Debate #3

It was the morning of Dec 15^th, 2008 and the class was slowly starting to fill with students once again. After a long weekend of relaxation this debate had the makings of a brilliant affair. The topic that was up for debate today was did Gertrude betray both Old Hamlet and Young Hamlet. The judges for this bout were Stephanie Wilson, Megan Marshall and Jayme Bedall. Fighting for the affirmative side was Adam Young, Mathew Brown and Stuart Gendron. Their opponents fighting that Gertrude didn’t betray both Hamlets were, Tyler Kieth, Alex Van der mout and Jon Hughes. This scene had the makings of a legendary debate, in order to find out we would have to wait and observe.

As the debate kicked out the Affirmative side came out with a strong argument lead by Adam. He began by stating Betrayal! Betrayal is used to twist the plot of ones story. Gertrude indeed is guilty of betrayal. After concluding a decent argument for the affirmative side Adam took his seat and the power shifted to the negative side. Tyler bravely stood up and lead his group into their argument. Tyler stated “Hamlet feels betrayed, but everyone is different” . He followed up this statement by saying Getrude was just like everybody else but she got over Old Hamlet in a short period of time. Tyler then concluded his argument and returned to his seat.

Shortly after the opening arguments had finished the rebuttals commenced. During the rebuttals the two sides took their turn and tried to penetrate holes in their opponents arguments. Both sides performed really well and were able to find things against their opponents arguments. After the short rebuttals the power then shifted back to the affirmative side. It was no Mat’s chance to lead and he projected his argument to the judges and the on looking crowd. Shortly after Mat concluded his arguments it was now Alex’s turn to present. He masterfully countered Mat’s argument in his own and gained the upper hands. After the argument had finished the rebuttal followed and held the same intensity as before.

The final encounter between the two teams came from the free for all. During this round the rule of dueling came into play. Any heated arguments between two individuals would be decided in a light saber duel. Most of the light saber fights fell to a decision for the negative side which would later turn out to be the match decider. One interesting comment Jon made during the free for all was the their team contained “a jehova witness, a Mormon, and me how could we possibly lie”. This fact later proved true as the judges announced who had taken the fight. Although it was a closely fought match the negative side took it by only a fraction. The debate ended and both sides were giving a chance to cool down and interact amongst one another.      

    

Debate #2

It was the calm morning of Friday, December 12, 2008 and the students were slowly finding their way into the class of room 204. Today their was a grand debate schedule to commence at approximately 8:30am. The topic up for debate today was whether Hamlet from the play Hamlet  written by William Shakespeare was “crazy” or not. The judges refereeing this debate were Yannick Lee, Nicholas Leblond and Jennifer Ross. The affirmative side, fighting to prove Hamlet was indeed crazy consisted of Micheala Blaser, Mary Collins and Ilayda Williamson. The side countering their argument in favor of Hamlet not being “crazy” consisted of Melissa Watson-Shotton, Kelsey Campbell, and Jessica Barton. The students finally found their places within the court room and the debate was now ready to commence.

To begin this debate the judges announced their rules which included some interesting ones. After the rules of the debate were discussed the judges called upon the Affirmative side to present their argument. The affirmative side came out with the most basic approach to things by announcing loud and clear the Hamlet was indeed “crazy”. The Affirmative side went on to back their opening statement with interesting facts about Hamlet and the way he acts. After completing their opening argument the power then shifted to the negative side to state their argument. Like their opponents the negative side clearly laid out their opinion in saying that some might think Hamlet is crazy but he is not at all. The negative side went on to hit the affirmative side with facts such as he deserved every right for revenge and his mood is just a way of coping with his fathers death. There argument soon came to an end and the two sides prepared their rebuttals.     

During the rebuttals many accusations were thrown around. One of these accusations came from Ms Collins when she declared as use of Hasty Generalization. The reason she called this fallacy was because she felt Kelsey had a lack of facts to support her argument. To this Kelsey responded it was a mere opening statement like a thesis I presented my three arguments we will be discussing in the debate. After the rebuttals a second set of arguments ensued. With these following arguments came more attacks on Hamlet’s sanity and more declarations of fallacies by Ms.Collins. Throughout the finishing arguments the two sides did not show any signs of letting up on the research about Hamlet available to them as we lead into the free for all.

 

            As the free for all began the amount of loudness quickly grew inside the room. Many points such as What’s the point of a hallucination were raised throughout the debate. To counter argue the point raised by the other team they stated that this hallucination was a way for Hamlet to find closure. The battle continued for a solid 10 minutes and no side gave their opponents an inch. After the free for all had finished the debates gave both side a chance to congratulate one another and catch their breaths. When everyone was settled and ready the judges announced the close finish. The judges announce the winner of this debate by only a hair was the negative side.    

