeleteI believe that you are 100% correct. Montag is one of the most reserved book characters i have read, while Clarisse is one of the most curious. These to accent each other very well by being polar opposites. I believe that this will be a large part of the up in coming story.
DeleteI completely agree with you Logan. Montag to me shows that reserved state but once he has met Clarisse he begins to question all of this. Clarisse is a curious person from the start and it is interesting to see the two characters interact in the book.
DeleteI also agree with you Logan. Clarisse is almost like a child because of all the questions she asks. Montag is really reserved, he's "just there" and he just doesn't seem to really care about much thats happening through life. For some reason I feel as though both their views of the world will switch and Clarisse will be the one who is more like "I don't really care" and Montag will be the one asking questions.
DeleteWhen the reader first encounters Mildred, she has almost overdosed on her drugs. Montag comes home to her and she is completely unresponsive on their bed. Mildred has her stomach pumped as well as a blood transfusion so that she does not die from an overdose. It would appear to us as though she has a problem, but her and Montag simply do not talk about it. As the novel progresses, we discover that Mildred runs the household. She tells Montag what to do and when to do it. She is not understanding at all; instead she is extremely stuck in her own little world and Montag hates it. She complains about almost all of her life style, but will not allow Montag his time to talk. In general, their relationship is simply on sided; no other way to put it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post Jared. Mildred doesn't make a very good first impression when you first encounter her when reading the novel and I agree with you when you say that Mildred just runs the household. Montag has like no say what so ever and saying that he is the man of the house is basically thrown out the window and Mildred ultimately becomes the woman of the house, which is very humorous in my opinion.
DeleteI agree with your post Jared. First impressions seem to mean a whole lot and the readers first impression of Mildred is her unresponsive on the bed from an overdose of drugs. I also agree with you Logan. The whole saying "every house has a man of the house" is completely irrelevant in this case because Mildred is the woman of the house. I find the one sided relationship fearful of a negative outcome in the presiding chapters.
DeleteI agree Jared. Mildred is an odd character that doesn't fit in with Montag and it sets an untrusting tone (at least to me) in the story. The first impression gives us this image that she is heavily influenced by the thoughts of others around her and how she is seen by them and I think that this is why that she is unopen to new ideas posed by Montag. You are correct in saying their relationship is one-sided.
DeleteI agree with your post Jared. I actually did like Mildred, she is an odd character, yes her relationship with Montag is one sided but he could literally leave her at any time to fend for herself. Mildred, in my opinion, is a problem that could be fixed easily and Montag needs to man up.
DeleteI agree with your description of Mildred's situation, Jared. You're extremely correct in your statement that Montag and Mildred's relationship is one-sided. Mildred refuses to listen to Montag and always bosses him around and asks him to do things for her while she just lays in her bed and self-loathes and watches her "TV family." It's sad, really.
DeleteI agree with what you are saying Jared, but I feel like you failed to mention what we learned from her as the section progresses thoroughly. I also felt like they had two separate beds. I agree full heartedly with your conclusion that their relationship is purely one sided.
Delete-Contrast the Fahrenheit 451 society with our current one. Discuss at least three differences. Note any similarities.-
ReplyDeleteIn Part 1, the reader sees Captain Beatty drive up in a phoenix car. The phoenix represents rebirth and the fact that no matter how many times it is destroyed it continues to be reborn or made again. A phoenix is a mystical creature with a lot of power, so I believe this means the Captain will hold a lot of power in the book. The burning books in the beginning of part 1 represents the killing of thought and knowledge through the books being burned.Books represent many messages, freedom of words,themes, and so much more through the chapters expressed. The mechanical hound is a dog at the fire station that is a technology version of a fire house dog. This shows that the natural beings are not present and don't show a role in this book. I think that this is also a representation of what is to be expected in the future.
I also like the symbols you chose. I had never assumed that the phoenix car could have been a symbol for rebirth. I viewed the phoenix as a symbol of the fire that was brought to the books because the Phoenix was a fire bird. Good analysis.
DeleteThis is a good respond to question 3. Identify three symbols in Section One. Provide details from the story to support your claim.
DeleteI enjoy the symbol you used comparing the mystical creature a phoenix with power and predicting power will be held by the Captain for the book. This is a good use of analysis of the symbols to express how the society is in this alternate world..
Sorry I posted the original question I was going to do rather than the one I actually did which is: Identify three symbols in Section One. Provide details from the story to support your claim.
