English I Archives Week of 10/11/04

III. F451 Vocabulary Quiz #3

IV. Review 5-Paragraph Persuasive Essay

Discuss Concluding Paragraphs and peer review body paragraphs
(Outline, Rough Draft & Final Draft - Due Monday 10/18)

V. Use computer time to work on your Persuasive Essay

VI. Project:

Create either a newspaper or magazine based on a theme
presented in the book. The publication should be illustrated by
designs and text, explaing themes and images in the novel.
Up to four people may work together. You must distribute the
newspaper/magazine to members of the class. DUE Monday, 10/25

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Thursday, October 14, 2004



I. Warm-Up Journal # 8 - Write 1/2 Page

A. If you were the "dust jacket for a book,"
which book(s) would you choose to remember?

B. When Bradbury first titled the book, he called it
"The Fire Man." The current title, Fahrenheit 451,
is the temperature at which paper burns. Which
title do you think is better? Give your reasons.

II. Have vocabulary definitions stamped. Turn in Friday.

III. Continue discussion on Fahrenheit 451 (Take Notes)

Part 2: "The Seive and the Sand" Finish taking Notes. (Period 3 Only)

Part 3: "Burning Bright" (Periods 3 & 6)

IV. Library (Period 3 Only)

(Period 6 will use classroom computers)

The following links provide information on
the topic of censorship, which is one of the
major themes in Fahrenheit 451.

Each one has within it links to other information.

Use the Internet to visit one of the following web sites:

A. Fahrenheit 451.2: Is Cyber-Space Burning. A White Paper by the ACLU

B. Banned Books Quest - A webquest by Goehrig Orr
and Jonnie Wallis on books banned through history

C. Censorship and What We Can Do About It

Or use computer time to work on your Persuasive Essay - DUE 10/18

V. Project - DUE Monday 10/125

Create either a newspaper or magazine based on a
theme presented in the book. The publication should
be illustrated by designs and text, explaing themes
and images in the novel.

Up to four people may work together. You must
distribute the newspaper/magazine to members of the class.

HOMEWORK

I. F451 "Part Three" Questions - Due Friday 10/15
II. Study for Quiz (18 vocabulary words) Friday, 10/15

REMINDER

Final Draft of Persuasive Essay Due Monday 10/18

Book Report & Reading Logs Due Monday, 11/8

Are you filling in a reading log every
30 minutes that you read outside of class?
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Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Substitute Teacher: Miss Sylvia Rodriguez

I. Movie "The Most Dangerous Game"

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Tuesday, October 12, 2004



I. Warm-Up DOL # 10

II. Continue discussion on Fahrenheit 451, Part 2: "The Seive and the Sand"
Finish taking Notes.

A. Montag has a memory of his childhood
B. Montag and Faber come up with a plan
C. Montag shows his books to the neighbors

Notes

A. It is appropriate that Montag has a flashback to the sieve and the sand
; its symbolism is self-explanatory, and its relevance is obvious. Montag
is trying to memorize as much as possible from his books, especially from
the Bible, but everything he reads seems to slip away from him. "The words
fell through, and he thought, in a few hours, there will be Beatty, and here will
be one handing this over, so no phrase must escape me, each line must be
memorized." His failure at memorization frustrates him to the point of tears,
just as when he was as a child trying to fill up the sieve with sand.

B. Faber at first resists Montag, not even wanting to let him in his home;
however, when he sees Montag's Bible, he is too excited to refuse him entry.
It is the first copy of the Bible that old man has seen in a very long time.
When Montag wants to talk about books with the old professor, he again resists;
but he finally consents, for he knows it will be very pleasurable to discuss ideas
again, despite the risk. Bradbury then uses Faber as a mouthpiece for his own ideas.
Faber explains how books make people uncomfortable, for they force them to constantly
think and re-evaluate themselves. He adds that books alone are not the answer; people
must also have the "right to carry out the actions" they learn in books. His idealism makes
Montag realize that books must be reintroduced as a first step towards changing the face
of society. He comes up with a plan to bring about the needed changes. He and Faber can
plant books in all the firehouses and in all the homes of the firemen. Then all the firemen
and the firehouses must be destroyed, leaving no means for future book burnings to be
carried out. Once again, Faber resists Montag; in the end, however, he agrees to help
his new friend in carrying out his plan. He even gives Montag one of his inventions, a
listening device that can be hidden in the ear. It will allow Faber to recite passages of
books to Montag at any place and at any time, even when he is sleeping.

