F451 Day 2 HW

1. In this section we learn that the firemen are reminiscent of the thought police of 1984. They control the books,and in turn the history. Therefore, they also control the conscious thoughts, emotional depth, and knowledge of the general public. These men are tough, blunt, and seem to act much like robots. They hear an alarm, they act, with no thought as to who they affect or what they destroy, it is merely their job. The so called history of the firemen is clearly a fabrication, which can lead the reader to believe that the burning of books, much like the ministry of truth in 1984, is in order to control the past. Benjamin Franklin was not a firemen, but whoever is in charge of rewriting history, has made it that way, so in the reality of the people, this must be accepted as truth. The firemen are feared because they burn things, but the people really should be fearing them because not only do they have all the power, they do not understand the magnitude of their actions.

2. Clarisse does not fit in at school because she is "anti social". This is far from the truth seeing as she is entirely in her comfort zone to commence talking to a random stranger. However, at school she is scared of other children her age because they kill one another, making her fear entirely justified. Her definition of social is ironic in our society today. She defines social as "Talking to you about things"(Bradbury 29), and being not social is "To get a bunch of people together and not let them talk"(29). This is ironic to our society, because in many scenarios we willingly and purposely gather, but are often consumed with our own personal electronics and do not talk to other people. Also, this idea of not being social, is much like how in 1984 the characters could technically talk, but were brought down so much by the fear of getting arrested that they did not.

F451 Day 1 HW

1. Due to the way in which Clarisse describes the reasons that people find her strange lead the reader to believe that compared to our world, the world of the novel, not Clarisse, is strange. She describes, driving slow on the highway, talking, flammable houses, and billboards being twenty feet long as strange, while to our world, they are quite ordinary. The world of the novel seems to be another distopic, futuristic one.

2. From Mildred's suicide attempt, we learn not only about Guy and Mildred's relationship, but also about their society. The reader may infer from the fact of all the suicide attempts the operators reported that life is probably not too good in this society, which in turn means that Guy and Mildred's relationship is not too good. However, Guy seems to want the best for Mildred and comes to her aid as soon as he can. Also, he sticks up for her when the operators talk about her. However, from the way the novel presents talking, the reader may assume that the two do not talk very much.

Native Son: 14

"As the white mountain had once loomed over him, so now the black wall of death loomed closer with each fleeting hour"(Wright 419).

Bigger's emotions have grown, whether or not he knows it. Before, the world to him was one, unconquerable, cohesive mountain of hate, comprised of all the white people. Now, Bigger sees the black wall of his death coming closer. He knows he is about to die, but now, instead of accepting it for what it is, Bigger sees his life in a new light. He sees that once he is dead, his life will have truly meant nothing. Once he is dead, no one can ever know why he did what he did. Once he is dead, it is forever. Bigger has never been forced to sit and seriously contemplate his life, but his last few days in jail force him to do this. Bigger may not know what he feels, but he is feeling emotions foreign to him. The hate and fear have been replaced with regret and a sense of strange calmness. Bigger, for the first time knows exactly what is happening in his life.

Native Son: 13

"This boy is young, not only in years, but in his attitude toward life"(Wright 377).

As Max depicts the horrific life of Bigger Thomas, he strikes with in the court an emotional note. He is finding within them the ability not only to sympathize, but to see how the court, the city, and the people made Bigger what he is. While Buckley shows Bigger to be a ruthless, cold hearted killer, Max is showing how he never wanted or asked for this life, it was forced upon him. While Buckley tries to stir up anger, Max shows the court how to find the Bigger within themselves, with the hopelessness, and aggravation that ruled his life. When Max states that Bigger is young in his attitude toward life, he is not only speaking to Bigger's lack of social or worldly knowledge, he is also speaking to Bigger's raw, untamed emotions that he has neither been taught to handle or control.