Father

Probably it was my 3^rd time watching my dad getting married. I was raised by my father unlike most of the kids. When I was very young, my parent got divorced for some reason. I’m not saying that I don’t have any memory with my mom because I certainly remember some. It was hard for me to live without my mom, especially when I was in my elementary years.

In elementary, it is not an exaggeration to say that most of the events require mother. I still remember one of my teachers sitting with me for the mother’s day. I hated when people looked at me with sympathy because I was actually used to not having a mother. Maybe I was too young to understand the whole situation because I didn’t know the concept of divorce.

When I was in middle school, my father got married to another woman. I was terrified to see a stranger coming to my house to live and sleep with my dad. When my dad first notified me that he’s getting remarried, I packed my stuff and left the house instantly. I slept in what Koreans call jjimjilbang, a hot spring with restaurants and a place to sleep. It was a perfect place for me to hide because you don’t need any money to eat and sleep. All the costs were saved in to your key. However, after few days, police came in and caught me because the employers thought or knew that I was alone and spent more than 3 days without paying.

My father came in and took me out of custody. He wasn’t mad at me because he understood me. He knew that I still missed my mother and hoped that she would come back someday. He got married after few weeks later, and I was still mad at him. If I think about it now; I understand him perfectly. I know that man can’t live without woman for a long period of time. He lived alone for many years and raised me. I should have tried to understand him more because I still regret my action.

Comments

2 to Jennifer
2 to Enoch
1 to Ji hun
1 to Richard

Post6: Climax

* what is the climax of this novel? what happens? how do the events of this novel make you feel?

The climax of the novel is when Montag kills Captain Beatty. After Montag realized that Mildred, his wife, called in the alarm, he had to burn his own house down because of Beatty’s command. Captain Beatty also threatened him with mechanical hounds, which Montag hates because those were gazing and trying to hurt him at the fire house. When he was done, Beatty told him that he will be under arrest. It was also tense when Beatty found the green buggy radio in Montag’s ear. Montag turned his flamethrower on Beatty and burned him like all the books he burned in the past. This event of this novel made me feel so relived and happy, because the bad guy went down. Also, it was an astonishment of Montag because it wasn’t an easy courage to kill his enemy. He wasn’t a coward anymore and stepped into the starting point where he can actually change the society and the world. He can spread out the truth of the books and the message to the corrupted world.

If I were to put myself in Montag’s position, it would have been very difficult, because I know that whether I kill captain Beatty or not, I would be in BIG trouble. I don’t know what I would do in that moment but it was obvious that he would get help from Faber. Farenheit 451 was overally very fun, and it was very intereting.

Post5: Current Situation

* Are there are any current situations in the world that relate to the novel? What are they, and how do they relate? Does the novel shed any light on how current situations could be resolved or "fixed"?

With no doubts, majority of people know that some communist countries limit of what people read. For example, China and North Korea are against some religions, so they banned some of the religious books like the Bible. I’m not sure if they burn them, but there are some serious consequences if you posses it, like in Fahrenheit 451. Some people might face death or severe punishment. This can relate to Montag who actually hid the book and almost got into trouble. With these unreasonable actions of banning books and limiting people’s will, countries are most likely to fail and corrupt. Without knowledge and help from other resources, how can a community survive? How would they know what is right and what is wrong in their lives? If you see North Korea, it is a perfect example because, they are trying so hard to isolate themselves and have a bravado that they will succeed without any advocacy. However, as time goes by, their reputation and dignity is going down below. This is because they don’t know the real world outside. They don’t know what can help them and know what life is really about. If they have some resources like books, they would gain more knowledge and realize that their actions are just stupid and filled with hubris.I have another thing that can relate to the book that is currently happening in this world. It doesn’t have to be about burning books, but the cause is very important. The cause of burning books is not clarified in this book, but the environment itself is so dependent on technologies. Mechanical hounds, electric-eyed snake, TV shows and more. It reflects on our daily lives where we are relying on Internet, TV shows and videogames so much that we do not care about reading books. Some people consider books as boring papers or a resource that can help them get better grades.Both of these problems can be resolved by believing of what is right and acting upon them. Are people telling you that books are bunch trash? Tell them that those trashes are going to be recycled and be in front of you. The more you try to get rid of them, the more will come up and affect you greatly. Investing more time of reading would be worth more than playing video games for 5 hours… NOT!!