C. In this scene, Montag breaks in frustration and shows one of his books
to Mildred's vapid friends; it is a momentary lapse in control that could ruin
both him and Millie. Fortunately, due to Faber's calming words of advice in
his ear and Millie's quick thinking, the women are convinced that Montag has
been allowed to bring the book home form the fire station. To further convince
them of the lie, Montag reads the ladies a poem out of the book and then
proceeds to toss it in the incinerator; the women seem to believe the story.
The poem that Montag reads is "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold. Even
the foolish and empty-headed neighbors are affected by Montag's emotional
reading; Mrs. Phelps is brought to tears, while Mrs. Bowles grows furious.
Bradbury is clearly showing the power of poetry to transform even the most
shallow of lives. After the ladies leave, Montag realizes the potential catastrophe
he has nearly caused; he decides he must cover his tracks. He hides some of
his books outside and selects one to take to the station and turn in to Beatty.
With Faber reassuring him the whole time through the ear device, Montag
begins to execute his damage control.

When Montag gets to the station, suspense once again builds.
The absence of the Mechanical Hound is frightening and ominous.
In addition, Beatty's cool response to Montag indicates that he is
not fooled by the return of one book. Montag, however, manages to
stay calm with the help of Faber's quiet and calm reassurances on
the earphone. When the alarm bell rings, Beatty is unnaturally calm
and unhurried. He glances at the address of the criminal and shoves
it in his pocket. When the fireman arrive at the house they are to burn,
Montag realizes it is his own. Part Two closes with this shocking turn of events.

III. Preview F451 "Part Three: Burning Bright" Pages 113 - 165 together in class

HOMEWORK

I. Begin reading F451 "Part Three:
Burning Bright" at home. Pages 113 - 130
II. Answer the following questions - Due Friday 10/15

1. TF Beatty had given Montag a hint that
he was under suspicion by sending the Hound.
2. Who must have brought back the books from the garden?
3. Who said, "'When you're quite finished, you're under arrest'"?
4. What three people turned in an alarm against Montag?
5. What happened to Montag's green bullet, his electronic ear?
6. Montag shot one continuous pulse of liquid fire on whom?
7. TF Other Salamanders were in route to recover and destroy
Mildred's four remaining books.
8. TF Faber went to the steaming lump of tar to see if Montag
had really torched Beatty.
9. TF Montag "stumbled and fell" because the beetle "fired
from an invisible rifle."
10. TF Sirens successfully followed Montag to Faber's house
and destroyed the other audiocapsules.
11. What is Montag's plan?
12. How much money did Montag give Faber?
13. Because of its odor indexes, the new Mechanical Hound
can remember how many scents?
14. Why did Montag want Faber to turn on the
air-conditioning and sprinklers?
15. TF Faber "vanished in the Hound's muzzle."
16. Interpret: "Twenty million Montags running, soon,
if the cameras caught him."
17. Why had the search veered inland?
18. Who died in Montag's place?
19. What did Granger mean by saying "'Welcome
back from the dead'" to Montag?
20. When a person from Granger's crowd is stopped by
a city person, why isn't there anything on his
personhood to incriminate himself?
21. Yes or No: Might a different chapter live in a different town?
22. Millie's ineptitude with her hands was compared
to whose wonderful carvings?
23. Granger stressed this one thought: "You're not important.
You're not anything." Why did he espouse such an idea?

