Reflection on Fahrenheit 451

I really enjoyed reading Fahrenheit 451. I would recommend this novel to anyone who asked me about it. I do not read books very often, but when i do i tend to lean towards the one with the lesser pages. So, Fahrenheit 451 looked appealing just by the size, but it was actually really good.

I think my predictions about Fahrenheit 451 were very off, given the lack of science involved. I thought there would be many deep and hard to understand texts, but I understood many aspects of the book. I do however, think the title "Fahrenheit 451" and my prediction about how paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit was accurate because it tied in well with the overall intention of the book from my perspective.

Fahrenheit 451 connection to puritanism.

     Fahrenheit 451 has a strong connection to puritanism. The novel contains many illusions to stories of the bible. Fahrenheit 451 used the story where hrist changed water into wine at a party because they ran out of wine. In the novel, Faber personifies himself as "water" and Montag personifies himself as "fire" which I will discuss the imporance about in the later paragraph. These many miracles displayed Jeseus faith in the role of christianity this connects to Montag's dynamic character type and transformation throughout the novel.

     Fahrenheit 451 uses fire as a connection to religion by the uses of symbolism, it symbolizes the religious presence in society . Fire, particularly is used in this novel as connected to the biblical story of when moses runs into a burning bush in the mountains and God speaks to him. 

Predictions about Fahrenheit 451

I believe that Fahrenheit 451 will be a pretty good read. Im excited to read it because it has a very catchy title and it is pretty short. I beliee that every novel is titled symbolically. With that being said, In honors chemistry, we discussed in short a few weeks ago and Mrs. Holland said that paper burns at 451 degrees fahrenheit. Because of this, I think that Fahrenheit 451 will include many scientifical references.

I also believe that Fahrenheit 451 will include many deep references and uses of foreshadowing, imagery, and symbolism. I think this because the deep title made me think many different times about what it could mean. And if all of that work was put into the title, it must tie into the book in some way. So i think the scientifical reference will be right up my "alley" because I enjoy reading scientifical reads.

Fahrenheit 451: Connection to Romanticism

     Throughout Fahrenheit 45, I noticed a strong connection to the characteristics that are found in Romanticism. One of Romanticism's main beliefs is the correlation between humans and nature. Ray Bradbury used strong imagery to describe nature in Fahrenheit 451. From the early years of Clairisse's life, Bradbury asserts that she is an innocent little girl by telling the reader about her love for nature. Although Fahrenheit 451 has technological advances in their society, Bradbury keeps the sense of nature by naming some machines after animals.  In addition, he scarcely uses animal-like characteristics when describing a character.
      Lastly, when Clairisse makes Montag taste the rain, Montag seems to completely change his character. I see a correspondence to this and the biblical story of Adam and Eve in that both characters changed completely. Montag's change in character promotes him as a pure, innocent boy. I believe this change in character shows many good qualities in Montag's character. Even though he was tempted to drink the rain water, his reaction made him realize the power he had from being pure.

The Great Gatsby: Connection to the insecure

     In finishing the best book I have read so far in my young life, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, this idea of insecurity as a theme was always lingering in the back of my mind. We have all be insecure at one part of our life, but in this novel Gatsby must have it his way or "The world will end". Gatsby is a static character in my opinion, he gives no secrets to anyone, his wealth is at question, but he remains silent.

     Except every weekend, when there must be a million people to flood into Gatsby's empty dessert. I think he has these parties to make himself feel good and surround himself with people who think highly of him , or are just jealous of what he does. I believe Gatsby gets lonely in his big mansion and this helps soothe his "pain". Besides these huge parties, Gatsby throughout the book remains static for his insecurity around his true love, Daisy. He is always worried about her and thinking twice about what he says to her. Lastly, Mr. Gatsby Bought a house across the waters from Daisy because he would be insecure without knowing where she was, or how she was doing.

