Discussion

When my group went over the questions from Fahrenheit 451, they answered a lot of questions for me because I was really confused. For example, we talked about Montag's happyness, the importance of technology to the society, and why books were banned. We wondered why people didn't question the government, and it was helpful discussing this with other people, because we shared our ideas and then the book made more sense to us. My questions were answered about why the author had jets fly over, what the mechanical hound is, etc. We also discussed what may have happened to Clarisse. Some of us thought she died, and some of us thought the government kidnapped her and her family and are brain washing them or arresting them.

Our group discussion was pretty effective, we had a lot to talk about, and it was good that each other's questions got answered.

How do they not know?

While reading Fahrenheit 451, I have noticed the way that people don't realize what's going on in their society. I often wondered how they could let things get that bad. I think that the government is able to make people so afraid of questioning authority or breaking the rules, that people don't even bother anymore. It seems that they have cruel and unusual punishments for people who don't follow the rules of society. They have brainwashed people to a certain extent, because no one thinks for themselves, and no one is curious about anything other than TVs and 'seashells'. Clarisse is the only person that has acted different than everyone else in the whole book, and look at what happened to her. She disappeared somewhere??

I think the most effective method the government utilizes to make people unaware of their corrupted society is fear. Even Professor Faber was afraid to cooperate with Montag, because if they get caught, they would be in a lot of trouble. Mildred displays her fear of the government when she says," He'll come in, and burn us and the books!"

While I was reading Luke's Blog on 'How do they not know?' , he came up with another idea I hadn't thought of. He said that the government controls people's thoughts with technology, and this is another explanation of why people don't know what's wrong with their society. The government teaches them to believe that it's normal.

Important Ideas from the Novel

I think one of the bigger ideas in this novel is whether or not ignorance is bliss. In this society, reading books is against the law, and no one disobeys the law. People don't even try to read books anymore, and it seems that no one really thinks for themselves, and everyone does what they are told.
Beatty says something about why books are banned. His explanation for it is that they want people to be happy, and not know about the outside world, and the problems that the rest of the world has. They also want equality amongst all the people. Instead of reading books, people just watch TV all the time. The people in this society are very uneducated. Beatty explains that they are happy because they are ignorant. But are they really happy? I don't think that keeping people uneducated makes them happier. The people in this dystopian society aren't even happy. Maybe there is another reason that people can't read books that hasn't been revealed in the story yet?

What are the rules of this society? What must you do in order to thrive?

In Montag's society, there are a lot of strange rules that are strictly enforced. For example, people can't read books. The 'government' or head of society wants to keep people uneducated, and this means they can't read books or they'll get new ideas put into their heads, and have something to think about. They want people to have fun, and think that being educated or reading will prevent them from doing this. People aren't allowed to have front porches, because they would sit around and think too much. People can't really talk to each other. Clarisse was described as being antisocial, even though she was friendly and talkative.
People have to follow the rules in order to thrive in this society. They burned a woman that wouldn't give up her books. They arrested Clarisse's uncle for going too slow on the highway. Her family can't thrive in the society because they are different from everyone else. Everyone thinks they are strange, even though in today's world they might be considered perfectly normal.
In this society, it seems that in order to thrive you have to follow all the rules and never question authority or be different from other people.

What does it mean to blog responsibly?

There are many potential dangers in blogging on the internet. For one, online predators can find you if you give out personal information on your webpage. People don't realize that anything they post on the internet is there for everyone to see, and they need to be careful about what they put on there. Also, people can get in trouble if they have offensive material on their blog or website. I think that the biggest danger is people giving out personal information and predators finding this information. Offensive material on a blog is a problem, but it is a person's free speech to put whatever they want on their perosnal blog. However, if the blog is educational or through school, I think only school related topics should be posted on the blog. I don't think the articles discussed online predators, but that's a legitimate concern as well.
Students should make sure that they don't give out any personal information- this includes their e-mail address and school. Classroom rules: 1.) No giving out personal information
2.) Only post about school-related prompts. 3.)Don't say offensive things about other people.

Initial Thoughts

Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a dystopia. Things are very different, for example, it is illegal to read books and go 40 mph on the highway.The two main characters so far are Guy Montag and Clarisse. Montag's job is a fireman, but he burns things down instead of putting fires out. He meets Clarisse, and she asks him if he is happy. He thinks he is, but then later realizes he isn't happy. His wife tries to kill herself, but she's brought back to life by machines. This shows that the world they are living in is a dystopia because the wife is so unhappy she tries to kill herself. Meanwhile, Clarisse, lives with her family and seems relatively happy. Her family seems more happy and relaxed than most people of that time that they're living in (future?) .