Debate #1

BLONDE #1: "Have you ever read Shakespeare?"

BLONDE #2: "No, who wrote it?"

In modernist literature, the definition of tragedy has become less precise. The most fundamental change has been the rejection of Aristotle's dictum that true tragedy can only depict those with power and high status. Arthur Miller's essay 'Tragedy and the Common Man' exemplifies the modern belief that tragedy may also depict ordinary people in domestic surroundings.

Meaning of Modern Tragedy: ordinary people in tragic situation, Modern Tragedy: dark scenes, dark faces, everyone is destroyed or die, Modern Tragedy: funny at the loss of humanity, laughter without substance. Modern Tragedy: everything is simplified. People are stripped down to what is essential. Modern Tragedy: must fall from the throne. Modern Tragedy: they don't have to look real, real in essence, any action is simple.

For a modern tragedy to occur one must fall from the throne. Person in high position, falls to great depth. All central characters die or are destroyed. They don't have to look real, real in essence, any action is simple. Tragedy has to go beyond Drama. Tragedy has to bring on emotionally more than drama, it has to bring catharsis. This has got to be an enormous impact on the audience. The audience has to feel disemboweled at the end of the play. That is what tragedy has to achieve. And drama only has to move the audience. The difference between a drama and Modern Tragedy: modern tragedy is to fall from great height all central characters die, no way out of dilemma. Has to be done in stylized manner.(this gives it a stylish sense which is more appealing to the generation today) Very stylish Modern Tragedy.

What sense does this make a tragic love story who would be interested in that nowadays people watch romance movies or tragic movies its one or the other not both when you place both together it does not appeal to an audience today. A Shakespearean tragedy is the polar opposite of a comedy; it "...exemplifies the sense that human beings are inevitably doomed through their own failures or errors, or even the ironic action of their virtues, or through the nature of fate, destiny, or the human condition to suffer, fail, and die...." In other words, it is a drama with an unhappy ending. Who would honestly be interest in something were everybody dies?

Shakespeare is written in a different pronunciation of English than what we are used to so it loses the interest of the readers. Rhetorical question, how many people honestly enjoyed reading a book they didn’t understand at first and had to reread a bunch of times to actually understand it. Shakespeare’s drama dwells on the fact that bad things happen to good people which shouldn’t be true. Good people deserve good, what is appealing about a good person being punished for a crime or act he has not committed?

Early criticism was directed primarily at questions of form. Shakespeare was criticized for mixing comedy and tragedy and failing to observe the unities of time. This proves that Shakespeare was even sometimes looked at as a sloppy writer even in his generation.

1.6

1.6

1.5

1.5

1.4.2

Assignment 1.4.2

Activity 1.4.1

Activity 1.4.1

Activity 1.3

Activity 1.3

Activity 1.2

Activity 1.2

Big ISU

Finally Finished with it. Overall I greatly enjoyed the book it was very interesting and a great read.

ISU FINAL

Standarded Arguments #2 (Critique at will, they need some work :) )

Lessons of a Cancer Scare

    1. The skin cancer mistake at the Ottawa hospital is a frightening demonstration of what can happen when a medical staffing levels are allowed to slip, especially as technology becomes more complex.

2.         2. At the time the doctors were involved in several difficult tasks and were sometimes working 60 hours a week

          3. People make mistakes even competent medical physicists especially when they are under pressure

4.      4. Medical technology is getting increasingly complex, yet the staffing guidelines haven’t kept pace

 

Therefore

      5. Any organization is prone to errors when staff are over worked and technology advances   

 

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=2a40d2f2-d27b-475f-b01b-09b5acfe5de7

Standarded Arguments #1 (Critique at will, they need some work :) )

Running Away From Disease

1.         1. Although a high functioning health care system is essential, a better way to achieve longevity is not getting sick in the first place

2.         2. Knowledge that exercise brings good health and is a good way to control stress and emotional problems is a key reason for it to be part of every bodies regime

         3. Studies show that exercise in mid to late adult hood can decrease the risk of cancer

4.          4. More then 22,000 Canadian women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year and more than 5000 die annually

5.     5.  As the benefits of physical activity continue to mount, it becomes clearer that our health is in our own hands

 

  Therefore

6.        6. If people exercise they will feel better and in turn reduce the number of future patients looking for a cure

 

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=8a46253b-c63d-49ed-942a-6c5bacb206dc

Assonance

Definition: Assonance is The use of similar vowel sounds repeated in successive or proximate words containing different consonants.

Assonance is repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences. When Assonance is paired with alliteration and consonance it tends to serve as one of the building blocks of verse. For example, in the phrase "Do you like blue?", the "oo" (ou/ue) sound is repeated within the sentence and is assonant. Assonance is commonly used in (mainly modern) English-language poetry, and it tends to come into play a lot in Old French, Spanish and Celtic languages.