Post4: Mood

* what is the mood of this novel? do you find this novel saddens you in any way? why?

The mood of the novel was sharp, confused, bitter and full of tense. It was a constant unfortunate events. Like, 0Mildred almost killed herself with large amount of pills, lack of cares of women’s husbands in war, ignorance of their own children, voting presidents depending on their physical appearances, and much more. It showed how the world was so corrupted and out of order. I asked myself, is this reflecting our real lives? It seems horrible in the novel, but I realized I shouldn’t be that surprised. People kill themselves or give up their lives so easily because of small circumstances.

Many people abandon their own family and neglect their own children. People judge other people with their outlooks and are interested in others who are popular. They never see the inside and don’t even want to try. This novel is exactly telling us what is happening. In my opinion, this story is not based on the future, but the author is showing us the real images through this novel in this modern world. Is there a person who is willing to change the world like Montag? Is that person full-hearted to change the mood of the world that is so similar to the novel? I hope so… I wish this is something that only happens in out imagination. Is it impossible? Is it too late? Will the world’s mood be the same? Sharp, confused, bitter and full of tense?

Post3: Theme

* What is the major theme of this novel? Why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2007?

The major theme of this novel is the ignorance of knowledge, but focusing on their satisfaction of joy. For example, people these days think their entertainment and knowledge are from TV shows, movies, and other Medias. In Fahrenheit 451, the fireman's obligation is to destruct knowledge and truth, but spreading paradox and brain washing them by burning all the books. Because of all these, people are afraid and began to have negative thoughts towards novels and books.

Here is a quote from the book: “Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it. Someone’s written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book.” Like this quote, the character is giving a strong reason why books give out unpleasant affects on different people.

This theme is very important to teenagers in 2007, because teenagers are so into new TV shows, fashions, web page, Internet, video games and much more, than reading and gaining knowledge from other sources. Teenagers think that books are just bunch of papers together and lecturing about what life is or a waste of time. They should know that there is great information that can help them. They can get advises, when they are having a hard time going through their puberty. I wish this project can help other students who prefer Medias than reading and analyzing. They can see other people's opinions and compare to their own ideas.

Post2: Characters

* Who are the main characters in the novel? Do you like them? Why or why not? What is special about them? What do they reveal about the universal human experience?

The main characters in the novel are Guy Montag and Captain Beatty. Guy Montag is the protagonist in this book. I like this character because he stands up for his faith and what is right. He isn’t necessarily a hero, a sage or a doughty man, but because he is a fool, he keeps his opinions and rebels against the society. Montag is a fireman. However, the bizarre thing is that a fireman in this story is not a person who saves people from fire, but starts a fire to burn the books. Later on, Montag realizes that there is something wrong with his actions, and becomes desperate to find the truth and a meaningful way to live. Montag can be compared to other people who learn and want to know more about his life and the society.

Captain Beatty is an antagonist in this novel who is filled with contradictions. He is a book burner just like Montag. I don’t really like him because he tries so hard to convince Montag about the negative things about books. He believes that firemen bring pleasure to people by destructing the books. In page 59, he said, “…People want to be happy, isn’t that right? Haven’t you heard it all you life? I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren’t they? Don’t we keep them moving, don’t we give them fun? That’s all we live for, isn’t it? For pleasure, for titillation? And you must admit our culture provides plenty of these.” He is a narrow-minded person, who is so against reading and strictly follows the law. In page 38, “You know the law,” said Beatty. “Where’s your common sense? None of those books agree with each other.”