III. Vocabulary

Find the definitions to the following words: Due Thursday 10/14
Quiz on all 18 words Friday, 10/15

valise
perpetual
illumined
litterateur
bole
anesthetized
penance
obscure
excursions
phosphorescent
séance
juggernaut
guild
scapegoat
pendants
convolutions
status quo
desolation

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Monday, October 11, 2004

I. Warm-Up Journal # 7
II. Review Fahrenheit 451, Part 2: "The Seive and the Sand" - Take Notes

Montag and Mildred spend the afternoon reading. The Mechanical Hound
comes and sniffs at the door. Montag speculates about what it was that
made Clarisse so unique. Mildred refuses to talk about someone who is
dead and complains that she prefers the people and the pretty colors on
her TV walls to books. Montag feels that books must somehow be able to
help him out of his ignorance, but he does not understand what he is reading
and decides that he must find a teacher. He thinks back to an afternoon a
year before when he met an old English professor named Faber in the park.
It was apparent that Faber had been reading a book of poetry before Montag
arrived. The professor had tried to hide the book and run away, but after
Montag reassured him that he was safe, they talked, and Faber gave him
his address and phone number. Now Montag calls the professor. He asks
him how many copies of the Bible, Shakespeare, or Plato are left in the
country. Faber, who thinks Montag is trying to trap him, says none are
left and hangs up the phone.

Montag goes back to his pile of books and realizes that he took
from the old woman what may be the last copy of the Bible in
existence. He considers turning in a substitute to Beatty (who
knows he has at least one book), but he realizes that if Beatty
knows which book he took, the chief will guess that he has a
whole library if he gives him a different book. He decides to have
a duplicate made before that night. Mildred tells him that some
of her friends are coming over to watch TV with her. Montag,
still trying to connect with her, asks her rhetorically if the “family”
on TV loves her. She dismisses his question. He takes the subway
to Faber’s, and on the way tries to memorize verses from the Bible.
A jingle for Denham’s Dentifrice toothpaste distracts him, and finally
he gets up in front of all the passengers and screams at the radio to
shut up, waving his book around. The astonished passengers start to
call a guard, but Montag gets off at the next stop.Montag goes to Faber
and shows him the book, which alleviates Faber’s fear of him, and he
asks the old man to teach him to understand what he reads. Faber
says that Montag does not know the real reason for his unhappiness
and is only guessing that it has something to do with books, since
they are the only things he knows for sure are gone. Faber insists
that it’s not the books themselves that Montag is looking for, but
the meaning they contain. The same meaning could be included
in existing media like television and radio, but people no longer
demand it. Faber compares their superficial society to flowers
trying to live on flowers instead of on good, substantive dirt:
people are unwilling to accept the basic realities and unpleasant
aspects of life.Faber says that people need quality information,
the leisure to digest it, and the freedom to act on what they learn.
He defines quality information as a textured and detailed knowledge
of life, knowledge of the “pores” on the face of humanity. Faber agrees
with Mildred that television seems more “real” than books, but he
dislikes it because it is too invasive and controlling. Books at least
allow the reader to put them down, giving one time to think and reason
about the information they contain. Montag suggests planting books
in the homes of firemen to discredit the profession and see the
firehouses burn. Faber doesn’t think that this action would get to
the heart of the problem, however, lamenting that the firemen aren’t
really necessary to suppress books because the public stopped
reading them of its own accord even before they were burned.
Faber says they just need to be patient, since the coming war
will eventually mean the death of the TV families. Montag
concludes that they could use that as a chance to bring
books back.Montag bullies Faber out of his cowardice by
tearing pages out of the precious Bible one by one, and
Faber finally agrees to help, revealing that he knows
someone with a printing press who used to print his
college newspaper. Montag asks for help with Beatty
that night, and Faber gives him a two-way radio he has
created that will fit in Montag’s ear; that way the professor
can hear what Beatty has to say and also prompt Montag.
Montag decides to risk giving Beatty a substitute book,
and Faber agrees to see his printer friend.