DeleteGood response, didn't really grasp onto the Phoenix car until this. I think that is interesting at how this could be a sign of rebirth. I believe that Montag will go through a "rebirth" of figuring out who he is, and what makes him happy. Also, the role of dogs and how they don't show a role, I believe that this book may portray that they won't be around in the future as much but I still believe that pets can be in the future.
DeleteI like the symbols you picked Hayley. They really represent what this section is all about and it really makes you think about how many more symbols are in the section. Great elaboration on the symbols girl.
ReplyDeleteFarenheit 451 is the dystopian account of where society is headed if we don't realize the importance of books. The similarities to our own society are stunning. A major difference is the way information is told to society as a whole. When the book was written in 1953 most American homes had a single black and white television in the room and the news was given by newspapers and books. But since books were banned, the characters use their interactive TV rooms and "ear thimbles" in order to hear the news and such media. This is due to the need for society to get information instantly and be able to understand it quickly. A obvious difference in the novel is the definition of a fireman. In F451, firemen are people who burn books when in today's society they put out fires to save lives. F451 skews the history of a fireman by saying that Benjamin Franklin was one of the first fireman to burn books. The book achieved the ability to skew how history originally occured. The firehouse's dog is another important difference that must be looked at to understand this book. F451 took an living dog and made it inanimate in the story. It shows that the people in this society are not connecting to each other on the social level that happens in today's society, it's a different thought to think of.
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoyed all of the symbols that you found in the book. It is true that we and the people in the book learn in two totally different ways. We also learn two different histories. The main difference from me is the dog. I almost just read over this, but one i thought about it, you are very right. It represents just how out of touch these people we themselves and society. Amazing job! C:
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your post, Katherine. Everything you mentioned was spot on. It is crazy to think about the story's dystopian society compared to ours, where book are banned and almost all information is contained through "ear thimbles" or the other sources of media. I really enjoyed your explanation of the dog and how you brought up Benjamin Franklin and the way that they twisted history in the story.
DeleteExcellent account of differences. I like how you pointed out the differences regarding Benjamin Franklin and the fireman's dog. I also like the symbolism you pointed out by the changing of the dog.
ReplyDeleteContrast the Fahrenheit 451 society with our current one. Discuss at least three differences. Are there any similarities?
ReplyDelete-- Farenhite 451 represents the future o what our society could be. In their society, books have been banned and when found are set on fire. In our society books aren't burned but they are almost useless to us, in the time that this was written, 1953, books were used as a form of entertainment but now, as our society advanced, so did our need and want for technology. In our society, we would rather sit on the internet than pick up a book and this could prove to be intellectually crippling, and the same goes for burning the books.
These are good similarities of our current society and the society in Fahrenheit 451. The societies do seem alike with lack of knowledge from books and increase need/want of technology. I also agree with with the contrast that in the society of Fahrenheit 451 that it seems to be trying to burn entertainment from life where in our current society revolves around entertainment. Good catch on the difference of the societies' values.
DeleteGood similarities of our society and how we prefer technology over physical books. I also agree with how our society is all around with entertainment because that is what keeps us going, rather than reading books because it is true how most people would go out to the movies than read a book.
DeleteMontag first meets Clarisse McClennan on the way home at night. You can tell by a few lines of conversation that Clarisse McClennan is different from Montag and is odd in the society they live in. She seems to be a very outgoing and curious person, having an open though process for everything she encounters. Evidence of this is that she likes to ask questions and has weird fun habits. Where Montag is more accustomed to how the society operates and has a more narrow thought process than McClennan. Law is law, no questions asked, he is very plain and does not question his work or life. Well he starts to question it all after his night time walk and talk with the young Clarisse McClennan. He starts to question his own life when he is asked the question "Are you happy?". Due to the difference of the characters, Montag being plain and Clarisse McClennan curious, it creates character development in the book, adjusting Montag to be more curious of life like McClennan.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a lot of good points Joey, such as the contrast between the two characters. But I really don't think Clarisse caused him to "start to question it all", because he had already been hoarding books in the vent. It is probably more along the lines of realizing that he isn't alone. His conversations with Clarisse showed him that it wasn't just him who believed that life wasn't right the way it was, but that some people were far, far more adamant in those beliefs.
DeleteGuy Montag is a character that is considered very normal in this story. He doesn’t oppose the ways of the dystopian society until much later because he doesn’t really know better. He is a man of very little words and tends to keep to himself the majority of the time. Clarisse, on the other hand, is much different. She is full of curiousness and wonder and is very different from all of the other people in the dystopian society. She and her family are viewed by others as very weird and different because they enjoy doing things that we would consider normal, especially things involving nature, including hiking and catching butterflies.
