Author's Note: This is my essay for Fahrenheit 451, where the characters are fighting for different causes. One is about the knowledge books give you. One person wants to learn more from them and fights for the freedom to do so. The other person is standing in his way and confuses him with different quotes from books. In the end jealousy of the knowledge others have had started the entire problem.
Sitting in the library stuffing any sort facts and information into your head, like your going to be on Jeopardy that night and you haven’t studied anything; but in fact you just feel the need to have those facts in your brain. All those facts and figures in your head make you feel special, like you are the only one with all the answers. You read and read scanning the words barely glancing at them, you need to be the first one with this knowledge, you need to be the only person that knows this. You think to yourself, maybe, one day, that all have so much knowledge all become someone important, someone whose name and face everyone in the entire planet will know. With this picture in your head you vow to never share this knowledge with anyone and you want more. Soon you start to leave the library, your daydreams are coming true and you can’t believe that anything different will happen. Having all the knowledge in the world doesn’t matter unless you put it to good use and share it with others.
In Fahrenheit 451 Guy Montag is going through a lot more than the average guy is. First he finds his wife trying to kill herself, then he meets a girl who changes his perspective of the world around him. At first he lives for the pleasure of burning houses and whatever is inside of them, but then he meets Clarisse, who changes Montag in a way that even he himself doesn’t understand. When Montag and Clarisse first meet one question Clarisse asks is,”Are you happy?” Montag, not giving the question a second thought, says yes of course he is. He realizes that he is not happy when he comes home from work and sees his wife practically dead on the bedroom floor.
In this book, knowledge is something people want. Books are not allowed for fear that someone could have so much knowledge they could figure out a way to take over. Some people risk their lives for that knowledge, but they have people that take care of those people, the are called firemen. Now normally when someone says firemen you think of people who risk their lives to stop a fire destroying some one’s home. In this book, which is a dystopic version of our world now, firemen start fires . They start fires that burn books, the knowledge, and everything else inside. Knowledge is something that you need to share with someone in order to keep it alive and safe. The more people that share your knowledge; the harder it is for the firemen to stop them.
Fahrenheit 451 is a complete opposite version of our world. The people in the book don’t love each other the way people should. People only seem to marry for each other’s money, looks, and other people’s jealousy. People in our world marry each other out of love and happiness. Parents don’t even care about their own children; they only see them about four times a year, and they dislike those few days! Now, in our, time/world parents dread the day their children grow up and leave the safety of their arms. Bradbury creates the perfect dystopic world for Fahrenheit 451.
Every person is different and knows different facts about their history or ancestors. It is almost impossible to learn everything and actually remember it. If your goal is to learn everything you are condemning yourself to a life of isolation. Even if you read every book in the world you still will not know everything. You won’t know the personal struggles every Indian tribe had because no one recorded these stories. You will not know the stories about every person in the world, it would be to much for your brain. The brain is not made to hold all the knowledge in the world; your brain could pretty much explode. No one is meant to know everything, that is why everyone has different interest they learn about and pick up different facts along the road.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Permanent
Author's Note: This is about Beatty's death in the book Fahrenheit 451. the main character is Guy Montag. This essay is also talking about what Montag is going through in the book. Please read and comment on it!!!
I walk through the silent tombstones. Forever silent, like the people buried below. A ways off people cry and are dressed in black, looking at a pale, dead body. Another person silent, still, and never to wake and greet their family again. The gray headstones, deeply carved with a name, each with a story to tell. Montag the main character in Fahrenheit 451 struggles after he ends his bosses life. Death can’t be taken back and it should be respected. You only get one life and death can end it in a second.
The death of Beatty was unexpected yet you get the feeling of what is about to happen. Montag is going through a lot but Beatty makes it worse because he knows what Montag is going through. Beatty knows that Montag is hiding books. He just doesn't do anything about it because he thinks Montag will burn them eventually. When Beatty is describing how quotes and words don't matter Montag gets angry because he knows that they do. Beatty tells Montag to burn all his problems, so he does. Montag's problem was Beatty, so he burned him. He then realized that Beatty knew he was going to die and he welcomed it. Afterwards Montag unconsciously walks towards Faber's house. The friendship between the two is strong. Though they met only a few days ago they are good friends. The fact that Faber will help Montag is what lets them trust each other and help one another.
