Fahrenheit 451 Quick Writes Quick Write 1 Censorship

Fahrenheit 451 Quick Writes

Quick Write #1 -Censorship • Glendora High School is considering a new policy of censorship regarding the books that you will be able to read while attending high school. The first edict will be to remove all unfavorable books from the library. This includes, but not limited to, all of the following genres: science fiction, adventure, romance novels, historical fiction, any book that includes sexual innuendo, racial profiling, unnecessary violence, and foul language. The only books that you will be allowed to read will be those determined by the district, specifically The Great Books of The Western World. • There will be a weekly, unannounced check of all lockers, back packs, purses, etc. to ensure that all students are following the rules. There will be harsh consequences for those who refuse to adhere to this policy. – In a clear, and concise multi-paragraph essay, write a rebuttal to this decision. Give specific reasons against this type of censorship, using examples of literature that you have read during your high school education.

Quick Write #2 • Bradbury’s philosophy: – To follow one’s heart wherever it leads – Not to ever let anyone talk someone out of one’s dreams – To fall in love with one idea after another and to immerse oneself in these loves – “Stuff your eyes with wonder. Live as if you would drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made up or paid for in factories. ” – What is your personal philosophy? How does it reflect how you live your life? • Thorough essay; probably should be at least 300 words.

FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT OUR TV HABIT TODAY • Average time per week that the American child ages 2 -17 spends watching television: – 19 hours and 40 minutes • Percentage of children ages 8 -16 who have a TV in their bedroom: – 56% • “Television is a chewing gum for the Eyes. ” Frank Lloyd Wright • Number of TV commercials viewed by American children a year: – 20, 000 • Age by which children can develop brand loyalty: – 2 Years old • Number of TV commercials viewed by American children a year: 20, 000 • “The remarkable thing about TV is that it permits several million people to laugh at the same joke and still I feel lonely. ” T. S. Eliot

Quick Write #3 • [Television is] “…a really dreadful influence on all of us. Don't ever look at local television news again. It's all crap. There's no news, there's no information. It's negative, negative. You look at that, and you think the world is coming to an end. ” “Television is very dangerous. Because it repeats and repeats our disasters instead of our triumphs. ” Ray Bradbury - Paris Voice 1990 – Agree or disagree? Give a thorough response with personal examples. Should be at least 300 words.

Quick Write #4 • Read the article regarding the “lost cell phone. ” Discuss your opinion of its validity. Do you agree, or do you believe that this is just a single incident that has been taken out of context of our society’s view of cell phones, technology use, etc? Is this just stereotyping? Use life experiences and give examples from the text as it pertains to your response. – (300+ words)

Quick Write #5 • Over the next few days, watch several commercials that pertain to society’s fixation with physical beauty. Chose three different commercials; discuss each product and its value to society in regards to meeting the “needs” of society. Give specific quotes from each commercial; describe specific visuals that will clarify the point of the commercial. What do these commercials “say” about society’s lack of values/morals in our world today? Or, do you believe that they have no impact whatsoever on society? Why? – (500+ words)

Quick Write #6 • Discuss the importance of reading. Is it necessary? Why not? What does it give the reader? Explain in detail. Is it better to be illiterate? Why not? Is there any connection between literacy, knowledge, and tyranny? Discuss in detail. Give specific examples from your life experiences. 500+ words

STORY QUESTIONS • What day of the week does the story take place? • Who is the protagonist? • What is the protagonist doing when the mother enters the room? • What phrase is used to describe how the items in the room are placed? • Where is the “pocket money”? Be specific. • What is in the bottle? Be specific. • What is the cat’s name? • Who is the neighbor? Why does she come into the house? Why does she leave? • What did the characters find under the bed? • What is the title of the story?

Quick Write #7 • Discuss your experience with trying to concentrate on reading while being bombarded with unfamiliar tones and visuals. Is there a connection with your own personal experience of learning and your environment? 300+ words

Animal and Nature Imagery • Nature- force of innocence and truth – Clarisse brings this to Montag • Animals – irony – Society is obsessed with technology and ignores nature; frightening mechanical devices are modeled after or named for animals. – Mechanical Hound – Electric-Eyed Snake

Paradox • Something absurd or contradictory: a statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory, but in fact is or may be true - self-contradictory statement: a statement or proposition that contradicts itself. • “The Hearth and the Salamander” – Room is “not empty”; then “indeed empty” when Mildred is in the room physically, but not mentally • • • Empty, half-dead condition Drug-induced Apparently living, but spiritually dead Unsubstantial lives; no reality Montag is desperately seeking for substantial meaning in his life

Themes, Motifs, Symbols • Knowledge vs Ignorance – Fireman’s duty is to destroy knowledge and promote ignorance in order to equalize society and promote “sameness”. – Montag destroys “Ignorance” in his search for knowledge • Clarisse • Faber • Old Woman

Themes, Motifs, & Symbols • Censorship – Popularity of competing forms of entertainment – Presence of fast cars, loud music, and advertisements – Lifestyle of too much stimulation; no ability to concentrate, communicate – Published materials too overwhelming; “reader’s digest” version – Envy; refusal to be inferior to anyone who has more knowledge; objection by minorities to information being read.

