Books & New Tech

Well, it seems that everyone is more focused now on technology more than books. For instance, when you look around on typically day you see more people on their phones or using some sort of device compared to having a book.

 I can understand why people like to be on their phones with such advance technology but books are the same in a way. You can travel anywhere you like or be anyone you want with all these writings. There is always a perfect book for you somewhere you just got to look.

Is it me?

Well, I think we become who we are by what we are surrounded by. Then from there, we branch out. So example, my family has always loved music ranging from the 60s-90s hip-hop to R&B, and it grew on me. Then as I got into junior high, the people around me listened to different music like the alternative or hip hop. I started to listen to their music and found my artist. Now in high school, new people carry around there music in there heads and share it with me.

Back to what I was saying, I feel like depending on your surroundings it can either shape you or help you figure out what you want. That includes hairstyles, clothing, and even the way you talk.

Why I work

I feel like when Bradbury uses indirect writing about how Montag crying because it gives us more of a feel about what is going on. Trying to get us to actually get a feel of what it is like to be there or to see through Mildred's eyes. 

Well, when I work for something, ranging from a relationship to a project it is because I know that good will come from it. I want the best of a relationship I can get cause then I know I will be happy. Or with a project, I know that if I give it my all I will get a good grade, which gives me more opportunities in the future. So, I work hard for the things that I know will give me benefits and I walk away from the things that I know won't do me any good.

What are we learning now

With reading Fahrenheit 451, I noticed that the author is constantly comparing the present in the book and what will become in the future. He compares ear buds or TVs that go across the wall. Now Clarisse mentions school on screens for hours long, well what is happening right now? The virus has us in quarantine, we are now online learning. It is weird how we read this book and the author writes about all these things we have now.

451 questions, 20 answers

1. I think the author chose to title the first chapter "The Hearth of the Salamander," because he is implying that guy is underneath putting out and starting fires. A hearth is a floor of the fireplace so in a way Guy is the base of the fire.

2. The lines "It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed," make me as a reader assume that Guy likes to see destruction. Even a small amount like so burning looks. He likes seeing things to be eaten and come to an end.

3. I think the author choosing to describe the hose as a great python is negative. A snake strikes and shoots it venomous spray when it wants to kill or feel threatened. So in this case, the hose is spraying like the python, and we learn that they start fires. That means the hose is violently spraying towards the fire as if it has to kill the books.

4. The number 451 on the helmets of the firefighter is the temperature that books will burn.

5. Clarisse is introduced as a "17-year-old and insane." The author also writes that she has milky skin and wears white but her eyes are dark. She seems so curious about the world around her and makes Guy question his life.

6. Unsure if this question means the literal definition or what the author is hinting at. Guy's name stands for leader or guide, maybe he will symbol a leader figure whether that is with burning the book or maybe when he sees his life different and tries making others do the same. As for Clarisse, her name means clear in Latin. Based on what we know so far, she seems to have this clear view on life and what is around her, compared to Guy who thinks he is happy until she points it out.

7. Clarisse starts asking Guy simple questions like how long have you been a fireman and do you burn the books that you read? He answers them at first finely but the more she asks the more uncomfortable he seems and asks if she has any respect. But they have Guy thinking but it is like he is following a script and suddenly forgot his lines. Looking at everything differently, improving.

8. We learned a few things that are different in their society compared to ours:
- firefighter start fires
- they aren't allowed to drive slow on freeways or they can be arrested
- they stretch out advertising billboards so you can see them while you drive.

9. Guy compared Clarisse to two things, clock dial and a watcher. He explains that she glows and tells of something important. Then for the watcher, he is implying that she pays attention to detail, an observer.

10. As Guy got home, he realizes that he isn't happy. He thinks that she took off a mask and ran away with him. He goes over the question if he is happy, then goes into his depressing house, making him think more if he actually is or if it was all a lie to make himself think he is happy.

11. Seashells are now of days earbuds, Mildred uses them to sleep or just around the house. Maybe as an escape from the real world.

12. The difference between Clarisse and Guy's wife is that she is very smart and bright compared to the wife who seems unhappy and hiding it behind a smile.

13. The machines used to clean Mildred up were described as a snake as it went down her throat and started cleaning her out. She also was pumped up with fresh blood, getting rid of the bad. The symbolism is describing the machines like they are snake slithering down her throat into her stomach.

14. Guy says that "nobody knows anyone," because he is saying with all those people in the world no one really knows each other. No friends, just people going on with there day and not associating with others.