Montag is troubled, confused, and in pain, and doesn't know where to turn. Betrayed by his wife, Clarisse killed, his friend at the stake of death. Montag kills Beatty thinking that all his problems have ended; but his problems and challenges have only just begun. This book, the perfect image of a dystopic world is in confusion and pain. No one trusts each other and really likes each other for that matter. True love, trust, loyalty, and all the things that mattered are gone. In Fahrenheit 451 the only thing that matters is getting wall TVs and racing cars. No one takes time to look at things anymore, unlike Clarisse who studied everything in the world. Only the death is on people’s minds.
Everyone fears death, some more than others. People fear of never coming home after work anymore, or never seeing your children or grandchildren again. The thing that most people fear though is never waking up again. Silence, after you leave the world, is all you will make again. Death is permanent and you can’t take it back.
I walk through the silent tombstones. Forever silent, like the people buried below. A ways off people cry and are dressed in black, looking at a pale, dead body. Another person silent, still, and never to wake and greet their family again. The gray headstones, deeply carved with a name, each with a story to tell. Montag the main character in Fahrenheit 451 struggles after he ends his bosses life. Death can’t be taken back and it should be respected. You only get one life and death can end it in a second.
The death of Beatty was unexpected yet you get the feeling of what is about to happen. Montag is going through a lot but Beatty makes it worse because he knows what Montag is going through. Beatty knows that Montag is hiding books. He just doesn't do anything about it because he thinks Montag will burn them eventually. When Beatty is describing how quotes and words don't matter Montag gets angry because he knows that they do. Beatty tells Montag to burn all his problems, so he does. Montag's problem was Beatty, so he burned him. He then realized that Beatty knew he was going to die and he welcomed it. Afterwards Montag unconsciously walks towards Faber's house. The friendship between the two is strong. Though they met only a few days ago they are good friends. The fact that Faber will help Montag is what lets them trust each other and help one another.
Montag is troubled, confused, and in pain, and doesn't know where to turn. Betrayed by his wife, Clarisse killed, his friend at the stake of death. Montag kills Beatty thinking that all his problems have ended; but his problems and challenges have only just begun. This book, the perfect image of a dystopic world is in confusion and pain. No one trusts each other and really likes each other for that matter. True love, trust, loyalty, and all the things that mattered are gone. In Fahrenheit 451 the only thing that matters is getting wall TVs and racing cars. No one takes time to look at things anymore, unlike Clarisse who studied everything in the world. Only the death is on people’s minds.
Everyone fears death, some more than others. People fear of never coming home after work anymore, or never seeing your children or grandchildren again. The thing that most people fear though is never waking up again. Silence, after you leave the world, is all you will make again. Death is permanent and you can’t take it back.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Patriotism
Author's note: The prompt for this years Veteran's Essay is "Does patriotism still matter?" For the most part my essay is stating that yes patriotism still matters. Please read and comment!!
To answer the question, "Does patriotism still matter?" the answer is definitely yes. Patriotism is in everyone's lives even though you don't recognize it. It holds Americans together through thick and thin. Even now is an example of people showing patriotism. The economy is in trouble and people are helping neighbors and family even more than usual. People don't just give up and quit, well at least people shouldn't, they get up and try again. Patriotism is in every American person and they shouldn't be afraid to show it.
To answer the question, "Does patriotism still matter?" the answer is definitely yes. Patriotism is in everyone's lives even though you don't recognize it. It holds Americans together through thick and thin. Even now is an example of people showing patriotism. The economy is in trouble and people are helping neighbors and family even more than usual. People don't just give up and quit, well at least people shouldn't, they get up and try again. Patriotism is in every American person and they shouldn't be afraid to show it.
The people that express their patriotism the most are the people in the army, navy, marines, and so on. Those people fight for our country when we need them the most. Right now the are fighting for us, trying to stop the terrorist attacks on the U.S. They started in 2001 when the terrorist crashed into the twin towers and they are still fighting nine years from then. Even if you're not in the war fighting you still show patriotism in other ways like volunteering, donating to charities and any other way you help and support people. Patriots are all around you in your everyday life.
Patriotism still matters because it helps us stick together. No true patriot would walk out on its country and fellow people. If patriotism didn't matter then everything would be out of control. America wouldn't exist if it didn't matter anymore. There would be no patriot still loyal to America. We need patriotism to keep America alive and powerful. We are still powerful because of patriotism and if it didn't matter we wouldn't and everything would be in chaos.