ReplyDeleteThis is a thoughtful post, Montag is viewed as normal in this society which is upsetting because it is full of violence and it is bland. However, Clarisse represents a light to this strange society. Montag is seemingly in awe over her.
DeleteI think it's also interesting how Clarisse has so many questions about things like the past. The fact that her family are seen as being very strange and different from everyone makes me think that she serves a very significant part in this book. Maybe she can open up the minds of other people in their society.
DeleteClarisse is 17 years old and Montag is 30 years old. She’s still considered a teenager and he’s a grown man. While talking to Montag Clarisse seems flighty because she switches subjects quickly and she seems to talk a lot. She says that she enjoys walking around at night so she seems like someone who’s very observant or she likes the simple things of life. Montag is a fireman but instead burns books instead of putting out fires. I think Montag might be a little clumsy because he almost fell down the pole in the firehouse. He might also have a bit of an ego because he envisions himself grinning at himself in the mirror.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Amelia, Montag does seem like the clumsy, goofy type. Also, Clarisse is kind of curious how she does try to change the subject right after she starts a new one. Also, the statement of Montag having an ego...interesting. I didn't think of that one!
DeleteI agree with you about the observations made about Clarisse and Montag. To me Clarisse almost seems childlike because she asks a lot of questions and switches topics very easily. I also agree with you about Montag maybe having an ego.
DeleteIn Fahrenheit 451, Montag and Clarisse are two separate individual characters. Montag is a reserved character who is to himself. He is also a very regular, average person. Montag is also second guessing about what he truly believes in life and what he truly wants. Clarisse on the other hand is a very spirited girl. She seems to take pieces of nature that most any person would pass by on a daily basis, and she puts it as morals to live by. For example, the dandelion that rubbed off on her chin showed that she was in love, while when she rubbed this on Montag, it did not show he was in love, which also made Montag question his relationship with his wife. Clarisse also likes to question a person and find out who they truly are under the surface. She states to Montag that when she spoke about, Has he ever looked at the moon, and saw the man on it, Montag physically showed he was listening and taking heed to what she was saying; which showed Clarisse that he was different from the others.
ReplyDeleteSuch comparison makes me wonder if Montag will leave his wife for Clarisse, even though she is considered a "weird" character of this society. Montag is seemingly intrigued by things that he finds mysterious (such as books and Clarisse). I question if his strange interest will cause conflict later in the story.
DeleteI agree completely with you. I saw the two as complete opposites I never thought about his relationship with his wife. Good Point!
DeleteIdentify three symbols in Section One. Provide details from the story to support your claim.
ReplyDeleteThe first symbol I recognized in this book was the number 451 on Montag's helmet. This number represents the number at which the books are burnt at. However, it also symbolizes destruction. The books are a representation of knowledge and life and the fire that is set at 451 degrees destroys these writings. Also, Montag has a meaningless life: he questions his marriage as he becomes attracted to Clarisse, he is lacking interest in his job, his wife tried to commit suicide. His confusion causes him to search for answers to life. He does this through stealing books at his job. Books symbolize hope and a key to life to Montag. He begins to read them in hope to understand why his life feels empty. He conveys this through his statement, "And I thought about books. And for the first time I realized a man was behind each one of the books." Lastly, I noticed the jet bombers to be a symbol of war and death. These bombers convey the setting as violent and frightful, as they began shooting while Montag was trying to contact a hospital due to his wife's suicide attempt.
I really like that you discussed how Montag decided to start reading. The jet bombers really are a symbol of war and death. It is ironic how he is trying to save his wife as they try to kill him. Good post!
DeleteJessica I agree with you on how the number 451 is a symbol because it is not only the number at which the books are burnt at it is also the title of the book "Fahrenheit 451". The explanation that you gave about how the books were burnt at 451 degrees is also showing how significant that number 451 is. Great detail and also great explanations.
DeleteI liked how you pointed out that the book burning represents the destruction and repression of knowledge. I also like how you pointed out that the book represents hope. I agree with the statement on the bombers.
DeleteI just typed in everything and lost it. Yay, time to do it all over again.
ReplyDeleteDescribe Mildred as the reader first encounters her. What kind of medical help is given to her and why? What else do we learn about Mildred as Section One progresses?