15. Guy finds himself drawn to Clarisse's window because he sees how bright and full of laughter it is. Compared to his home where it is pitch black and just had his wife OD. I think this is like saying there is a lot of people in the world that are the sad depressing house and there are others that are the happy house. With the houses being there lives.

16. Guy lays there in his bed and lets his mind go unleashed. In doing so his thoughts are everywhere making him feel like he knows nothing because he has so much on his mind and he can't figure out anything.

17. When Mildred wakes up from her sleep she starts her day and minds her business as if nothing happened. I think she is characterized this way because he is wanting to show that in Guy's house it is sad and Mildred seems to have a fake smile on. After her conversation with Guy, it feels like she is just trying to ignore the embarrassing moments from yesterday and act like it never happened.

18. Clarisse goes to the psychiatrist because she likes to hike or drink the rain. She is sent there mainly because she is strange compared to their society.

19. The hound is a mechanical dog. Its functions are to kill, it will go after it's prey after it gets the scent and stabs them with its paws, filling them with toxins. Guy is bothered by the hound because it growls are him and he believes it doesn't like him.

20. The women decide to burn with the books to show that burning the books is a bad practice and she will go down in flames with it.

The right to read

Dear President: 

Why can't I read? These words on paper like what I am doing right now make me feel a certain way. They make me learn or help me express my feelings. Words are so powerful and to be put in a book is amazing. Why take that way? It is someone's happiness or escapes and you talk that away as if you are the monster under the bed. Books are meant to be read that is why they are written. Someone wanted to share their imagination or their thoughts. Like I am doing right now, it is my right and I ain't going to stop.

Vivecca B.

F451 & Me

In the book Fahrenheit 451 the author makes well connections to modern-day life.

1. He talks about seashells, and now we call them earbuds. He predicted that we would have something to listen too, to fade away from the world. 

2. Depressing houses to laughing and bright houses. I think he is comparing the two showing that there are both types of people out there in the world, and there are now these days as well.

3. He mentions a screen that goes across our walls. A TV in our terms now. 

It is crazy how as we read we realize that he is predicting what our future will be like.

F451 Summary Part 1

In Zoom we started to read this book called Fahrenheit 451 and this is a little summary of what we have learned so far:

In their society, firemen's job is to start a fire and not put them out. They burn books and the books burn at 451 degrees F, hence the title. We meet one of the firefighters named Guy Montage and he is one of the firefighters. On his way to work one day, he meets this young lady.

This young lady is, Clarisse McClellan, as they go on there walk we learn that she is 17 and she is very smart. She has Guy questioning his life and thinking about whether or not if he is happy. Guy goes home to this thought and is greeted to a pitch-black room and to his wife that just OD.

Guy gets her help and the next morning she acts like it has never happened. He then leaves and has another walk with Clarisse and gets to work. We learn a little about the atmosphere of the firehouse.

That is what we have got so far.

AP practice essay

As I sit at my desk in the small confines of my shared bedroom, I think what place do I know well? With my music playing distantly, I start reminiscing of the days where I was able to work. Day and night, I memorized it. Stores, mall employees, the theater and how they handle all the mass of people in line for their freshly popped popcorn or syrupy drinks to be served. I mindfully wander through the crowds of the mall, sometimes observing people and sometimes just enlightening myself with my own thoughts.

I know the mall well when it isn't opened and the maintenance is out cleaning up the spilled food or wiping off the graffiti from the walls. I passed all the clothes stores and watch as they fix up the mannequins, hoping that people notice and get them to come to their store.

In the center of the mall, the sunbeams stream from the glass and filter through to reach the surface of my skin as I stand at the 4 way stop. Food court, straight ahead, so I continue on passing jewelers and the smell of a million scents from the Bath and Bodyworks, the ones that tickle my nose like pineapples and flowers. 

I make it to my store, the one that opens 2 hours earlier than the rest. The smell of bread baking and the faint sound of the music being played. I walk up to the glass protecting the meats and vegetables that are waiting to be made into people’s perfect masterpieces. I passed the bright neon “S” that can be spotted from a mile away. Savory, sweet and salty, or tell me what can it mean: sad, savage, scared. I shake off my thoughts and put on my uniform. Then start cutting cucumbers, bell peppers, and strong potent onions. 

I pause once a tear rolls down my face. I turn to grab a tissue and restart the process over. Wash hands, gloves on, cut, put away the prep. I stop once I hear the ringing sound of a bell. A customer, as I walk over with a smile and follow my given script. I study who decided to stop by. Is it the person who wants double tuna and comes every Sunday or is it the girl who stands there on the phone ignoring the one making her meal, the one that smiles even though she is being ignored. 