So to sum up the question "Does patriotism still matter?", the answer is yes. If we matter and we didn't believe in it America would fall apart. In addition to that everyone loves America and patriotism is the key to that. We can't love America without being a patriot too.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Power is Uncontrolable
You look out towards your people. You have the power now to control them like your puppets. Before you became king you had good intentions for your people but now with all this power you hold in your hands you forget about those intentions, you forget about your people and now looking down at them you see people, people that do as you wish. Everyone wants power; from wanting to make the rules to deciding someone’s fate everyone dreams of having some. Men will fight for power; they will do whatever it takes for it. Yet man wasn’t born for power. Power is man’s strength and weakness. No matter who you are you want power but will only be corrupted because of it.
George Orwell, author of Animal Farm, shows us an example of humans with too much power only using animals instead. In Animal Farm the animals of the farm take over the humans and three pigs, all hungry for power, step up to take charge. They pigs say that all animals are created equal yet they get most of the harvest, the most comfortable spots in the barn, and have followers that will do anything for them. Soon Napoleon chases out Snowball ,another of the pigs, and Napoleon steps up as leader of the animals. All the other animal s soon see that Napoleon is corrupted by power. He is turning into what they swore they wouldn’t become. The animals soon see that the path they started out with just circled back to where they started.
The Russian revolution is where Animal Farm begins. Every character in Animal Farm represents someone from the revolution. At the start of the revolution Karl Marx introduces the idea of communism like how Old Major, a pig who died at the beginning of the novel, introduces Animalism to all the animals on the farm. This idea sounded great to everyone; the idea of everyone being equal, sharing everything, sounded too good to be true! It was. Czar, king, Nicholas wasn’t a good ruler for this new idea so the townspeople gathered and killed him and his whole family. Then three leaders stepped up to take charge. Each leader had followers that did as they were told. Yet again power was too much for the three leaders and instead of turning into communism, where everyone is equal, it turned out to be follow me or you will die type of government. Power is too much for anyone, even those who had a path they wanted to follow.
With power nothing turns out the way you want it. They will always think that they may do as they wish and will soon not have another care in the world, except keeping their power for themselves. Not sharing ideas on how to use it can lead to a mercenary rule. While you look down at your people you see nothing wrong; you have power and everything you wanted while your people starve. Yet when your people look at you they see nothing but corruption in your mind. Corruption can lead to many things but most of them end up in living the rest of your life in a shadow .
George Orwell, author of Animal Farm, shows us an example of humans with too much power only using animals instead. In Animal Farm the animals of the farm take over the humans and three pigs, all hungry for power, step up to take charge. They pigs say that all animals are created equal yet they get most of the harvest, the most comfortable spots in the barn, and have followers that will do anything for them. Soon Napoleon chases out Snowball ,another of the pigs, and Napoleon steps up as leader of the animals. All the other animal s soon see that Napoleon is corrupted by power. He is turning into what they swore they wouldn’t become. The animals soon see that the path they started out with just circled back to where they started.
The Russian revolution is where Animal Farm begins. Every character in Animal Farm represents someone from the revolution. At the start of the revolution Karl Marx introduces the idea of communism like how Old Major, a pig who died at the beginning of the novel, introduces Animalism to all the animals on the farm. This idea sounded great to everyone; the idea of everyone being equal, sharing everything, sounded too good to be true! It was. Czar, king, Nicholas wasn’t a good ruler for this new idea so the townspeople gathered and killed him and his whole family. Then three leaders stepped up to take charge. Each leader had followers that did as they were told. Yet again power was too much for the three leaders and instead of turning into communism, where everyone is equal, it turned out to be follow me or you will die type of government. Power is too much for anyone, even those who had a path they wanted to follow.
With power nothing turns out the way you want it. They will always think that they may do as they wish and will soon not have another care in the world, except keeping their power for themselves. Not sharing ideas on how to use it can lead to a mercenary rule. While you look down at your people you see nothing wrong; you have power and everything you wanted while your people starve. Yet when your people look at you they see nothing but corruption in your mind. Corruption can lead to many things but most of them end up in living the rest of your life in a shadow .
Monday, March 15, 2010
Leck's Childhood
A piercing scream filled the quiet villagers ears. Many of the villagers stopped what they were doing and gathered around the tiny hut. Inside the woman stood standing by a young boy. The woman was crying and as the young boy turned toward the crowd people gasped, some even screamed at the sight. Soon word spread across the village. People were afraid not knowing what to do. His mother pushed him out the hut and told him to leave, and never come back. As young as he was the boy didn’t understand, he thought his mother was abandoning him. So the boy turned and fled the village while the villagers turned back toward their work; knowing that this town is not cursed anymore. This boy was not welcome to this village anymore for a reason that he was born with.
