Logan's question of "Why do you think Montag is unhappy" is very interesting. I think he is so unhappy because he is having an extremely rude awakening with Clarisse, and her death as not only opened his eyes to the world around him, but actually felt grief and sorrow when his dear and close friend passed away.
Beatty, at the height of the conflict, expresses his view of the purpose of burning: "What is fire? It is a mystery... Its real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences. A problem gets too burdensome, then into the furnace with it. Now, Montag, you're a burden. And fire will lift you off my shoulders, clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical" (page 109). Instead of facing difficulties, the people of this generation immediately abandon their responsibilities and thoughts. If something gets too heavy to deal with, you just "burn" it (literally or metaphorically) and forget about it. These men and women have then taken up mindless activities to replace their emotion. These activities fill up each and every day, making them feel like they are productive, when they are actually not doing anything with a purpose. Later, Montag says, " 'We never burned right...' " (page 113). He says this right before burning Beatty himself. This made me think that Montag believes it would be more advantageous to burn the troublesome people, rather than the burdensome 'things', such as contradicting books with different points of view.
Going off of Delaney's question, I think that determined individuals, like Montag and Faber, can lead to a downfall of the society of Fahrenheit 451. It was proven that the society itself has made their own wishes of "joy" mandatory, so why can't another determined group change the tide?
Would you be brave enough to do what Montag is doing? He is abandoning the 'norm' and in a way being awakened. Beatty tries to discourage Montag's actions by saying: "'He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty'" (page 103). He is just trying to confuse and distract Montag, however I do believe there is some truth to this statement. It takes a lot of guts to leave the safety of the norm, and venture out into the unknown, trying to find and feel something more.
In response to Logan's question: "Do you think that Montag is emotionally unstable?", I believe that he is definitely not emotionally stable. His anger CONTROLS him, and controls his actions without his mind being able to stop him. A prime example of this is: "One rage turned into another. One anger displacing another. When would he stop being entirely mad and be quiet, be very quiet indeed?" (page 106). Montag admits to his anger taking over him and regrets his actions. It is also seen by his inability to control his hands (a major motif in the novel), "For these were the hands that had acted on their own, no part of him, here was where the science first manifested itself to snatch books," (page 101, 102).
Final phishbowl: Obliviously the society in this book is an extreme but elements of it are easily found in our society. if we're aware of this then how could we fix it, reverse it's effects?
Final phishbowl: Obliviously the society in this book is an extreme but elements of it are easily found in our society. if we're aware of this then how could we fix it, reverse it's effects?
Final phishbowl: Obliviously the society in this book is an extreme but elements of it are easily found in our society. if we're aware of this then how could we fix it, reverse it's effects?
why in this situation does Montag choose to remember and focus on Millie? I think Montag thought about Millie because he cared about her. When the society blew up she was his first thought. Thinking about someone you care about dying is really sad. Montag realized that that part of his life was over forever once she died.
Final Phishbowl: When Granger says in the end that humanity is like the phoenix in how it dies and is reborn in fire he implies that society repeats it's mistakes but that humanity can learn. How might we learn from this?
I think that the society wouldn't have been able to change completely if it wasn't bombed. How would they be able to change that many people's minds about books without killing them? By the bomb killing everyone the traveling group is now able to go back into the city and build it up. They can turn the society into one that values family and knowledge. They could learn that knowledge is power and it will make them smarter and better people in the end. The society is now able to start over the right way.
Logan's question of "Why do you think Montag is unhappy" is very interesting. I think he is so unhappy because he is having an extremely rude awakening with Clarisse, and her death as not only opened his eyes to the world around him, but actually felt grief and sorrow when his dear and close friend passed away.
ReplyDeleteBeatty, at the height of the conflict, expresses his view of the purpose of burning: "What is fire? It is a mystery... Its real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences. A problem gets too burdensome, then into the furnace with it. Now, Montag, you're a burden. And fire will lift you off my shoulders, clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical" (page 109). Instead of facing difficulties, the people of this generation immediately abandon their responsibilities and thoughts. If something gets too heavy to deal with, you just "burn" it (literally or metaphorically) and forget about it. These men and women have then taken up mindless activities to replace their emotion. These activities fill up each and every day, making them feel like they are productive, when they are actually not doing anything with a purpose.
ReplyDeleteLater, Montag says, " 'We never burned right...' " (page 113). He says this right before burning Beatty himself. This made me think that Montag believes it would be more advantageous to burn the troublesome people, rather than the burdensome 'things', such as contradicting books with different points of view.
Going off of Delaney's question, I think that determined individuals, like Montag and Faber, can lead to a downfall of the society of Fahrenheit 451. It was proven that the society itself has made their own wishes of "joy" mandatory, so why can't another determined group change the tide?
ReplyDeleteWould you be brave enough to do what Montag is doing? He is abandoning the 'norm' and in a way being awakened. Beatty tries to discourage Montag's actions by saying: "'He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty'" (page 103). He is just trying to confuse and distract Montag, however I do believe there is some truth to this statement. It takes a lot of guts to leave the safety of the norm, and venture out into the unknown, trying to find and feel something more.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Logan's question: "Do you think that Montag is emotionally unstable?", I believe that he is definitely not emotionally stable. His anger CONTROLS him, and controls his actions without his mind being able to stop him. A prime example of this is: "One rage turned into another. One anger displacing another. When would he stop being entirely mad and be quiet, be very quiet indeed?" (page 106). Montag admits to his anger taking over him and regrets his actions. It is also seen by his inability to control his hands (a major motif in the novel), "For these were the hands that had acted on their own, no part of him, here was where the science first manifested itself to snatch books," (page 101, 102).
ReplyDeleteFINAL PHISHBOWL
ReplyDeleteFinal phishbowl: Obliviously the society in this book is an extreme but elements of it are easily found in our society. if we're aware of this then how could we fix it, reverse it's effects?
ReplyDeleteFinal phishbowl: Obliviously the society in this book is an extreme but elements of it are easily found in our society. if we're aware of this then how could we fix it, reverse it's effects?
ReplyDeleteFinal phishbowl: Obliviously the society in this book is an extreme but elements of it are easily found in our society. if we're aware of this then how could we fix it, reverse it's effects?
ReplyDeletewhy in this situation does Montag choose to remember and focus on Millie?
ReplyDeleteI think Montag thought about Millie because he cared about her. When the society blew up she was his first thought. Thinking about someone you care about dying is really sad. Montag realized that that part of his life was over forever once she died.
Final Phishbowl: When Granger says in the end that humanity is like the phoenix in how it dies and is reborn in fire he implies that society repeats it's mistakes but that humanity can learn. How might we learn from this?
ReplyDeleteI think that the society wouldn't have been able to change completely if it wasn't bombed. How would they be able to change that many people's minds about books without killing them? By the bomb killing everyone the traveling group is now able to go back into the city and build it up. They can turn the society into one that values family and knowledge. They could learn that knowledge is power and it will make them smarter and better people in the end. The society is now able to start over the right way.
ReplyDelete