Examples from outside source

"Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage, against the dying of the light."

(Dylan Thomas, "Do not go gentle into that good night")

My Examples

Example 1- Sitting in my chair making assonance work/ Bar after bar I continue to lurk/ For the punch line that will make the mind hurt/ While it struggles to find the meaning in time/  Something that is so intellectual that it not only rhymes/ But defines/ the meaning of the word line after line/ The prime/ example has been shown above/ So perfectly it resembles the figure of a dove/ Now the point is a apparently across/ So this is considered a win not a loss!/

Example 2- Don’t really know what to create/ I think in a prehistoric state/ I dig deep for meaning like archaeologists in Australia Mate/ I win in debates/ hands down/ I have a sound/ state mind frowned/ upon by brainless who are aimless/ with their words/ and are just very absurd/

Rowe, Bev. "assonance." Wikpedia. 28 October 2008. Wikimedia. 2 Nov 2008 .

Nordquist, Richard. "assonance." grammer and composition. 2008. about.com. 2 Nov 2008 .

Two Wrongs Make a Right

Latin Name: Duos Nefas Planto a Vox

Definition: Two wrongs make a right is a type of logical fallacy. This fallacy generally occurs when it is assumed that if one wrong is committed, another wrong will cancel it out.

Syllogism:

If person B would do X to person A. It is believed that it is acceptable for person A to do X to person B (when A's doing X to B it is not necessary to prevent B from doing X to A)

This sort of "reasoning" is often considered fallacious because when a person performs an  action that is wrong it is still considered wrong even if another person would also do it. This might want to be used in today’s world for a few reasons. The first reason is it is an easy and one of the most well known ways to make your actions look justified. This form of logical fallacy is one of the most common ways out of something it is usually picked up in the early stages of life. Another reason why it can be used today is because it is being used by everybody around us, including role models such as George Bush.

Examples

Jon borrows Alex’s soccer ball and forgets to return after his spare one day. Jon feels it is not such a big deal to keep Alex’s ball because Alex would have probably done the same to him. (This is an example of two wrongs make a right because since Jon thinks Alex would take his own ball he feels its acceptable to take Alex’s ball)

Chocola asks Rupert for help on his math assignment. Since Chocola didn’t help Rupert last time he needed help, Rupert lies and says he hasn’t started it. Rupert believes this is fair because Chocola left him stranded  in his time of need so its only fair to leave Chocola stranded this time. (This is another example of two wrongs make a right because since Chocola did something to Rupert, Rupert thinks its right to do the same thing to Chocola)

Examples in media

Example #1

Ever heard of "two wrongs don't make a right"?

Apparently, Vanity Fair hasn't. All the furor over the New Yorker's Obama "satire" cover led them to conclude that... they needed to do exactly the same thing! This time, of course, the target had to be McCain, and it had to be just as offensive. Because, you know, the most mature way to handle the offensive Obama cover -- even though just about every conservative and Republican anywhere derided it -- is to do the exact same thing to McCain!

Here's the cover:

http://wizbangblog.com/content/2008/07/24/ever-heard-of-two-wrongs-dont-make-a-right.php

Yes, that's McCain with bandages on his head, presumably mocking his injuries as a POW in Vietnam. Yes, he's got a walker -- making fun of his age, how original! Yes, Cindy's got an armful of prescription pills. Yes, that's President Bush above the fireplace. And yes, it is what you think it is burning in the fireplace.

No one praised The New Yorker for the Obama cover. They got slammed for it. So why on Earth would the editors at Vanity Fair feel like attacking McCain on their cover was a good idea? Again, ever heard of "two wrongs don't make a right"? Of course, we have to remember there's a difference here.

Example #2

Brent Scrowcroft Says, In Iraq - Two Wrongs Make A Right

On January 7th, 2007, Washington Stakeout asked Brent Scrowcroft, the NSA advisor for first Bush administration, 'Where are the weapons of mass destruction?' and why did the sanctions against Iraq continue if Saddam complied with disarmament? This argument shows how the government tried to use the fallacy two wrongs make  a right to cover up their attack on Iraq.

http://www.washingtonstakeout.com/index.php/2007/01/10/brent-scowcroft-on-iraq-sanctions-lead-up-to-war-in-iraq/#more-20 (This is a link for the Washington stake out which includes the transcripts and video footage of a Brent Scowcroft interview about Iraq sanctions, lead up to the war.)

 

Selected References

Fiano, Cassy. "Ever heard of "two wrongs don't make a right"?." WizBang. July 24, 2008 - 9:12 PM. Unknown. 25 Oct 2008 .