As the young boy ran he wondered what was so bad about him that his mother sent him away. He reached the next village and decided to find somewhere to rest and work. The villagers gasped a the sight of him and the boy still did not know why. The boy yelled to a village boy,“ Show me what’s wrong with me!” and the villager obeyed as if in a trance. When the village boy came back he held up a piece of smooth glass to the boy’s face. As the boy looked at his reflection and recoiled as if he got hit in the stomach. He put and hand to his face and cried knowing that no one would welcome him, because of his eyes. One was gray and the other was red. He now knew why his mother sent him away, because he was Graced. He knew what to do, he must change his name so he could not be found again. His name was Leck.
After a few years in the small village of Monsea, Leck has found out his Grace. Leck now knows that the Grace he has allows him to control people’s minds. For him to be able to be seen without nervous glances, he has made himself an eye patch. Then he went to the king and queen of Monsea. The royal people had pity for him and since they did not have a child of their own, they took him in. As Leck grew older he was controlling the king and queens minds. When one day he killed them and made it look like an accident. Leck pretended to grieve for them when he was happy for himself because now he has the crown.
As the young boy ran he wondered what was so bad about him that his mother sent him away. He reached the next village and decided to find somewhere to rest and work. The villagers gasped a the sight of him and the boy still did not know why. The boy yelled to a village boy,“ Show me what’s wrong with me!” and the villager obeyed as if in a trance. When the village boy came back he held up a piece of smooth glass to the boy’s face. As the boy looked at his reflection and recoiled as if he got hit in the stomach. He put and hand to his face and cried knowing that no one would welcome him, because of his eyes. One was gray and the other was red. He now knew why his mother sent him away, because he was Graced. He knew what to do, he must change his name so he could not be found again. His name was Leck.
After a few years in the small village of Monsea, Leck has found out his Grace. Leck now knows that the Grace he has allows him to control people’s minds. For him to be able to be seen without nervous glances, he has made himself an eye patch. Then he went to the king and queen of Monsea. The royal people had pity for him and since they did not have a child of their own, they took him in. As Leck grew older he was controlling the king and queens minds. When one day he killed them and made it look like an accident. Leck pretended to grieve for them when he was happy for himself because now he has the crown.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tom's Innocence
"Ring! Ring!" You pick up the phone and your son is on the other line, begging to go to a movie with his friends. You sigh as you tell him, yes. You remember, then, how he is maturing into a man. You remember how he used to hold onto your hand never wanting to let go. Or when he was afraid of even stepping out of his house. Now you remember that he is moving from innocence to experience something that Tom Sawyer, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, could never understand. Tom doesn’t want to grow up; he wants to roam the streets, causing trouble where ever he is, but every child has to grow up. Every child makes the journey from innocence to experience, whether they want to or not.
Becoming pirates or robbers runs through Tom Sawyer’s mind. His innocent mind shows the fun of becoming someone like them. When Tom will become more experienced he will see that these jobs involve many cruel, harsh things like stealing, killing, and turning true happiness away. Tom is not at that point yet so all he sees through his innocent eyes is fun and games. Tom’s innocence leads him to the wrong place at the wrong time. Huck and Tom think that by swinging a dead cat over their heads in a graveyard at midnight will cure warts. This leads them to becoming witnesses to a murder. Tom and Huck then realize that the world isn’t just fun and games.
Even though life isn’t full of games, Tom’s mind thinks it is. Many young children think a lot like Tom. When a child is innocent they think that they can always play games and never have to work. Adults are more experienced than children but in their minds they have not fully become experienced, and that leads them to wishing sometimes that they didn’t have to work and that money could grow on trees. Children don’t think about their future, thinking that their parents will do it for them. As children grow up they start to understand that their choices decide their future.
Though the journey from innocence to experience is long, many things help the journey seem to go quicker. During school, sports, holidays help us be ourselves and not care about how much we’re not experienced and show our innocence through many ways. Playing crazy games, making silly pranks shows our innocence is like any other child’s. Everyone may be different but the journey from innocence to experience is something everyone has to go through no matter how you look, act, and try to get away from it.
