Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, provides a very unique look into the future of the world. It's really sad to see a world without books. Books are one of the most important things that drive today's society forward. Without books or other sources of information, we would all become "mindless sheep", like the people in the book. The government has complete and utter control over the people, which makes it a dictatorship. Books provide conflicting theories which, supposedly, make the society less peaceful.
The real reason the government doesn't want people to read books is probably because they don't want people to know that they are in a dictatorship. If one person knows about the dictatorship, then they will write a book about it, then most of the population will know. The population will then attempt to overthrow the government. The government completely eliminates that possibility by getting rid of books.
Bradbury always writes for purpose. When he wrote Farenheit 451, I think he was trying to explain to the world one of two things. First, the people of the world are mindless sheep. This may seem a bit "off", but really, the people of the world know little of what the governments are doing. The second thing Bradbury might be trying to say is that books are a vital part of today's society and without books, we would all become mindless sheep. Overall, Fahrenheit 451 is a very well written book that serves a just and logical purpose.
Assignment for today: Look at this picture http://www.floresyplantas.net/wp-content/uploads/Vladimir-Kush_6-1.jpg
ReplyDeleteWrite whatever you want about it - seriously, anything you want about the picture. It has to be 500 words though (I'll be checking your word count! Really!)
"Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, provides a very unique look into the future of the world." <---Good idea, but you can use stronger, more vivid language. The word "unique" is very weak. It doesn't actually say anything about the book. Aren't _all_ books unique and different? What about saying, "Ray Brandbury's 'Fahrenheit 451' provides a chilling look into the future of the world." By merely using the word "chilling," you establish the mood - you tell the reader what type of book Fahrenheit 451 is.
The main thing that could be improved in this piece is the use of specific examples. You provide general statements: "It's really sad to see a world without books. Books are one of the most important things that drive today's society forward."
But you don't tie them into the novel. Okay, so a world without books is sad. Why? Because in Fahrenheit 451, the people are not active participants in their own minds. Mildred tries to kill herself because of deep depression. Teenagers in cars try to run people over for the sheer heck of it, because they don't understand anything beyond the momentary rush of adrenaline. People follow the government blindly - and in the novel, they don't even know, or care, that there's a war going on where people are being killed. In short, they're detached.
That's what you need to do - to support your claims with examples from the book.
Remember, you want to ask the question WHY?? after writing each and every sentence. Okay, so "The second thing Bradbury might be trying to say is that books are a vital part of today's society and without books, we would all become mindless sheep." But why? Maybe because he wrote it in the sixties, at a time when government censorship was coming into the public consciousness for the first time? Maybe because he saw the decline of literature as eminent, since kids were watching TV rather than going outside, or connecting with others of their own age, or reading?
Just things to consider.
Overall, you have a pretty solid structure for a good bit on Fahrenheit 451. You just need to make it more sophisticated. You've moved beyond summarizing now (huge difference from last time) and you're now analyzing. But now you need to dig deep, and make that analyzing something profound and noteworthy.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow's post!
From now on, every post you write has to be 350 words or more (and yes, I will be checking your word count).
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my plan is for you to have, by August 27th, written at least three posts that are each over 1000 words. One of them will be an analysis of a book, one will be a freewrite with a prompt that I choose, and one can be about any topic you pick.
I want you to start thinking about the three posts right now - I don't want you to start working on them at 8 o'clock at night, frantically churning out filler or nonsense.
You can do these 1000 words as any day's post - but I don't want you to wait until the last three days to do them all at once! Pace yourself - do one a week or one every five days something like that. If you need to, work on one over several days, alongside your normal one-a-day posts.
1) Write an analysis of a book.
2) Write a freewrite based on this prompt: http://web.archive.org/web/20080213082423/http://www.marginalia.org/dfw_kenyon_commencement.html
It's a commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace, an author. I want you to have read it at least seven times (Yes, seven times) and to have shown it to your parents and discussed it with them, before you even type one word.
3) Pick your own topic. Start thinking about what you want to write about right now! Everyday! (But it can't be about yo-yos =]
Also, it should be, "Bradbury always writes _with_ purpose," not "writes _for_ purpose"
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