Bradley, Matthew . "Brent Scowcroft on Iraq sanctions, lead-up to war." The Washington Stakeout. Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 at 6:56 pm. Unknown. 25 Oct 2008 http://www.washingtonstakeout.com/index.php/2007/01/10/brent-scowcroft-on-iraq-sanctions-lead-up-to-war-in-iraq/#more-20.

Unknown, "Fallacy: Two Wrongs Make a Right." The Nizkor Project. 1991. The Nizkor Project. 25 Oct 2008 .

English Movie Test

Hey Sir here is my essay for the movie test If you get a notice when trying to open it just refresh it and it should work fine

Movie Test

Concepts To Learn For Essay Movie

Impressionistic Criticism - Pater and Wilde (Alex V)
New Criticism - Ransom, Richards, Beardsley, and Wimsatt
Mythpoeic Criticism - Northrop Frye (Seth)
Reader Response - Rosenblatt, Fish, and Iser (Yanick)
Mimesis and Scapegoating - Rene Girard (Steph M)
Structuralism 1 - Terms and Concepts
Structuralism 2 - Practice - French Structuralist Feminism (Dawson)
Structuralism 3 - Practice - Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault

Essay Comment

My first time posting an actual big assignment on a blog so I attempted linking it to the word document but i could not figure out how to do so. So i went on to post my essay as a whole on the blog hopefully it copied everything correctly i have a title page and bibliography which was posted with the essay. If you need a printed copy just let me know and i will have it for you on monday morning.

ISU Short Essay

Fahrenheit 451

By Justin Sweeney

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Course: ENG 4UE

Date: Friday, October 17, 2008

 

 

 

This intriguing novel, Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is played out in a futuristic city that is plagued by a nuclear war. The main character is a tall, dark-haired man named Guy Montag. Montag’s occupation is firefighting and unlike nowadays, firemen in this futuristic city burn books rather then put out fires. The reason for this, is to hide what lies inside of them. The city where all of this is taking place is run by a totalitarian government, which has chosen to use censorship as a reason to destroy anything they do not feel is right. Throughout this book, Bradbury paints us a picture of pure irony throughout the life of the main character. Guy Montag lives in a futuristic world where happiness is the central importance of every living person.  What the people of this city do not realize, is that by destroying books they are actually destroying valuable knowledge.  “Happiness is important. Fun is everything"(Bradbury, 58). Through killing knowledge, Montag ultimately kills what makes life worth living, which renders his life meaningless, but ironically he goes on to save his own life through his career choice and lifestyle, fight against censorship, and his battle to bring back books to the world.

"What do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn't that right? Haven't you heard about it all your life? I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren't they? Don't we keep them moving, don't we give them fun? That's all we live for, isn't it? For pleasure, for titillation? And you must admit our culture provides plenty of these” (Bradbury, 59).

This quote sums up Montag’s job. Montag is an average man who enjoys what he does for a living. Bradbury describes the pleasure Montag gets in doing his job and what it means to him through quotes such as "It was a pleasure to burn" (Bradbury, 3) or “He would feel the fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark” (Bradbury, 4) . In this novel Montag’s helmet bears the number 451 on the front of it which signifies the temperature at which books burn. As the novel starts off, Montag is portrayed as a reliable worker who never looks at what is inside of the books that he burns. This lack of interest in reading books eventually changes, when he happens to meet Clarisse on his way home from work. The pair begin talking and, when Clarisse discovers that Montag is a fireman, she raises the point that firemen, once upon a time, would put out fires rather then start them. Montag believes that reading makes people unhappy and unsociable. When asked “Are you happy?" (Bradbury, 10). Montag, thinking that this question is completely absurd, answers quickly stating that of course he is.  Montag later asks himself if he really is happy and to that he answers "Happy! Of all this nonsense. Of course I'm happy. What does she think?, I'm not? …” (Bradbury, 10). The one single question that Clarisse had asked Montag only a few hours earlier would eventually change the course of Montag’s life greatly.

After a sleepless night, Montag finally decides to continue his discussion with Clarisse.  Once together, they get into a long discussion about her belief in books and what life used to be like for people. All this sense of mystery begins to draw Montag in, but knowing it’s not the right thing to do; tries to steer himself clear of it all. Days pass by and both Montag and Clarisse go on with their normal lives. Later in the novel Bradbury reveals that Montag has taken a few books and has hidden them around the house, and from time to time enjoys glancing through them. Montag begins to question what he does for a living and if he still wants to continue with it. On his day off, Montag decides to meet up with Clarisse once again and discuss the feelings he is having. While talking, Clarisse asks Montag why he chose to be a firefighter in the first place. He believed he was doing the right thing, but now wondered if he was doing more harm then good.

