...“the incineration of knowledge and wisdom” Fahrenheit 451 Kati Hernandez 10/28/14 AP English 12 Period 1 Three Questions 1. When the story starts, what are the forces acting on Montag? 2. Why would Montag read the poem “Dover Beach,” by Matthew Arnold to Mildred and her friends and how is it significant to the novel? 3. Once Montag becomes an insubordinate, why does the government capture an innocent man instead of tracking down Montag? Literary Criticism Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 follows the protagonist Guy Montag, a fireman living in a dystopic society where books are illegal and burnt if found. Instead of reading citizens watch copious amounts of television . Conversations with pedestrians are unheard of until Montag meets Clarisse, “seventeen and insane”(Bradbury 7). She asks multiple questions about his life, one question which changes his outlook on his entire life, “Are you happy?”(Bradbury 10). After his conversation with Clarisse, Montag is conflicted with his job, his disposition, and his desire for knowledge and wisdom. Using a variety of literary elements throughout Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury emphasizes that wisdom and knowledge are acquired through experience and critical thinking. Bradbury uses allegory and alliteration to develop the idea that the censorship and the distractions of society leads to the gradual decay of knowledge. While on the subway, Montag remembers his childhood memory of himself sitting on a yellow...
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...Feelings and Knowledge. How do They Contribute to the Society? If you ask someone to define perfect they will probably say something along the lines of “flawless” or “as good as it can possible be”. But if you then research ‘utopia’, a perfect society, you would find that utopia’s literal definition is ‘no place’. Yet only a few people actually pick up on that there is actually no ideal society when looking through the general public’s view. In Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) the protagonist, Guy Montag, caught on that while on the surface flawless communities are universally peaceful, underneath all that there is corruption, power, and overall mayhem. Like its society, the population reflects this by hiding their true feelings and personalities behind layers and layers of lies. And with more people hiding that, people lose knowledge and therefore lose wisdom....
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...In the books Anthem and Fahrenheit 451 by Ayn Rand and Ray Bradbury, both of the main characters live in societies much different than ours. In Fahrenheit 451, the main character, Guy Montag, lives in a society where reading is considered sin and books are considered illegal. In Anthem, the main character, Equality 7-2521, lives in a society where everyone's lives are decided for them. In this dystopian society, there is also a lack of knowledge due to how Equality 7-2521’s government is. Equality 7-2521’s council basically considers it a sin to learn anything their teachers have not taught them. It is also practically considered sin to ask questions and to be curious. Both of these societies face different problems such as a corrupt and oppressive government, inner conflict, and rebellion. In both books, the oppressive governments restrict learning and keep their society dystopian. In Anthem, Equality 7-2521’s...
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...“If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you'll never learn,” is what Ray Bradbury said in his book, Fahrenheit 451. This ignorance, when discovered and learned from, can cause a surplus of wisdom and knowledge to appear. The resulting knowledge and wisdom that appear can cause a flurry of new ideas and different perspective to appear in people. Those who remain ignorant, however, are beguiled into remaining in their own world of false bliss. In Fahrenheit 451, several characters have displayed their ignorance, but not all of them have learned from their ignorance. Characters such as Montag and Faber did not hide their ignorance and therefore learned from it whereas characters such as Mildred remained hidden within their own ignorance....
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...In the novel Fahrenheit 451, the author Ray Bradbury paints a picture of a science fiction dystopian world that warns people of the dangers of becoming too hopelessly dependent on society and its rules. He does this mostly through the descriptions and lives of his characters, none more so than his main protagonist of Guy Montag, who is a fireman whose role in life is to burn books until he starts to question this role and his place in the world. Guy Montag is the main protagonist in the novel Fahrenheit 451. When we meet him in the book he seems to be a man who is carefree and living in society exactly as he should. He is a fireman who’s only job in life is to burn the books that make people ask questions that might otherwise upset the natural...
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...Books, Worth less or Priceless? In Fahrenheit 451 books are illegal, therefore there are fireman in charge of burning them. The main character, Montag, is a fireman. First everything was alright, until his conscience gets in the way. He has a secret that nobody knows, yet… As I mentioned earlier, books are illegal, it’s as if they were a weapon. The reason this is, is because they reveal information that the ‘government’ doesn’t want them to know. They are said to reveal information about the past, things that would cause controversy, thing that would make the people unhappy. “ A book is a loaded gun”, “People want to be happy”, “Burn the book. Serenity,Montag. Peace, Montag”- Beatty, pg.57.** “So now do you see why books are hated and feared?...