Tick, tock. That's what goes through my mind as seconds pass before my shift ends. Ding, I take off my hat and apron and sit there. Stretching out my legs and arms from my exhausting day. I begin leaving and stand in the food court. Everyone smiling or stuffing their faces as if their food is going to go somewhere. Kids screaming and running around as their parents do nothing like they're not disturbing others peace. I start leaving the overpowering smell of Italian, American, Mexican, and Chinese food being clashed together into one. 

Back to the way, I came from, but this time I'm stopping and turning, avoiding faces that I haven't fried into my brain. I continue to get out of there as if it is a race to the end of a finish line. The end is so close but why does it feel as I step closer to the end, it gets further. 

Home finally, as I step into the shower and think about my day. I start scrubbing my body with foamy soap and come to a stop, a burn mark from a pan that gave a hot kiss upon my arm. I rubbed it and smiled, a memory from a place that feels like a second home.

Resources

Big Question help


Help for Men Who Are Being Abused - HelpGuide.org
Abusive Relationship Statistics - Opinion Front
Women Who Emotionally Abuse Men | Intellectual Takeout
Forms of Emotional and Verbal Abuse You May Be Overlooking | Psychology Today
Male Rape: The Silent Victim and the Gender of the Listener
How Often Do Women Rape Men? - The Atlantic
Domestic Violence and Abuse - HelpGuide.org
Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships | Hall Health Center
Healthy Relationships | Loveisrespect.org
Abusive LGBTQ Relationships | Loveisrespect.org

Cue theme music

With our 8 options in class, I think the overall message is the lengths Gatsby will go for love.

In the book Gatsby was throwing parties, we found he did that because Daisy (the woman he is in love with) lives across the bay and wants to get her attention.

He is willing to take the fall for Daisy when she hit and killed Mrytle with his car. He didn't care if they found out because he was going to tell them he was the one driving. 

He even got Daisy to confess his love for her in front of Tom her husband.

Preview of Gatsby Essay

In the book, The Great Gatsby, we read about many characters like Gatsby, Nick, Daisy. They all have different problems and we were solely focused on past love between two characters.  It seems like Fitzgerald was sour about something, makes me wonder if he is experienced something like what Gatbsy went through. He mentions alcohol a lot and we know that Fitzgerald was an alcoholic, which might I add killed him. So in his writings, he left parts of him in. He seemed the only passionate or gave vividly writing about a few things, the weather or describing where we are in the book, making us feel like we are actually there. Fitzgerald seemed to end the book without anyone really finding happiness. It felt as if he wanted us to see the bigger picture. You shouldn't focus on the past because that was then and people change and find out who they are.

What's so great about Gatsby

1. I would like to say Gatsby was great to the only who he desired, meaning Daisy. He was too focused on her to really pay attention to the details around him. He was willing to take the fall for her even when she hit Mrtyle with the car. But he wasn't completely wise because he used his money and popularity to get her back and that shouldn't be what you use and because of that he didn't get real love.

2. I would like to say that Nick is honest in my opinion, he always expressed the way he felt and thought about Gatsby, Jordan or any other character. I liked that he was always involved somehow in everyone's problems. I think the reason why he would be around them is that they were all he had and no matter what they would always be there. I think he is honest and feels like because he is trying to see how they work, and just observe them.

3. I think the quote is saying that this is important because it makes Nick truly understand that these people aren't real people. They are just doing whatever they want since they are upper class and they just do it with no fear. I agree with this I don't think Tom or Daisy are good people.

4. No, I don't understand how Daisy work. She is really confusing and very fake it seems. I would never be okay with her to be dating anyone in my family. I wonder if she is all there sometimes because just the way she acts isn't right. Childish and idiotic. 

5. I think it is saying we may have trouble and we may feel like we aren't going anywhere but we will eventually. We just can't stop going. I think the theme is to not give up but to pay attention. I will give it to Gatsby for really trying to get Daisy and not giving up but he did really need to pay attention to all the other red flags.

Gatsby 171-189

Chapter 9, The Great Gatsby:

It is two years later 

Nick is trying to get people to go to the funeral 

Gatsby's dad is trembling and saw the news in the paper

All these people they are calling don't seem to care about his death

The lady didn't want to let him in
`Daisy hasn't said or sent anything
Nick is at the funeral and he is reflecting on his life
He is thinking he should go home
Tom told Wilson that it was Gatsby's Car and he knew that he had a guy

Nick thinks that Tom and Daisy are careless and if they make a mistake they retreat to money and let the other people clean up there mess
Gatbsy is so close to getting Daisy but that is all in the past