After Montag’s visit with Faber through the end of “The Sieve and the Sand”
Summary Montag withdraws money from his account to give to Faber
and listens to reports over the radio that the country is mobilizing for war.
Faber reads to him from the Book of Job over the two-way radio in his ear.
He goes home, and two of Mildred’s friends, Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles,
arrive and promptly disappear into the TV parlor. Montag turns off the TV
walls and tries to engage the three women in conversation. They reluctantly
oblige him, but he becomes angry when they describe how they voted in
the last presidential election, based solely on the physical appearance and
other superficial qualities of the candidates. Their detached and cynical
references to their families and the impending war angers him further. He
brings out a book of poetry and shows it to them, despite their objections
and Faber’s (delivered via his ear radio). Mildred quickly concocts a lie,
explaining that a fireman is allowed to bring home one book a year to show
to his family and prove what nonsense books are. Faber orders Montag
to take the escape route Mildred has provided by agreeing with her.

Refusing to be deterred, Montag reads the women “Dover Beach” by
Matthew Arnold. Mrs. Phelps, who has just told everyone quite
casually about her husband’s departure for the oncoming war,
bursts into tears, and Mrs. Bowles declares the cause to be the
evil, emotional messiness of poetry. She denounces Montag for
reading it. Montag drops the book into the incinerator at Faber’s
prompting. He yells at Mrs. Bowles to go home and think about
her empty life, and both women leave. Mildred disappears into the
bedroom. Montag discovers that she has been burning the books
one by one, and he rehides them in the backyard. Montag feels
guilty for upsetting Mildred’s friends and wonders if they are right
in focusing only on pleasure. Faber tells him that he would agree
if there were no war and all was right with the world, but that those
realities call for attention.Montag heads off to the fire station, and
Faber both scolds and consoles him on the way. Montag hands
his book over to Beatty, who throws it into the trashcan without
even looking at the title and welcomes him back after his period
of folly. Beatty browbeats Montag with a storm of literary quotations
to confuse him and convince him that books are better burned than
read. Montag is so afraid of making a mistake with Beatty that he
cannot move his feet. Faber tells him not to be afraid of mistakes,
as they sharpen the mind. An alarm comes through, and Beatty
glances at the address and takes the wheel of the fire engine.
They arrive at their destination, and Montag sees that it is his
own house.

Analysis

Mildred’s refusal to talk about Clarisse because she is dead
indicates her denial of death, a denial that characterizes society
as a whole. This denial is related to the widespread ignorance of
history and fear of books, because history and books connect
readers to the dead. In contrast, Montag feels a kind of wonder
that the books written by dead people somehow remind him of
Clarisse. He openly accepts and ponders death, telling Faber
that his wife is dying and that a friend of his is already dead,
along with someone who might have been a friend (meaning
the old woman). Mildred still does not see any possible
advantage in reading and is angered by the danger Montag
puts her in, asking if she is not more important than a Bible.
Montag hopes that reading will help him understand the
mistakes that have led the world into two atomic wars since
1990 and that have made the rest of the world hate his country
for its narcissistic hedonism.Faber becomes a more important
character in this section. Faber may have planted the seed of
Montag’s inner revolution the year before in the park, when he
told the fireman that he does not talk about things but rather the
meanings of things, and therefore he knows he is alive. This theme
of deeper meanings being necessary for life is central to the book.
And although Montag knew he had a book in his pocket, Faber
gave him his address anyway, allowing Montag to choose whether
to befriend him or turn him in. When Montag visits Faber, he tells
the professor that he just wants someone to listen to him talk until
he starts to make sense. He acknowledges his own ignorance,
which demonstrates his increasing self-awareness, and hopes to
learn from Faber.Although Faber is a strong moral voice in the novel,
his self-professed flaw of cowardice is also introduced in this section.
He is reluctant to risk helping Montag and finally agrees to do so only
by means of his audio transmitter, hiding behind this device while
Montag risks his life.Montag’s newfound resolve is also fragile at this
point in the novel. He expresses concern that Beatty will be able to
persuade him to return to his former life. Montag imagines Beatty
describing the burning pages of a book as black butterflies, an image
that recalls Montag’s own joy at the metamorphosis enacted by fire
in the opening paragraph of the book.An important symbol is expressed
in the title of this section, “The Sieve and the Sand,” which comes from
Montag’s childhood memory of trying to fill a sieve with sand on the
beach to get a dime from a mischievous cousin and crying at the futility
of the task. He compares this memory to his attempt to read the whole
Bible as quickly as possible on the subway in the hope that, if he reads
fast enough, some of the material will stay in his memory. The sand is
symbolic of the tangible truth Montag seeks and the sieve of the human
mind seeking truth. Truth is elusive and, the metaphor suggests,
impossible to grasp in any permanent way.