 

Montag and Clarisse decide that they have had enough talking for one day and Montag returns home to his wife. On a day like any other, Montag and his crew get a call to check on a house that has been suspected for containing books. The firemen enter the building and begin interrogating. While searching the house, one of the firemen knocks through a glass pane on the wall to discover a hidden library. Beatty, the chief fireman, states that he has never seen so many books in one place, at the same time. While searching through the library, Montag takes one of the books and sneaks it into his bag. Captain Beatty goes through a long explanation with Montag on how books are not worth reading and they are filled with lies and made up stories that will get someone nowhere. When the firemen attempt to burn down the house containing the books the owner, an elderly lady, throws herself onto the books and refuses to move. She says “I would rather die in the place where I started with my books then to keep living without them” (Bradbury, 38). The firemen proceed to burn the house down with the woman remaining inside. After the fire, Montag questions why someone would give up their life just for a book, which in turn, gets him wondering what books really do contain and why are people so attached to them. Bradbury later describes the scene of Montag after burning the house with the lady remaining inside of it. "He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now blown out. Darkness. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask . . ." (Bradbury, 12). Montag is now beginning to realize that he is truly unhappy and must find a way to resolve this. One night, when Montag begins reading over one of his books, Mildred catches him. Worried, she decides to send in a report against him. Montag remains completely unaware of this and continues to read.

Days pass, but still the firemen had not responded.  Captain Beatty appears in the station shortly after Montag arrives and begins to converse with him. Beatty explains to Montag that what firemen do is right by saying,

"We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all is happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon” (Bradbury, 58).

Shortly after Beatty finishes, Montag thinks for a second and replies "I'm so damned unhappy, I'm so mad, and I don't know why "(Bradbury, 62). At this time, Montag has realized he is actually unhappy with his life and needs to find a way to change it. Thinking of the only person that he knows he can talk to, Montag goes looking for Clarisse, only to discover that her house has been boarded up. He finds her hiding in a near by bush. Astonished to see Montag, Clarisse runs up and tells him she is fleeing to see the “book people” because she is now wanted for owning books. Seeing that Montag is confused, Clarisse explains that the “book people” are designated people that read a certain book and memorize it word for word. The reason for this is so they do not get arrested for having books in their possession. Their plan is to tell the world their stories and reprint the magnificent books that once existed. She quickly explains to Montag the way to reach the book people and hurries off.

 

Montag , realizing that he must help these people and bring back books to the world, comes up with a plan to plant books throughout  several of the firemen’s houses in order to get the people to believe the organization is a failure. Not knowing how to get books to the world, Montag goes in search of a man named Faber, a retired professor who is known for writing books. When he arrives at Faber’s house, Faber is very wary of letting him in. Montag presents himself as a book reader who wants to bring the joy of reading back to the world. Faber welcomes him in with open arms. Together they sit for hours and strategize ways to get books back to the world. During their discussions, Faber points to a book in his house and asks Montag “Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores” (Bradbury, 83). This comment shows Montag that he is not the only one who believes in the magic that books hold. After hours of talking, the two finally organize a plan.  Faber will get in touch with a printer to begin reproducing books and Montag will continue to plant books in the firemen’s houses. Later the next day, Montag arrives at work and tells Captain Beatty that he is resigning from his fireman’s position. Captain Beatty instinctively convinces Montag to go on one last job before he quits. Montag, not realizing what is going on around him, agrees to go.

This final job lands him at his own house where Beatty tells him he has been caught for hiding books. Beatty gives Montag the duty of burning all the books in the house. Instead of burning just the books, Montag continues on and burns every belonging he has in his home trying to erase his past from existance. In a sort of taunting manner, Beatty asks Montag if reading all those books was truly worth it.  Montag takes this question really offensively and turns the flame thrower on Beatty, killing him in a matter of seconds. After Montag realizes he has killed Beatty, he is wanted for murder and decides to run off to the “book people” hide out. War ensues while at the hide-out and the enemies proceed to drop a large nuclear bomb on the city. The explosion completely wipes out the city and erases everything from existence. Since Montag is far enough  away from the city, no one suffers significant injuries. Knowing what must be done now, they make their way back to the city where it all began.  The men and women will attempt to rebuild what had been lost, all the while bringing back knowledge that had been taken away from the world during the book burning process.

Throughout this novel Montag and the book peoples’ lives act the scenario similar to that of a phoenix. This is because they are now presented with the chance to rebuild the city from its ashes and bring back knowledge which was contained inside the books. Overall, Fahrenheit 451 is a story that demonstrates pure irony because Montag starts off as a fireman who destroys books for a living then eventually becomes fascinated by the books and realizes all the knowledge he has destroyed. Montag begins to see that this destruction of knowledge renders life meaning less and brings great unhappiness upon him. Without his desire to bring back the knowledge he had once destroyed, he would not have lived. If Montag had remained a firefighter without venturing into the world of books, he would have perished with all the other citizens in the explosion. 