The Great Gatsby: Connection to Puritanism

      In my last post about my connections with "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I mentioned that I saw a connection to the puritans writing characteristic. However, I mainly stayed on topic on how i dreamed to achieve the same life as Jay Gatsby. Then I thought, "who would not want to live like Gatsby?" that is sadly, (because i should have realized it sooner) when I realized that Fitzgerald's novel is about the American Dream, A new idea brought to America by the Puritans. 

     The American dream is this ideal sense of material wealth in not only in the economy, but the opportunity, and prosperity America gives its citizens. In Jay Gatsby's case he worked hard and made bucket loads of money. This money gave him a higher social status. Then, this higher social status yielded Gatsby to become powerful, and he owes it all to the puritans.

The Great Gatsby: Connection to myself

     I am reading, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In exploring the main character, Jay Gatsby, I see a strong connection to the way i see myself. This novel is written in the high modernistic period, where it shows many characteristics of its predecessors, especially the puritan period. The reason I believe that I relate to Gatsby is the way he strives for greatness. Gatsby is a wealthy man with a mysterious reasons in doing what he does. I am at the part of "The Great Gatsby" where daisy's and Gatsby's relationship is growing.

     Jay Gatsby is a self-made billionaire , a mature adult. However, he still acts as if he were 10 years old when he is around daisy. He gets uncomfortable about their long past and tentative future. I think I am this way sometimes with girls also. I hope to become Mr. Gatsby, with parties every sunday and money extending all the way out until the flashing green light. 

My Grandmothers Chain: Final Draft

Tad Brown

Mr. McElveen

American Literature

12 August, 13

My Grandmothers Chain

My whole life revolves around one item. Not a sport, not a color, not even my favorite place to be. What my life revolves around is a rusty old chain. This chain has been passed on for generations, and now it belongs to my grandmother. This chain has three charms, a cross, a treasure chest, and a picture from my great great-grandfather. You can hardly make out what each charm is, but my family will always know.

The cross is a copper charm with an engraving of Jesus Christ with the word “sacrifice” written on in. The cross is also the biggest charm on the chain because it is the most important to my family. Next, you might wonder why a treasure chest is on our family chain, but every family member receives a small wooden treasure chest when they are born. Each year that person puts one significant item from that past year to remember it by. The last charm that hangs on the chain is a portrait of my great-great grandfather.  It is a picture of him looking dapper in his sear sucker suit with an unlighted Cuban cigar.  Every charm is on the old chain for more than just the look of it. As I browse through the charms I see the deeper meaning, which is kept closely to my family.

Looking at the charms not only reminds me of what they are, but what they symbolize. The cross is not there just to stand for the major role religion plays in our family, but it represents the miracles that we have experienced in our life. For example, in 2008 my oldest sister was driving on I-10 on the way home from a regular day at school. I was at football practice, and my other sister was at play practice. My mom was two hours late to pick us up only to tell us the tragic news. My sister was involved in a very serious car accident, and she was placed in critical condition at the emergency room. As the painful days grew longer, we finally received the news we have been waiting for, that my sister would be okay.  Jane Lloyd ended up fine besides a month’s sentence to be on crutches with a broken femur. This miracle has and will stick with me forever. Every time I see that cross, it reminds me to never take anything for granted, and to cherish every moment you remain to have in this world.

The treasure chest is just a few boards and some nails with some mementos included in it. I see my childhood, my future, and my past. Sometimes when I have a bad day or I feel alone, I go to my treasure chest, open it, and rummage through the items in it. It is like I am watching a movie of my life ever since I was born. This brings me great joy and makes me forget what I was even sad about.  Without my, “memory lane chest” I do not know how I could get through some of the dark times I have been through. The treasure chest stands for more than even my life. Each year at thanksgiving, my whole family shares what they collected from this past year and what they hope to collect for next year. The chest’s represent the symbol of togetherness in my family that I believe makes us so much closer then we would have been without it.