Bradbury uses several significant religious references in this section
to illuminate Montag’s process of self-realization. First, Faber reads
from the Book of Job, a part of the Bible in which God and Satan make
a wager about whether Job will remain faithful to God when subjected to
terrible afflictions. Clearly, Faber encourages Montag to endure despite
the difficulty of his undertaking. Montag, however, is becoming so tired
of mindlessly doing what other people say that he becomes suspicious
of Faber’s orders, and Faber in turn praises him for his development of
independent thought.Next, Montag compares Mildred’s friends to religious
objects, based on the fact that he can’t understand such objects any more
than he can Mildred’s friends. The two women seem artificial, superficial,
and empty to Montag. The conversation that Montag forces them to have
reveals their lack of concern about the coming war, the pervasiveness and
casual treatment of suicide in their society, and the deplorable state of family
ethics. They remind him of icons he once saw in a church and did not
understand; they seem strange and meaningless to him.In a third instance
of religious imagery, Faber describes himself as water and Montag as fire,
claiming that the merging of the two will produce wine. Jesus Christ’s
transformation of water into wine was one of the miracles that proved his
identity and instilled faith in people. Montag longs to confirm his own identity
through a similar self-transformation. He hopes that when he becomes this
new self, he will be able to look back and understand the man he used to be.
Montag opens his book of poetry to “Dover Beach,” which is quite appropriate
to his circumstances, as it deals with the theme of lost faith, and of the
capacity or personal relationships to replace faith. The poem also deals with
the emptiness of life’s promises and the unthinking violence of war. Shortly
afterward, Montag has a Shakespearean moment, when he returns to the
fire station and compulsively washes his hands in an attempt to clear his
guilt, feeling they are “gloved in blood”—a clear reference to Lady Macbeth.
Montag’s impressionability is clear in this section, and Faber’s voice in his
ear begins to spur him to bold actions. When Montag gives in to Faber’s
command to agree with Mildred, the narrator describes his mouth as having
“moved like Faber’s”; he has become Faber’s mouthpiece. After only a short
time with the audio transmitter in his ear, Montag feels that he has known
Faber a lifetime and that Faber has actually become a part of him. Faber
tries to act as a wise, cautious brain within Montag’s young, reckless body.
Here again, Bradbury illustrates the contradictory nature of technology—it is
both positive and negative, simultaneously beneficial and manipulative.
Bradbury further develops the opposition between Faber and Beatty in this
section. Beatty seems vaguely satanic, as if he and Faber are fighting over
Montag’s very soul. When Montag returns to the fire station, Beatty spouts
learned quotations like mad and uses literature to justify banning literature.
He hints again at similarities between himself and Montag, saying that he
has been through Montag’s phase and warning that a little knowledge can
be dangerous without further knowledge to temper the revolutionary spirit it
produces. Faber tells Montag to consider Beatty’s argument and then hear
his, and to decide for himself which side to follow. Here he lets Montag make
his own decision and stops ordering him around. Beatty’s use of literature
against Montag is brilliant; this is obviously the most powerful weapon he
has against Montag’s doubts.

II. Continue to work of Persuasive Essay Outline Body Paragraphs 1, 2 & 3

New Due Date!

I have changed the due date of the Persuasive Essay.
The Final Draft is no longer due on October 13th.
I have changed the due date to Monday, October 18th.
Please note the change.

HOMEWORK

I. Work on Persuasive Essay Outline Body Paragraphs 1, 2 & 3
Bring with you completed on Tuesday 10/12/04

posted by The Great Lawgiver  # 10:52 AM