 

 

 

Bibliography:

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. 50th anniversary . United States: Del Rey Books, 1978.

Part of ISU Essay

This intriguing novel, Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is played out in a futuristic city that is plagued by a nuclear war. The main character in this novel is a tall, dark-haired man named Guy Montag. Montag’s occupation is firefighting and unlike nowadays, firemen in this futuristic city burn books rather then put out fires. The reason they are employed to destroy all of the books is to hide what lies inside of them from the people. The country where all of this is taking place is run by a totalitarian government, which has chosen to use censorship as a reason to destroy anything they do not feel is right. Throughout this book, Bradbury paints us a picture of pure irony throughout the life of the main character, Guy Montag. Montag lives in a futuristic world where happiness is the central importance of every living person. " Happiness is important. Fun is everything" (70). Montag shows the irony in an average person’s search for happiness in this futuristic world through his career choice and lifestyle, fight against censorship, and his epic battle to bring back books to the world.

Throughout this novel people live every day searching for their own happiness in life. "What do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn't that right? Haven't you heard about it all your life? I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren't they? Don't we keep them moving, don't we give them fun? That's all we live for, isn't it? Colored people don't like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don't feel good about Uncle Tom's Cabin. Burn it." (65). This quote sums up Montag’s job which is to burn books to keep people from reading them, therefore keeping them happy. Montag is an average man who enjoys what he does for a living. Bradbury describes the pleasure Montag gets in doing his job and what it means to him through quotes such as "It was a pleasure to burn" (19) or “He would feel the fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark” (19) . In this novel Montag wears a helmet that has a large number 451 on the front of it which signifies the temperature at which books burn. As the novel starts off, Montag is portrayed as a reliable worker who never looks at what is inside of the books that he burns. This lack of interest in reading books eventually changes, when he happens to meet Clarisse on his way home from work. The pair begin talking and, when Clarisse discovers that Montag is a fireman, she raises the point that firemen, once upon a time, would put out fires rather then start them. This comment has Montag thinking that Clarisse is somewhat of dreamer so he shrugs it off and changes the subject. Becoming rather annoyed by this, Clarisse again brings up the subject of reading, which Montag believes makes people unhappy and unsociable. He announces that he has better things to do in his life than read books. Sensing that Montag’s patience is beginning to wear thin, Clarisse changes the subject to something less stressful. Their conversation continues until the pair reaches Clarisse’s front steps. Before making her way inside Clarisse asks Montag a simple, but penetrating, question which is “Are you happy?" (24). Montag, thinking that this question is completely absurd, answers quickly stating that of course he is. After Clarisse leaves his side, Montag asks himself if he really is happy and to that he answers "Happy! Of all the nonsense. Of course I'm happy. What does she think?, I'm not? he [silently] asked" (24). The one single question that Clarisse had asked Montag only a few hours earlier would eventually change the course of Montag’s life greatly.

After a sleepless night, Montag finally decides to continue his discussion with Clarisse. The next morning he heads off to work and anxiously awaits his encounter with Clarisse. Once together, they get into a long discussion about her belief in books and what life used to be like for people. All this sense of mystery begins to draw Montag in, but knowing it’s not the right thing to do, tries to steer himself clear of it all. Days pass by and both Montag and Clarisse go on with their normal lives. Later in the novel Bradbury reveals that Montag has taken a few books and has hidden them around the house, and from time to time enjoys glancing through them. After many nights of glancing over books, Montag begins to question what he does for a living and if he still wants to continue with it. On his day off, Montag decides to meet up with Clarisse once again and discuss the feelings he is having. While talking, Clarisse asks Montag why he chose to be a firefighter in the first place. He believed he was doing the right thing, but now wondered if he was doing more harm then good. Montag and Clarisse decide that they have had enough talking for one day and Montag returns home to his wife. On a day like any other, Montag and his crew get a call to check on a house that has been suspected for containing books. The firemen enter the building and begin interrogating. While searching the house, one of the firemen knocks through a glass pane on the wall to discover a hidden library. Beatty, the chief fireman, states that he has never seen so many books in one place, at the same time. While searching through the library, Montag takes one of the books and sneaks it into his bag. While still in the library, captain Beatty goes through a long explanation with Montag on how books are not worth reading and they are filled with lies and made up stories that will get someone nowhere. When the firemen attempt to burn down the house containing the books the owner, an elderly lady, throws herself onto the books and refuses to move. She says “I would rather die in the place where I started with my books then to keep living without them” (Need to find quote page). The firemen proceed to burn the house down with the woman remaining inside. After the fire, Montag questions why someone would give up their life just for a book, which in turn, gets him wondering what books really do contain and why are people so attached to them. Bradbury later describes the scene of Montag after burning the house with the lady remaining inside of it. "He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now blown out. Darkness. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask . . . ' " (26). Montag is now beginning to realize that he is truly unhappy and must find a way to resolve this. One night, when Montag begins reading over one of his books, Mildred catches him. Worried, she decides to send in a report against him the next day. Montag remains completely unaware of this and continues to read.