Religion • Faber brings out Christian belief of forgiveness= Montag used to be a member of the “faithful”- pity not fury • Marriage at Cana – water becomes wine – Faber water; Montag fire; together will become wine – Christ solidified his identity with this miracle; Montag wishes to solidify his own identiy • Mildred’s friends = religious icons Montag remembers seeing in a church – Enameled, painted figures – Also firemen’s permanent smiles • Fire: pagan blaze in which the golden calf was made to Moses’ burning bush= blatant heresy and divine presence

Religion • Fire in 451= vehicle of a restrictive society; turned on oppressor and win freedom • Bible – Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season” – Revelations: “And on either side of the river was there a tree of life…and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations”; “When we reach the city” – holy city of God

Blood • Symbol of human being’s repressed soul or primal, instinctive self • Montag “feels” thoughts circulating in his blood • Mildred – Primal self lost – Poisoned blood is replaced by manufactured blood from the electric-eyed snake; empty lifelessness – Insides are corrupted with the thick sediment of delusion, misery, and self-hatred – The snake explored “the layer upon layer of night and stone and stagnant spring water”

Hearth and Salamander • Hearth-fireplace=home, security • Salamander=symbol on fire trucks; signifies the firemen • Dominant image of Montag’s life – Hearth – fire heats the home – Salamander –ancient beliefs that it lives in fire; cannot be harmed by fire

The Sieve and the Sand • Futility of filling a sieve with sand • Read the whole Bible as fast as possible, maybe it will stay in his head = futile • Sand = tangible truth • Sieve = human mind seeking a truth that remains elusive, impossible to grasp permanently

The Phoenix • After final war, Granger compares mankind to a phoenix that burns itself up and then rises out of its ashes over and over again • Man’s advantage is his ability to recognize when he has made a mistake; eventually he will learn by his mistakes • Montag’s spiritual resurrection

Mirrors • Granger says they must build a mirror factory to take a long look at themselves – Clarisse was described as a mirror – Symbols of self-understanding

Quick Writes 8 & 9 • "He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would fully suffice. " Albert Einstein • "Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity. " Gotthold Ephraim Lessing • Lessing was a poet, philosopher and critic; a representative of the German Enlightenment (18 th century). He believed in individualism/new selfconfidence of the bourgeoisie. – The middle class; the term has pejorative (derogatory) connotations suggesting either undeserved wealth, or lifestyles, tastes, and opinions that lack the sophistication of the rich or the authenticity of the intellectual or the poor.

Instructions for QW’s 8 & 9 • Discuss each quote thoroughly as it pertains to theme of “conformity”. Give specific examples from the text as well as from your life experiences. Each discussion should be at least 350 words (not including quotes and examples)

Quick Write 10 • Has our society become overwhelmed by our “toys”. Do we rely too heavily on technology? 200+ words

Quick Write #11 • Think of a place in your town to which you usually drive, or are driven. • On a Saturday or Sunday, walk from your home to this place and back. • Take a pad and pen/pencil with you. • As you walk, pay attention to your surroundings, ie. plants, graffiti, trees, animals, bugs, sounds, smells, etc. • Write down everything to which your five senses respond. • If you are going to go with a friend, discuss what you are seeing, hearing, and/or smelling. DO NOT SPEND TIME GOSSIPING! • Typed reflection on your experience: About a page. • Due: Day of finals.

Quick Write #12 • This assignment is to be done ALONE. • Take a straight-back chair and sit on it in your backyard. You are to bring only a pad and pen/pencil. You are not to have any electronics, phones, watches, friends, family, pets, food, etc. • You are to sit in the chair for one hour. You are not to lie down, or sleep. Set a timer in your house, or have someone tell you when your time is up. • While you are in your chair, use your senses of sight and hearing. Write down what you see, hear, and think during this time. • After the time period is over, type a 1 -2 page discussion of your experience. What did you see and hear? What affect did this have on you? Explain in detail. • Due Date: Day of finals

Last Quick Write for Journal • How plausible is the future envisioned in this novel? Specifically, do you think the author provides a convincing account of how censorship can become so rampant in a society that humanity loses its individualism? ; that humanity becomes a world of “Lemmings”? • You now have a Baker’s Dozen of Quick Writes.