Fahrenheit 451: Essay notes 1

Prompt: To what extent do Sci-Fi authors portray futuristic societies as dysfunctional? As the reader, do we view this as a warning, satirical, or a prediction? How does the point of view provided by the author influence our decision?

ENDER’S GAME

How would you describe the society in Ender’s Game?

-Rigid

-Cold-hearted

-Victory at all costs driven

            -Life is a tool for success

Not in the society:

-Compassion

-No fun

-A warning for peace; militarism

-Keeping compassion and keeping your feelings

-Knowing what you’re doing; not manipulated by authorities

-Ender’s perspective is valuable for making these points because as the reader we really feel the shock at the end of the book

“a giant example of what could happen”

 more experience of “outside” à there’s more open narrative about the world; the dialogue of the teachers

this one’s about a child being set into a society, but resisting it

FAHRENHEIT 451

Describe the world:

-Upside down

-Completely different from ours

            -Don’t value intelligence, academic learning, and freedom of thought

-Trivial interpersonal relationships: conversations with the ladies

as a person, be aware for looking out for things in general

            looking out for “human values”

            the role children have – we’re jumping into this world with Guy as an adult, the thoughts of what you’re meant to do are instilled and meant to change, but Clarisse the child is able to think differently and more creatively and think with herself because she hasn't been manipulated or tainted yet

this one’s about someone’s head who’s breaking out of what’s already been set

Being in Guy’s point of view

“everyone knows the world, we don’t – all that matters to us is how some guy who breaks free from the clutches of society thinks about the society” è we see this society’s effect on one individual à totally with Montag

Fahrenheit 451: Essay Topics

-Compare and contrast Guy and Beatty's views on what books are and what books are used for.
-Explore what part of, and why Clarisse's interaction with Guy really opened his eyes.
-Discuss the point of view of the book. Is it from Guy's point of view? And if so, what insight do we get as the reader?

Is Faber good or bad?

At his first meeting with Guy, Faber seems like a pretty okay guy. They seem to get along and Faber seems to be trying to help him. These positive thoughts of Faber are mixed up when he starts to order around Guy; it does seem that he is trying to help Guy as best he can, but nonetheless, his orders give off a vibe suggesting fogginess in his character. After that, however, when Guy talks to Beatty, Beatty seems to be manipulative and, frankly, evil. I really don't like the way Beatty talks to Guy and acts like he is above him. Intellectually he does seem to be above Guy. Faber seems to be trying to keep Guy thinking clearly: "He's trying to confuse you." (103). Although Faber isn't making a huge argument against Beatty, the simple act of trying to convince Guy to think for himself is refreshing.

Fahrenheit 451: Guy Montag the fireman

Why is Guy Montag a fireman in the first place? Of course for the book to make sense and play out, he has to be. But, he doesn't seem as strongly anchored and set on books being evil. I wonder if he chose this job for himself or if he was somehow assigned to it. Although Clarisse is the one to truly open his eyes, he is not resistant in any way. After Clarisse sparking his curiosity and eventually leaving the story, Guy Montag is even more intrigued by these books. Although for 'so many years' he has been a fireman, I find it interesting that he never questioned his job without Clarisse. Furthermore, I guess it seems obvious to me that Guy is going to have to rebel against this work. I think he will definitely quit his job as a fireman, but surely he'll try to stop it altogether. That being said, I predict a failure, and the book to end sadly.

The role of Children in Sci-Fi

In Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse serves as the reader's curiosity. She throws out ideas and things she has heard, such as firemen putting out fires, to give the reader a better sense of the world of the story. She is a free thinker and seems to ask questions to Guy that catch him off guard and really make him question what he is doing. "Are you happy?" Page 7, she asks this, but does not receive an answer, and instead retires into her house. In Ender's Game the Graff and friends think that a child has to be the leader because of his free mind and creativity. However, the adults manipulate the children. In I, Robot, Gloria is a child and therefore does not contain any prejudice against robots, unlike her mother.
It seems that children, in Sci-Fi, tend to have more open minds and ability to adapt to new encounters. I wonder if this is also true in our world.

Ender's Game: discussion questions

How does monitor work?      -p: 2-3 How does Ender's anger play a role in his successes? Is Valentine Ender's motivation? Why do V and P want to rule the world? Why does Ender stand out to Graff?      -And Bean to Ender Are children more ruthless than adults? Imagine Peter's reaction to Ender's success? What role does age play? What was Graff like when he was younger? If Ender played soccer, what position would he play? Are ethics gone?      -Isolating Ender Are the teachers the enemy?      -p: 108 How can they FORBID crying? Are the rules like zero gravity?      -Nothing to hold on to Competition and kids verse each other: military, school, soccer?

Is Valentine a key to Ender's success?

I read through chapter 10. So far, Ender has been able to complete tasks and games thought to be impossible. I feel like, however, he is always picturing his sister. For instance, when he kept seeing Peter in that one game. Ender was never able to pass it until Valentine wrote him a letter. Although he knew the letter was somewhat forced by Graff, it still did something so that when in the game, Ender could go through. I just wonder if she has been his motivation (almost) to succeed.

Wow. Ender's Game

Wow. I really did not expect this book to be so sad. It isn't a tragedy or anything, but the small choices that the author makes to show the types of people Graff and stuff are looking for is almost scary. First, the fact that Ender beat up Stilson was a "good thing" because of his motivation. The author graphically displays Ender showing his brother the blood on his shoes. Second, Ender snaps and breaks a kids arm; it seems like Graff enjoyed this. Graff decides that he will tell everyone that Ender is better than them, and ender is now alone. Ender silently cries himself to sleep... That is sad to me. I just wonder if the book will keep this seemingly non-existent morality, or if things will change. Although as the main character, Ender is supposed to be cheered on, I don't like rooting for a character that gets other people's blood on his shoe and breaks people's arms and gets rewarded.

What do I want from this semester?

Two main things, reading and writing.

I feel that I read slowly, but I try to read every, but in college I won't have the time. So learning the triage is my number one priority. I really need to be able to get through books, while understanding them more quickly. I have never been a super speedy reader; and in college, with more reading, I won't be able to put in all the time that I would like.

Secondly, writing. I feel similar to reading in that I write slowly, but very well. In college, without the time to put in extra work it will be tough. Assuming that I usually want to get a good night's sleep, I will need to learn to turn out higher quality content more quickly. Even in in-class writing I feel like my work isn't as good as when I can take it home and work for more hours. This might be especially difficult because I might not get as good a sense of the reading because I'm also reading faster.

I really look forward to collaborative discussions. I feel that a student led discussion will force me to get an even stronger grasp of the material. I also feel that I always use the same voice; I want to be able to shift between formal and informal writing at will.