Fahrenheit 451 Theme Handout

Semester 2, blog post 4

Group members: Preetham Kastury, Christine Kim, Michele Wang, Kate Madigan, Nick McArthur

Bell 6

Theme 2: Individual self expression is important.

Timeline:

Part 1: The Hearth and the Salamander

• Montag lives in a society under the rule of a totalitarian government, which seems to impose several rules that limit self expression, such as burning literature.
• “‘Do you ever read any of the books you burn?” (Bradbury, 5).
• Montag meets Clarisse and begins thinking about the thoughtful questions she asks him.
• “Of course I’m happy. What does she think? I’n not? he asked the quiet rooms,” (Bradbury, 8).
• Montag begins to realize the shallowness of his wife, Mildred.
• “The most significant memory he had of Mildred, really, was of a little girl in a forest without trees (how odd!) or rather a little girl lost on a plateau where there used to be trees…” (Bradbury, 42).

Part 2: The Siege and the Sand

• Montag reads books and realizes that his life has been unsatisfactory.
• “Now, he knew that he was two people, that he was, above all, Montag who knew nothing, who did not even know himself a fool, but only suspected it,” (Bradbury, 100).

Part 3: Burning Bright

• Montag can no longer carry out his job and burn books, since he has learned self expression.
• “‘Give a man a few lines of verse and he thinks he’s Lord of all Creation,’ Beatty said,” (Bradbury, 111).
• Montag wants to change everything about his life, and kills Beatty.
• “He saw Beatty, a torch, not moving, fluttering out on the grass,” (Bradbury, 116).
• Montag no longer realizes who he is or what he stands for.
• “This was all he wanted now. Some sign that the immense world would accept him and give him the long time he needed to think all the things that must be thought,” (Bradbury, 136).
• Montag sees a difference in the fire, which symbolizes the change in himself.
• “That small motion, the white and red color, a strange fire because it meant a different thing to him. It was not burning, it was warming,” (Bradbury, 139).
• Montag meets Granger and the men who memorize books, and now starts to understand who he has come to be.
• “‘I don’t belong with you,’ said Montag, at last, slowly. ‘I’ve been an idiot all the way.’ ‘We’re used to that. We all made the right kind of mistakes, or we wouldn’t be here,’” (Bradbury, 143).

Quotes:

Part 1: The Hearth and the Salamander

“Are you happy?’ she said. ‘ Am I what?’ he cried,” (Bradbury, 7).

Part 2: The Sieve and the Sand

“...and I suddenly realized I didn’t like them at all, and I didn’t like myself at all any more. And I thought maybe it would be best if the firemen themselves were burnt,” (Bradbury, 67).

Part 3: Burning Bright

“He burnt the bedroom walls and the cosmetics chest because he wanted to change everything,” (Bradbury 114).


How Theme is Important/Relevant in Modern Society:

• Individual Self Expression is important to the understanding of the story because it helps the reader comprehend the struggle that Montag underwent throughout the novel and what Montag is fighting for.
• This theme is very relevant in society today and good to be aware of so that everyone is accepting of other people and their personal expressions.

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The Great Gatsby

Semester 2, blog post 3

This blog post may contain spoilers. Reader discretion is advised. You have been warned...mwahahaha. >:D

The Great Gatsby was written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

While writing this, Fitzgerald said of it, "It is something new – something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned."

Set in the Roaring 20's, this is a story filled with lavish parties, cold-blooded betrayal, and bitter heartbreak.

The narrator, a man named Nick Carraway, gets a new job in the bond business and rents a house in New York. This house is located in a part of Long Island called West Egg. His neighbors who reside in West Egg have only recently made their fortunes, unlike those living like aristocrats in the adjoining East Egg.

And Carraway's next-door neighbor in particular? Well, he just so happens to be a man named Jay Gatsby. And so begins this wonderful, timeless classic.

Oh hey, I know what you're thinking. "Timeless classic" equals "boring romance" equals "I don't want to read."

Well, that's not true. At least, not in my opinion. The Great Gatsby was a lot better than expected. Here's why.

Fitzgerald actively uses characterization throughout his novel. This keeps the reader constantly engaged, as the characters are portrayed with human flaws, making them easy to relate to.

For example, Daisy Buchanan, a young woman who was once Gatsby's lover, proves herself to be a shallow woman throughout the course of the novel.

At first, she attends Gatsby's parties with her husband Tom. The parties were Gatsby's attempt to impress Daisy in the hope that she would one day come back to him. At these parties, Gatsby and Daisy soon develop a new romantic relationship, but Tom becomes suspicious. He manages to convince Daisy that Gatsby is not worth her love. So Daisy then basically ditches Gatsby and pledges her allegiance back to Tom, leaving with him soon after to who-knows-where.

And then the rest of the book happens. I won't tell you what specifically, because you should read it and find out for yourself. The ending is definitely pretty saddening though, so if you do read the book make sure to always have a box of tissues nearby, in case you want to shed a few tears. And trust me, you will want to do so.

As Carraway said of Daisy after he tried to no avail to contact her in order to invite her to Gatsby's rapidly approaching funeral (*gasp* that was a spoiler sorry):

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made," (179).

Thus, the reader is able to form the conclusion that Daisy is rather superficial and selfish. She failed to acknowledge that she was the cause of Gatsby's death. Daisy didn't care about anything that didn't benefit her in some way.

However, superficiality is a flaw that most people possess at least to some degree. So, this strengthens Daisy's character in the eyes of the reader due to the fact that they are able to relate to her, even though she can be considered a "bad" character.

From the above exemplification, the reader can tell that Fitzgerald uses characterization to provide his characters with human flaws in order to make them easier to relate to. (Okay, I think I've reiterated my point enough by this point.)

Anyway, this is what makes The Great Gatsby such an absurdly gorgeous novel.

And that's why you should really really really read it; you surely won't be disappointed. :)

If you're interested in learning more about his books, you can find Fitzgerald's website here. You can also find a Wikipedia article about him here.

You have now reached the end of my ramblings. I hope I didn't bore you to death. And now I should probably thank you appropriately for reading. So thanks, I guess.