            Lastly the picture of my great great-grandfather is mostly charred up around the edges because of the fire. He was the greatest man anyone could ever meet, but unfortunately I never knew him, but by looking at the picture I feel like I have known him for years. It is a connection I have without any stories, description, or records of my great great-grandfather that is special to me.  This picture has a deeper meaning to my grandmother because she knew him so well. Every time my grandmother looks at the portrait she gets this mysterious lugubrious face. I ask what is wrong, but she will never tell me. She just closes her eyes and says, “Let us just put the chain back up now”.  However, she is quite the extrovert.  That makes me doleful, because I want to know the even deeper meaning. However, having that mystery makes me appreciate the portrait that much more.

These three symbols have guided me to be the person I am today, along with the person I am hoping to become. I am always found rummaging through my grandmothers attic to find more treasures, more values that I can care about. Although writing this paper has emphasized that my grandmother’s chain is all I need. It may be a rusty old piece of scrap metal to an onlooker, but to me, it stands for my life.

            

My Grandmothers Chain

Tad Brown

McElveen

American Literature

12 August, 13

My Grandmothers Chain

My whole life revolves around one thing. Not a sport, not a color, not even my favorite place to be. What my life revolves around is a rusty old chain. This chain has been passed on for generations, now it belongs to my grandmother. This chain has three charms, a cross, a treasure chest, and a picture from my great great grandfather. You can hardly make out what each charm is, but my family will always know. The cross is a copper charm with an engraving of Jesus Christ with the word “sacrifice” written on in. The cross is also the biggest charm on the chain because it is the most important to my family. Next, you might be wondering what a treasure chest is doing on our family chain, but every family member receives a small wooden treasure chest when they are born. Each year that person puts one significant item from that past year to remember it by. Lastly, hangs a portrait of my great, great grandfather.  It is a picture of him looking dapper in his sear sucker suit with an unlighted Cuban cigar.  Everything is on the old chain for more than just the look of it. As I browse through the charms I see the deeper meaning, which is kept closely to my family.

Looking at these symbols not only remind me of what they are, but why they are there. The cross is not there just to stand for the major role religion plays in our family, but it represents the miracles that we have experienced in our life. For example, in 2008 my oldest sister was driving on I-10 on the way home from a regular day at school. I was at football practice, and my other sister was at play practice. My mom was 2 hours late to pick us up only to tell us the tragic news. My sister was involved in a probably fatal car accident, and she remains in critical condition in the emergency room. As the painful days grew longer, we finally received the news we have been waiting for, that my sister will be ok.  Jane Lloyd ended up fine besides a month’s sentence to be on crutches with broken femur. This miracle has and will stick with me forever. Every time I see that cross, it reminds me to never take anything for granted, and to cherish every moment you remain to have in this world.

The treasure chest is just a few boards and some nails with some mementos including in it. Although I see my childhood, my future, and my past, sometimes when I have a bad day or am sad about something, I go to my treasure chest, open it, and rummage through the items in it. It is like I am watching a movie of my life ever since I was born. This brings me great joy and makes me forget what I was even said about.  Without my, “memory lane chest” I don not know how I could get through some I the dark times I have been through. The treasurer chest stands for something even more than my life. Each year at thanksgiving, my whole family shares what they collected from this past year and what they hope to collect for next year. The chest’s are a symbol of togetherness in my family that I believe makes us so much closer then we would have been without it.

            Lastly the picture of my great great-grandfather is mostly charred up around the edges because of the fire. He was the greatest man anyone could ever meat, unfortunately I never knew him, but by looking at the picture I feel like I have known him for years. It is a connection I have without any stories, description, or records of my great great-grandfather that is special to me.  This picture has a deeper meaning to my grandmother because she knew him so well. Every time my grandmother looks at the portrait she gets this mysterious lugubrious face. I ask what is wrong, but she will never tell me. She just closes her eyes and says “ lets just put the chain back up now”.  I am not to happy when she says that because I want to know the even deeper meaning. Although having that mystery makes me appreciate the portrait that much more.

These three symbols have guided me to the person I am today, along with the person I am hoping to become. I am always found rummaging through my grandmothers attic to find more treasures, more things that I can care about. Although writing this paper has emphasized that my grandmother’s chain is all I need. It may be a rusty old piece of scrap metal to an onlooker, but to me, it is my life.