ISU Alternate thesis ideas

Montag ironically saves his own life on his search to find happiness in this futuristic world  through his career choice and lifestyle, fight against censorship, and his epic battle to bring back books to the world.

Montags choice of actions ironically saves his life  in the end of his journey for happiness by choosing a career choice and lifestyle, to fight against censorship, and epically  battling to bring back books to the world.

Montags search for happiness leads him on all sorts of highs and lows but miraculously it keeps him alive through his career choice and lifestyle, fight against censorship, and his epic battle to bring back books to the world.

Happiness is what every person strives for in their life, ironically montags search for happiness saves his life through his career choice and lifestyle, fight against censorship, and his epic battle to bring back books to the world.

Book Description

Overall, I found it was a good book. At first it was really confusing the way Bradbury threw a ton of information at the reader, but once I began to understand what was going on, Iwas able to enjoy the rest of the book

ISU OUTLINE

ISU Outline

Introduction – This intriguing novel Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is played out in a futuristic city that is plagued by a nuclear war. The main character in this novel is a tall, dark haired man named Guy Montag. Montag’s occupation is firefighting and unlike nowadays, fireman in this futuristic city burn books rather then put out fires. The reason they must destroy the books in the world is to hide what they contain from the people. The country where this is taking place is run by a totalitarian government which has chosen to use censorship as a reason to destroy anything they do not feel is right…………………………….………..Bradbury paints us a picture of pure irony throughout the life of Guy Montag, the major character in this book. Montag lives in a futuristic world where happiness is the central importance of every living person……………. "What do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn't that right? Haven't you heard about it all your life? I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren't they? Don't we keep them moving, don't we give them fun? That's all we live for, isn't it?  For pleasure, for titillation?" (65)……………… "We have mobilized a million men. Quick victory is ours if the war comes . . . .' 'Ten million men mobilized, but say one million. It's happier.' " (91). This quote shows that all people desire in live is happiness and they look for it in everything, including something as devastating as war………………….. Montag shows the irony in an average person’s search for happiness in this futuristic world through his career choice and lifestyle, fight against censorship, and his epic battle to bring back books to the world.

Reason #1 – Montag’s career and lifestyle

Evidence – Guy Montag is a man who enjoys his job  In the very beginning of the book, Bradbury describes the pleasure he gets in doing his job and what it means to him. "It was a pleasure to burn" (19). Montag wears a helmet that has a large number 451 on the front of it which represents the temperature at which paper burns. This number is huge to a fireman in this futuristic world because that is what they do, day in and day out.

-          He would feel the fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark" (19). This shows that he is happy with his life at this point in time and enjoys what he does for a living.

-          Guy never looked at books on the job, he only burned them (in the beginning).

-          Clarisse, a young woman Montag meets on his way home from work, raises a point that she had once heard that fireman, once upon a time, would put out fires rather then start them.

-          Houses are fire proofed in the new world therefore books can burn, but the houses will not.

-          At the station there is a highly advanced weapon called the hound. It resembles a dog but is completely made of metal therefore very hard for book owners to damage.

-          Married to a woman named Mildred Montag.

-          Comes home one day to find that his wife had attempted suicide by taking a whole bottle of pills.

-          Montag believes that reading books make people unhappy and unsociable.

-          Montag says to Clarisse he has better things to do in his life then read books.

 

 

Reason #2 - fight against censorship

Evidence – Clarisse asks Montag a simple but penetrating question which is “Are you happy?" (24)

-          After Clarisse leaves, Montag asks himself if he really is happy and to that he answers "Happy! Of all the nonsense. Of course I'm happy. What does she think? I'm not? he [silently] asked" (24)

-          Bradbury reveals that Montag has a few hidden books around the house which he likes to glance through sometimes.

-          First book Bradbury explains Montag readings, reads “….whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life” (ironic because end of the book he does end up being a hero in his own life).

-          One Day Montag states that he is sick and must remain at home when he really is beginning to think he doesn’t want to be a fireman anymore.

-          Clarisse asks Montag why he chose to be a firefighter in the first place. He answers that he thought he was doing good in the world, but now he wonders if he is doing more harm then good by keeping books from people.

-          Montag ask Mildred “Where did we meet for the first time” she replies “I don’t know”. This gets Montag thinking that he doesn’t know his own wife and that he actually is unhappy.

-          On a day like any other, Montag and his crew get a call to check on a house that has been suspected for containing books. The firemen enter the building and begin interrogating. While searching the house, one of the firemen knocks through a glass pane on the wall to discover a hidden library. Beatty states that he has never seen so many books in one place all at the same time.