When the reader first encounters mildred she is dead. She overdosed on a bottle of pills and her husband, the main character Montag, finds her dead on her own bed. Two lackluster men come into their house and pump her stomach and clean out her blood to save her life and she manages to survive, if you call that "living". Near the beginning of the book it is clear that they aren't a very close couple, they sleep in separate beds and barely talk. She spends most of her time with some type of virtual people, or listening to her seashell earbuds, plus of course the heavy self medicating. But as the book progresses she becomes a much more in-depth character, the self medicating shows her unhappiness deep down, and she puts forth some effort to take care of Montag when he was "sick". She even took on a more caring role when she felt the book beneath Montag's pillow and restrained herself from telling the fire chief. Then she (however begrudgingly) agreed to give Montag a chance to explain himself and make himself feel better by reading the books he has been hoarding; this is most likely due to the fact that she feels obligated because he is her husband but more likely because she obviously isn't happy either.
Dana your explanation is well detailed. I like the fact that you went in depth about how Mildred was found and how she saved by the lackluster men. Dana you answered all of the questions in depth and the explanations that you gave were really detailed.
DeleteMildred was a very dry character I thought, but we eventually come to find out the she is very depressed. I don't think her unhappiness could have been fixed because it seems like nothing made her happy or she simply just didn't care.
DeleteContrast the Fahrenheit 451 society with our current one. Discuss at least three differences. Note any similarities.
ReplyDeleteIn Fahrenheit 451, the society is very futuristic but still similar to ours. The people are very reckless and drive very fast. This is similar to an extent but overall we are not allowed to do that, and the average person doesn't travel at excessive speeds. People are oppressed by the law, which, generally as Americans, we aren't. They are not allowed to read whereas we are encouraged. This then contributes to them not really being able to think for themselves because there is nothing to challenge or change their views. Also, firefighters now start fires instead of putting them out. They burn books to prevent people from reading them. They have alarms that people set off when they find out someone has books. Firefighters in today's society put fires out and most certainly don't burn books. Fahrenheit 451 can relate to our society today because of the general ignorance of the people. Society as a whole is very ignorant and suffers because of that. For example, in the Ferguson case that is all over the news the people unhappy with the magistrate's decision have rioted and burnt the American flag. They are too blinded by hate and too ignorant to realize that it was a difficult decision and burning the flag will do absolutely nothing, much like burning the books.
Once difference between the dystopian society of Fahrenheit 451 and ours is the obvious ban on books. Whilst the outlawing of books is a certain difference, the similarities in the desire of individuals to obtain instant gratification is very similar to our society today. Another major difference is how in today's society firemen are those who put out fires, whilst in Fahrenheit 451 they are the people that do the burning, as pointed out by Clarisse. Finally, an obvious difference is how people view personalities. Clarisse seems to be an outgoing, social character, but is regarded as crazy by Fahrenheit 451's society. Outgoing personalities are so rare that because of her interaction with him, Guy views her as suspicious at first. Additionally, personable interaction's unorthodoxness can be exemplified by the fact that walking outside is illegal and people would rather spend their time indoors.
ReplyDeleteI agree, our society likes people with outgoing personalities (most of the time), and in Fahrenheit 451's society it is frowned upon and is punished. It is quite ironic that the firefighters light fires, they should have a different name!
DeleteAn obvious difference between todays society and the society mentioned in Fahrenheit 451 is the ban on books. Today we are told to read, and everyone usually does. Also the fact that firefighters set fires instead of putting them out. The last difference I noticed was the recklessness. While we are very reckless today. I think it is much worse in this future society. I mean 200 foot billboards just to see a message, because you are going to fast. While we are reckless in todays society, we are not that reckless, yet.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting facts and great detail on explanation. There is just one thing that you forgot to do and that is to state the similarities between our society and Fahrenheit 451's society. I agree with you when you state that we are not that reckless yet in our current society even though there are some things that are reckless.
DeleteI agree with the extremities of their society. A lot of things in Fahrenheit 451 seem opposite of how they are in our society. I also think that how they think it's strange that people used to put out house fires.
DeleteI agree with you! I also think that it is very wrong that the firefighters set fires instead of putting them out. There is lots of recklessness in today's and the book's society.
DeleteThis much is true. Sometimes I do believe that our society as a whole will eventually become completely controlled to the point where normal people don't have a say in anything.
