Columns

This week we started our columnist unit. Of the few columns that we have read so far, I have enjoyed them very much. I love the way that you get to see the writer's craft really come alive. We recently read a few that were on the topic of Thanksgiving, and some of them were very funny. My favorite was the one that was written from the point of view of a turkey. It was funny to think about what a turkey would say if it could actually talk. Just this past weekend we read five columns all by different authors. Two of them were by Mike Lupica which was pretty cool. I enjoyed the one that was about the Miracle on Ice. That is one of my favorite sports movies and I thought Lupica's take on it was unique.

I realized while reading the columns that however much I may enjoy the sports columns that Lupica wrote, I enjoyed Dave Barry's columns a lot more. I am a very sarcastic person and his writing was very sarcastic. It was funny to read someone who enjoys humor the same way I do. Out of the two that we read, I liked the one that was titled A Ruff and Ready Playmate. If you haven't read this yet, I highly recommend this to anyone who has an enthusiastic dog. I can relate to what he says about "fake throws" so I thought it was totally hilarious.

http://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article1931129.html
This is the link to Dave Barry's A Ruff and Ready Playmate.

A dog.

Fahrenheit 451 Handout

Alex Acuna, Caroline Bass, Jessi Berger,Erin Gilliland

,Rollie Sheriff, & Carter Witmer-Gautsch,

Bell 1

Theme Statement: In the wrong hands, technology can be dangerous.

So why is this theme important for our understanding the story? Well its important because without the forces of technology such as the hound, or the TV walls, a lot of the conflict wouldn't be there, the walls made it so that he could no longer talk with his wife, and the hound made it so that he had to find a new way to escape or hide books, and without this technology this conflict wouldn’t be present.

How does this theme connect to modern day society, and how we see it play out in our lives? We see today how technology consumes most of our lives, and a lot of it can be powerful such as military weapons or even daily technology that can easily persuade our minds, and its important to study this or notice it, because technology easily has changed our lives for the good, but in the wrong hands it could be for the worse, as

Fahrenheit 451

I recently finished the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This book takes place in a modern day country that isn't explicitly stated, but we can assume its the USA because there are references to Chicago and San Francisco. It is centered around the ideas of censorship and that books are illegal. Ironically, firemen in this novel set fires that will burn books instead of putting them out. The society is basically brainwashed by the government by devices that they call "parlor walls", which are essentially walls that are TVs. There are also devices that they call "seashells" which are basically headphones that the citizens always wear. They are hooked up directly to the government and the broadcast major events that happen as well as music.

This book focuses in on one particular citizen who is named Guy Montag. He is a fireman, and he burns books. He is a very dynamic character who at the beginning believes everything that the government tells him. He is married to a woman named Mildred and has no children. This book details his journey as he realizes that TV and burning books aren't the only thing that the world has to offer. He meets a few people who will change him, as well as one main protagonist who is constantly against him. The protagonist is the fire captain at his job, who is named Captain Beatty. He makes Montag rethink some of the most important decisions he will make as a dynamic character. Montag transforms from a destructive, brainwashed citizen, to someone who could very will change the course of history in this book.

I rate this book a 7/10. I love the idea behind it, the plot and the characters. However, the language that Ray Bradbury uses is sometimes hard to understand and you really have to be actively reading if you want to understand this book. Bradbury masterfully crafts the pace of this book, so that once you get about halfway through, you can't put it down. I would recommend this book to any mature reader who is looking for a science fiction book that you really want need to think about.

Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451.