-          Montag sneeks a book from the library.

-          Beatty goes through a long explanation with Montag on how books are not worth reading and they are filled with lies and made up stories that will get someone nowhere.

-          When the firemen attempt to burn down the house containing the books the owner, an elderly lady, throws herself onto the blazing flames and dies with her books.

-          She says “I would rather die in the place were I started with my books then to keep living without them” (Need to find quote page)

-          After the fire, Montag questions himself as to why someone would give up their life just for a book. This gets him wondering what books really do contain and why are people so attached to them.

-          When Montag arrives home his wife is having a girls’ night. Angered by the way the ladies are talking about war and families, Montag grabs a book and begins reading a passage from it (which is highly illegal).

-          "He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now blown out. Darkness. He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask . . . ' " (26).

-          Motag has a really bad sleep one night where he dreams of books and the world they might contain inside of them.

-          Beatty Explains to Montag that what firemen do is right by saying "We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon." (65).

-          Montag replies to Beatty’s speech with "I'm so damned unhappy, I'm so mad, and I don't know why.' " (70)

 

Reason #3 - Epic battle to bring back books to the world

Evidence – Montags gets thought of quitting the fireman job and he tells Mildred all about this. Fearing that books are beginning to take over Montags life, Mildred puts in a suspicion tip that Montag is hiding books, without Montag knowing.

-          Montag goes to Clarisse’s house to find that it has been all boarded up and that all of the family members are gone. This gets Montag thinking what has happened to her and he later goes on a search to find her. When Montag eventually finds Clarisse she explains to him that she is going to hide with the “book people”, and how to get there. Book people are designated people that read a certain book and memorize it.  The reason for this is so they do not get arrested for carrying around books. Their plan is to eventually be able to tell the world their stories and reprint the magnificent books that once existed. Clarisse tells Montag that the way to the book people is to follow the river down stream until you hit the rusted iron railroads. Once on the railroads, keep walking and eventually you will encounter the people you are looking for.

-          Montag comes up with a plan to plant books throughout a bunch of firemen’s houses in order to get the people to believe the organization is a failure.

-          Montag tells Captain Beatty that he is resigning from his fireman’s job. Beatty convinces Montag to go on one last job before he quits. This final job lands him at his own house where Beatty tells him he has been caught for hiding books. Beatty gives Montag the duty of burning all the books in the house. Instead of burning just the books, Montag goes on to burn every belonging he has in his house. In a sort of taunting manner, Beatty asks Montag if reading all those books was truly worth it.  Montag takes this question really offensively and turns the flame thrower on Beatty, killing him in a matter of seconds.

-          After killing Beatty, Montag is wanted for murder so he runs off to the book peoples’ hide out.

-          Once Montag arrives at the camp, he is given the role to memorize the Book of Ecclesiastes. He visits Faber, who tells him that the value of books lies in the detailed awareness of life that they contain.

-          Montag visits an older man named Faber who is known for writing different books. Together they plan out a way to get books to the world.

-          Faber asks Montag “Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores.” (need to find location of this text)

-          Faber plans to get in touch with a printer where he can begin reproducing books which can eventually be distributed around the country.

-          War is finally declared one evening while Montag is with the book people. The enemies of this futuristic community proceed to drop a large nuclear bomb on the city were Mildred and the others are staying. This nuclear bomb completely wipes out the city and flattens everything.

-          Since Montag and the book people are a far enough distance away from the city, they feel the shock from the bomb but do not suffer significant injuries from it.

-          They head back to the city where they will begin to rebuild

 

Conclusion – Montag and the book peoples’ lives act the scenario similar to that of a phoenix. This is because they are now presented with the chance to rebuild the city from its ashes and bring back books.

-          “….whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life” turns out to be a very ironic quote because in the end Montag turns out to be the hero of his own life

-          The overall story is ironic because Montag starts off as a fireman who destroys books for a living. Montag eventually becomes fascinated by the books and decides to read one. The books captivate him and draw him into fighting against censorship and eventually into committing the crime of hiding books in his house. Once caught, Montag is forced to perform such actions as killing Beatty to avoid being placed in jail. The result from this action is Montag must run from the law and hide away with the book people. What makes the books ironic is that the city in the end is blown up so if Montag would have never picked up a book, he would have lost his life in the explosion. But since he wasn’t affected by the explosion he is given the opportunity to redeem his actions and help build a new world.

-          Restate Thesis

Many of the quotes have the wrong pages beside them so i have to find the right pages were the quotes are listed, many of the arguments are out of order so must be put in proper order to place into my essay and finally i changed my thesis slightly from one of my arguments being montags career choice to montags career choice and lifestyle