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...Depending on which way one may view a certain circumstance, everyone is a victim of censorship. Unwillingly volunteering our free thinking by a superior influence. Do people feel that we need to endure censorship? Over the course of the novel Fahrenheit 451, we see how censorship adapts one's behavior. The public are banned from owning or reading books, there are many reasons for why people are so averse towards books and submit to the government. Entertainment such as, tv and radio play a big part in why most people do not independently think for themselves.The biggest reason is the sensitivities towards the “offensive” opinions written in these books that makes people submit to the government's rules. This makes one either obey the authority...
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...Fahrenheit 451 Quotes Identity Quotes: 1) "You're one of the few who put up with me. That's why I think it's so strange you're a fireman, it just doesn't seem right for you, somehow." Montag’s identity crisis begins during his conversations with Clarisse. We immediately sense conflict between his desire to be a dutiful member of society and his inner belief that something is wrong. 2)"I mean," he said, "in the old days, before homes were completely fireproofed–" Suddenly it seemed a much younger voice was speaking for him. He opened his mouth and it was Clarisse McClellan saying, "Didn't firemen prevent fires rather than stoke them up and get them going?" Montag escapes the guilt of betraying his duty by ascribing his actions to other things: in this case, to another person 3) The numbness will go away, he thought. It'll take time, but I'll do it, or Faber will do it for me. Someone somewhere will give me back the old face and the old hands the way they were. Even the smile, he thought, the old burnt-in smile, that's gone. I'm lost without it. Montag isn’t just talking about the numbness in his legs; he’s afraid of his new rebellious, fugitive self. 4) "All of those chemical balances and percentages on all of us here in the house are recorded in the master file downstairs. It would be easy for someone to set up a partial combination on the Hound's ‘memory,’ a touch of amino acids, perhaps. That would account for what the animal did just now. Reacted...
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...Fahrenheit 451 revolves in the bizarre era where everyone and everything is controlled by the government. From the beginning, since Montag and Clarisse met, he thought that Clarisse was different from the rest of the people even himself. He mentioned that Clarisse had a very thin face like the dial of the small clock which tells the time, the hour, minute, and second. Clarisse knows the time, she knows the truth, the facts, and she is like a mirror that reflects deep thoughts of the people. She made Montag curious about what happiness really is, true love, pure emotions, and knowledge, in which is not embraced in their society, making him the outsider. In this society, ignorance is a bliss;reigning across their culture, and what is thought to be the answer for happiness. There are many reasons why ignorance revolves in the society where this story took place. The fireman's job is to burn books, which contains the facts and the information, therefore burning knowledge. Books are no longer able to be read, not only because they might offend...
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...Guy Montag demonstrates massive growth as a character throughout Fahreheit 451. A wise adage says, “You are the average of the people you spend the most time with.” Montag starts out as just another member of society, but by the end of the novel, he has rebelled against the majority of his world.In doing this, Montag has become part of a “minority”, something his former friend and fireman Beatty looks down on. Montag is now odd, like Clarisse; he is a thinker, like Faber; he is part of something larger, like Granger. By the end of the novel, he no longer fits in with most people in his society (the majority), who seem intent on regressing in societal terms while advancing on technological ones. The majority is now acting as a roadblock to...
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...Adlerisms 1. “I can think, I can wait, I can fast…” –Siddhartha 2. “Fate will unwind as it must…” -Beowulf 3. “A mistake is repeated until it is learned…” -Confucius 4. “My worst enemy, my best friend – myself…” -Henry Reyna – Zoot Suit 5. “Tender yourself more dearly!” -Polonius, Hamlet 6. “If you fail to prepare – prepare to fail…” -Steve Prefontaine, Olympic Gold Medalist 7. “Our intentions are far more different than our actions…” -Coach Adler LQHS 8. “Defeat distraction, or distractions will defeat you…” -Coach Adler LQHS 9. “Those who settle for less end with less…” -Coach Adler LQHS 10. “A good fall makes one wiser…” -Aesop 11. “If I were you I would turn back now and save some time and grief. Believe me; you’re heading in the wrong direction…” -Coach Adler LQHS, The Two Ants 12. “In the middle of the journey of our life – I came to find myself in a dark woods where the straightway was lost…” -Dante Alighieri 13. “Acta non verba” (Actions not words) -Latin Idiom 14. “Carpe diem” (Seize the day) -Latin Idiom 15. “A good student only needs to be told once!” -Coach Adler LQHS 16. “Every day wasted is another day you’ll never get back!” -Boyd Grant, Fresno State Basketball 17. “A future filled with regret is not a bright one…” -Koby Serreitelli 18. “If you remain organized you stay in control” -Elise Alverzez 2013 19. “Impossible is just a big word that gets thrown around by small...