Becoming pirates or robbers runs through Tom Sawyer’s mind. His innocent mind shows the fun of becoming someone like them. When Tom will become more experienced he will see that these jobs involve many cruel, harsh things like stealing, killing, and turning true happiness away. Tom is not at that point yet so all he sees through his innocent eyes is fun and games. Tom’s innocence leads him to the wrong place at the wrong time. Huck and Tom think that by swinging a dead cat over their heads in a graveyard at midnight will cure warts. This leads them to becoming witnesses to a murder. Tom and Huck then realize that the world isn’t just fun and games.
Even though life isn’t full of games, Tom’s mind thinks it is. Many young children think a lot like Tom. When a child is innocent they think that they can always play games and never have to work. Adults are more experienced than children but in their minds they have not fully become experienced, and that leads them to wishing sometimes that they didn’t have to work and that money could grow on trees. Children don’t think about their future, thinking that their parents will do it for them. As children grow up they start to understand that their choices decide their future.
Though the journey from innocence to experience is long, many things help the journey seem to go quicker. During school, sports, holidays help us be ourselves and not care about how much we’re not experienced and show our innocence through many ways. Playing crazy games, making silly pranks shows our innocence is like any other child’s. Everyone may be different but the journey from innocence to experience is something everyone has to go through no matter how you look, act, and try to get away from it.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Humor
As you sit down on the couch with your friend, you describe how your horrible day went. After you finish you feel even more down than before. All of a sudden your friend starts laughing saying,” It could be worse like the time I ….” ,and she starts rattling off her funny and embarrassing moments she’s had. Soon all your bad feelings are gone and you're cracking up with her. Humor isn’t just being funny; it keeps our spirits up through thick and thin.
In addition to that, in the novel Tom Sawyer there is much humor going on. Tom and Huck have a good friendship and keep each other happy. They don’t really make each other laugh but they do cheer themselves up when they are with each other. Tom and Huck each act like they are tougher or braver than the other, which may not be funny to them but it most likely is to the reader. Also, when Huck or Tom is sad the other will either do something funny or suggest that the pull a prank or go on an adventure to find treasure; either way that’ll make the other person happy or make them start laughing.
Sometimes when you really need it whoever you’re with will do crazy things to try and make you laugh. Whether it’s dancing crazily in public or just acting weird, sooner or later you’ll be laughing with them. As in Tom Sawyer, people in real life act the same way. If someone you know is sad you might try a prank, say something funny, or talk differently. In addition to acting funny, it depends on what you say too. When you say something mean it might hurt the other persons feelings, which isn’t funny at all, but if you say something crazy then it might be funny to everyone. Just remember if you want to be humorous to the people around you, make sure you watch what you say and do.
Even if you’re not sad your friends and family will still try to be humorous around you and others. Humor is a way of life. It has a part in everyone’s culture, even if you’re a poor African farmer you still have humor in your life. When your thinking about your past many of the memories that come back to you are humorous because there’s something about making someone happy. Or vise versa, that sticks with you. Also, in Tom Sawyer it’s part of the comic/romantic theme. The main point is, is that where ever you go you’ll find humor there too.
In addition to that, in the novel Tom Sawyer there is much humor going on. Tom and Huck have a good friendship and keep each other happy. They don’t really make each other laugh but they do cheer themselves up when they are with each other. Tom and Huck each act like they are tougher or braver than the other, which may not be funny to them but it most likely is to the reader. Also, when Huck or Tom is sad the other will either do something funny or suggest that the pull a prank or go on an adventure to find treasure; either way that’ll make the other person happy or make them start laughing.
Sometimes when you really need it whoever you’re with will do crazy things to try and make you laugh. Whether it’s dancing crazily in public or just acting weird, sooner or later you’ll be laughing with them. As in Tom Sawyer, people in real life act the same way. If someone you know is sad you might try a prank, say something funny, or talk differently. In addition to acting funny, it depends on what you say too. When you say something mean it might hurt the other persons feelings, which isn’t funny at all, but if you say something crazy then it might be funny to everyone. Just remember if you want to be humorous to the people around you, make sure you watch what you say and do.
Even if you’re not sad your friends and family will still try to be humorous around you and others. Humor is a way of life. It has a part in everyone’s culture, even if you’re a poor African farmer you still have humor in your life. When your thinking about your past many of the memories that come back to you are humorous because there’s something about making someone happy. Or vise versa, that sticks with you. Also, in Tom Sawyer it’s part of the comic/romantic theme. The main point is, is that where ever you go you’ll find humor there too.
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