DeleteFahrenheit 451 takes place in a futuristic American society where books are banned. One contrast is that firemen start fires instead of putting them out. Firemen are to burn books along with the houses in which they are found in. Another reason their society reflects the one we live in is that the people there are becoming more and more violent towards each other. Clarisse tells Montag that she's "afraid of children my own age. They kill each other... Six of my friends have been shot in the last year alone. Ten of them died in car wrecks. I'm afraid of them and they don't like me because I'm afraid" (30). They even have a Window Smasher place and a Car Wrecker place where children can go and smash windows or reck cars instead of ruining cars or windows of people in the city. In our society, one can't turn on the television without hearing about a teenager shooting another teenager or teenagers going on a rampage and shooting in local school. Kids in your society are just as dangerous as the kids in Clarisse's society. Another difference is that the society in which Ray Bradbury develops is that they are technologically advanced, more than we are, but at the rate that companies are producing more advanced machinery, we will soon be at the same place as they are. The children living in their society have become very violent towards one another. They kill others and wreck things just for the fun of it. The children of our society are becoming more and more like they are.
ReplyDeleteClarisse McClellan is a 17-yearold girl who comes into Montag’s life very early in the book. Clarisse is interested in parts of life and the world that Montag does not understand. Clarisse likes watching people and figuring them out and looking at the moon and smelling the leaves. Clarisse does not conform to the advanced technological society she has been put in and her accurate understanding of his empty world disturbs Montag. Montag obeys the law with a clear understanding and has never questioned what the law says. He believes that books are the secret to the world’s unhappiness and he only goes the norm of what society tells him to go. He has a simple life and he feels as though his life is a constant circle.
When comparing Fahrenheit 451 with our current society there are many similarities. One of the similarities between our society and Fahrenheit 451 are the technology advances that we have today. Bradbury predicated what the world would be like in the future and approximately everything he wrote about is happening right now in our society. There is another similarity and that is that, the violence that occurs in Fahrenheit 451 is reflecting on the violence that is currently occurring in our society. An example, of violence occurring in Fahrenheit 451 is, “I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other.” This is an example of violence, Clarisse is telling Montag that sshe is scared and afraid of people her own age because some of those people her own age are following the wrong route and making bad choices. The major difference that occurs in Fahrenheit 451 is the ban on books. In our society, the books are not ban instead people are either reading because they are required too or because they are pleased to read for pleasure.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that our society and the society in Fahrenheit 451 are similar based on the technology advances that we both have. I also agree with you that the violence shown in this book, does reflect the violence that occurs in today's society as well. Its interesting to see how this book was written in 1953 and the author predicted how it would reflect our society now.
DeleteIn our current society we like for people to be different and we encourage people to speak their minds and to actually think for themselves. Also the firemen in our society try to prevent fires. The society in Fahrenheit 451 wants everyone to be the same and think the same, and wants no conflict. The firemen in this society start fires on purpose to destroy the books that could cause conflict. For example when Beatty said “Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it,” this quote explains how people in this society believe that books cause a lot of the trouble in their society. In our society a lot of people believe that books benefit us and that they help us learn and grow as individuals. Our societies are similar because we both depend a lot on technology to get through our daily lives.
ReplyDeleteI completely and whole-heartedly agree with your post. The description of today's society is completely relevant. Today we definitely encourage people to be more outgoing.
DeleteA difference between today’s society and the society mentioned in Fahrenheit 451 is the ban on books. Today we are told to read, and in Fahrenheit 451 their books are burned. Also, that firefighters set fires instead of putting them out. Since books were banned, the characters use their interactive TV rooms and "ear thimbles" in order to hear the news. One symbol would be the number 451 on Montag’s helmet. The number 451 is the temperature that books burn, and in F451, they actually burn books.
ReplyDeleteCompared to the society described in the book, our society looks pretty good. The people in Fahrenheit 451 are brainwashed into thinking that books are bad, leaving no decisions for them to make. The society described in the book has made all of its people similar and unknowing of what is really going on around them. The firemen in Fahrenheit 451 are like the source of the brainwashing, by burning all the books they find. Their role is to protect the society from any changes in state. If imagination were to sprout, Claresse, then it is their job to get rid of it to maintain the balance they have built. In other words our society is just a younger version of the society described in Fahrenheit 451.
ReplyDeleteAt first, Montag is pretty average and doesn't question the world. Clarisse is far different, she is very curious and wants to know everything. Clarisse is not as conformed as Montag is (or was), Clarisse makes Montag question his life and he begins to change because of her.
ReplyDeleteI agree that they are brainwashed. But i think the source of the brainwashing would be the government and not the firemen. I also agree that our society is a younger version of the society in Fahrenheit 451.
ReplyDelete