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...The SAT Essay: Building a Repertoire of Examples The SAT essay is intended to measure your writing skills, not your knowledge of any specific subject. Therefore, the essay prompts given on the SAT must be fairly open-ended, so that anyone with a highschool education and life experiences common to all teenagers can respond to them. Most of them deal with basic philosophical, psychological, moral, or social issues. In my experience as a teacher, I’ve seen that the biggest challenge students face in writing the SAT essay is coming up with rich and relevant examples to discuss within the twenty-five minutes you’re given for the essay section. Quite often, students end up using examples that are inappropriate or superficial, or they don’t know enough about the examples they’ve chosen to write about them in detail. The way to combat this problem is to create your own repertoire of examples that you are well prepared to write detailed paragraphs about. Then, when you read the prompt you’re given on the day of the test, you can simply choose the examples from your repertoire that are most relevant to that particular topic. (Of course, this method isn’t fullproof; it may happen that you are unfortunate enough to get a topic that your prepared examples aren’t really appropriate for. If that’s the case, don’t try to force your examples to fit the topic. The process of coming up with these examples and writing several practice essays will also help you learn how to come up with new examples...
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...distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. —Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967; trans. Gregory Rabassa) 5. Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. —Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955) 6. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. —Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877; trans. Constance Garnett) 7. riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs. —James Joyce, Finnegans Wake (1939) 8. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. —George Orwell, 1984 (1949) 9. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859) 10. I am an invisible man. —Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952) 11. The Miss Lonelyhearts of the New York Post-Dispatch (Are you in trouble?—Do-you-need-advice?—Write-to-Miss-Lonelyhearts-and-she-will-help-you) sat at his desk and stared at a piece of white cardboard. —Nathanael West, Miss Lonelyhearts (1933) 12. You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no...
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...Mythological and Biblical Characters The Titans According to Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of primordial, powerful deities that ruled during the legendary Golden Age. The Titans were created by Gaea and her surrounding Uranus (Heaven), who embraced her strongly with his starry mantle and they became the first divine couple of the World. The Titans were first dwelling in Mount Olympus in Ancient Greece, but were overthrown expelled to the lower basement of Hades, the Tartarus, after their defeat in a huge battle with the Olympian Gods. The Superior Titans are Gaea, Mother Earth, and Uranus, Ruler of the Heaven and the Sky. The Main Titans are Atlas, the Titan of Astronomy, and Prometheus, the Titan of Wisdom and Forethought. There are also several Titan Couples. These include Cronus and Rhea, the mother and father of the Olympian Gods, Coeus and Phoebe, the Titan of Intelligence and the Titaness of Brilliance and the Moon, Hyperion and Theia, Titan of Life and Sun and Titaness of Sight, and Oceanus and Tethys, Ruler of the Waters and the Seas, and Titaness of the Wet Element and the Oceans. Other Titans of Ancient Greece include Crius, Titan of Leadership and Domestic Animals, Iapetus, Titan of Morality, Mnemosyne, Titaness of Memory, and Themis, Titaness of Law, Justice and Order. The Twelve Olympians The Olympian gods were the main deities in Ancient Greece. All gods were associated with birth myths, but they were unaging. After overthrowing their ancestors...
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...Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald 1 Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald Project Gutenberg's English Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions Author: James Champlin Fernald Release Date: May 21, 2009 [EBook #28900] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS *** Produced by Jan-Fabian Humann, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net English Synonyms and Antonyms A Practical and Invaluable Guide to Clear and Precise Diction for Writers, Speakers, Students, Business and Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald Professional Men Connectives of English Speech "The work is likely to prove of great value to all writers."--Washington Evening Star. 2 "The book will receive high appreciation from thoughtful students who seek the most practical help."--Grand Rapids Herald. "It is written in a clear and pleasing style and so arranged that but a moment's time is needed to find any line of the hundreds of important though small words which this book discusses."--Chattanooga Times. "Its...
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