dystopia reflective essay #3

Before hearing other things that people said about the book, I had very different thinking. When I started reading I had no idea what was going on. I didn't understand that Montag was a firefighter who created fires, not put them out. I also didn't realize that reading books was illegal. Reading this book before I knew what was happening was confusing.

After some of the disscusions we had in class, I realized so many things. Before the class disscusion I thought that the way people lived in this book was normal. I thought this was the way the author thought the future would be. I mean, I know that books are still important, but it seems that technology is more important.

Thinking more about technology in this book it makes me think that we should cut down on the amount of technology and stop creating new technology. In the near future people will only be using tv's and computers to find out informations. I don't even think they'll be home phones, I think they'll only be cell phones.

The way that Bradbury described this world was that everyone pretended to be happy, but they weren't. The discussion made me take a deeper look and it made me realize that no one in the book was happy, besides Clarisse. The way the government was run turned the characters in the book into unhappy miserable people. You pointed out to me one day in class when I was using my cell phone that everyone uses cell phones for everything. Until you said that I didn't believe it. I also didn't see it. I didn't realize how technology obsessed and reliant everyone was, including me.

dystopia reflective essay #2

There are many things very different in the book and in our world today, but there are many things the same. One thing that's different is that the women don't like to have children. In one part of the book Montag says to Mildred's friend Mrs. Bowles "how are the children?" and she gets so angry! She says that no one in their right mind would have children and it's ridiculous. Another lady who was talking with them said she has had two children, but she had them by CEA Section. I think that in that culture it was frowned upon to have a child the regular way.

Another thing that was different in the community was obviously that they couldn't read books. I still don't understand what that would accomplish. Even if you banned books, people will still find a way to sneak them. Also, they changed the way the firefighters work. Instead firefighters start the fires and the houses are fireproof. If you're caught with books in your house, your house will be immediatly burned, along with the books, then you will be arrested. Owning books was a crime.

Some modern day threats are books on tape and books becoming movies. If they keep making things like this, books will not be needed. And when the books are stopped being produced, there will be no need of books on tape/books made into movies.

I also think that another threat is too many people don't care about school anymore. I think that if people really start doing horribly in school, the government will catch on and realize that things are too hard for the kids. The government will realize they need to do something, and if they change the school system around for some kids, they'll have to do it for everyone. It's only fair. If the kids of our future don't shape up, things in this world will be completely different. The government will think everyone needs to be equal, so no one feels left out or different. Their only choice would be to take away people's education and learning ability and teach them the same things.

dystopia reflective essay

After reading Fahrenheit 451 I realized many things about our culture that I've never realized before. I understood that our culture was technology obsessed, but after reading this book it made me think of how much we really do rely on technology. Without computers, cell phones, iPods, radios, or CD players I wouldn't know what to do. I rely on my cell phone for everything. The warnings the author is trying to make are that we should stop relying on technology because in the near future it will take over. I also think that if people keep depending on technology our government will change. I think that they will turn our society into something completely different. They'll change the way we think about things, and make us all have the same thought. I think that if our society keeps going the way it is, in 10 years everything will change. I think that reading books will be frowned upon. I also think that no one will be able to think for themselves.

In the book Montag and his wife, Mildred, think they're happy people. Montag is a firefighter, and Mildred is a housewife. Until Montag meets a girl named Clarisse, he thinks that his job's great. He loves being a firefighter and burning all the books. Montag is hypocritical though. In the beginning of the book it says that Montag looks at his heater and he feels nervous. At first I didn't understand, but after reading it again I realized. Montag was hiding books that no one knew about, not even Mildred. The whole time he was a firefighter he was hiding books all along. After talking to Clarisse, he knew he wasn't happy, but he played it off as he was. He didn't understand why he wasn't happy and why everyone else was, so he pretended to be. After Montag met Clarisse, he knew it was okay to be different. She told him things that he would have never known. She reminded him that before all the technology takeover, and before the government gained total control, it was okay to learn. She taught him it was okay to read, and it was okay not to be the same as someone. After that first talk with Clarisse, his whole mindset changed and he knew he had to do something to make it right.

Mildred was a very unhappy person also. She believed that she was happy, but I knew from the beginning it was pretend. The reason I know Mildred was unhappy was because in the very beginning of the book she had overdosed, and the next morning she was listening to her speakers like nothing was wrong. She didn't even remember she had overdosed. When Montag tried to tell her, she didn't listen well. Mildred didn't even take her speakers out of her ears. Another reason I knew that Mildred was unhappy and stubborn was because when Montag first asked her to read a book, she was upset and she didn't want to. Montag tried to persuade her into reading it, and finally she said yes, but it took a lot of persuading. She never really seemed in a good mood besides when she was in the 'parlor'. Mildred thought she was happy because all day she'd sit in her 'parlor' and talk to the 'family'. Everyone had a 'parlor' and it was tv's where you would sit around and talk. It's almost the same as 'iChat' on iMacs. This was a way of preoccupying the people because if they were bored they wouldn't know what to do. Also, if they were bored they were more likely to sneak around and read books. This is what the government did not want. They didn't want anyone to be smarter than anyone else so they banned books. They didn't want anyone to be different than each other.

The author did a great job warning me about this technology takeover because I don't want our world to end up like this. I don't want everyone I know turning into technology zombies. I don't want my children not knowing everything I knew. I also don't want them not to be able to read. Even though I don't read very much, I think it's important. I know I should start reading more often than I do, but I don't. I hope my kids have the same opportunities that I have.

further thoughs #2

As I was finishing up my reading today, I read some things that changed my mind about the book. Most of the things I read today shocked me. I'm started to realize that there's more to this book about the technology take over and the characters not being able to think for themselves, they're also shallow. They don't care about anyone else but themselves. One woman, Mrs. Phelps, has had three husbands, and says she wouldn't be upset if her husband dies in war. I didn't understand this part because I didn't know that there was a war going on in the book. Another thing that made me realize that the characters in this book don't think is because when Mildred suggested to talk about politics, the her friends said they only voted for a man because he was good looking. The women didn't understand why a short chubby man would ever be elected. In our soceity it's expected that candidates running for office, or even someone of importance is supposed to look nice, but they're not judged on it. Many of the candidates are not particularly good looking, but they always wear very nice clothes. Personally, it shouldn't matter how the candidate looks, it should be based on if they'll do a good job in office.

One other thing I don't understand about the book is if the characters aren't supposed to have children. When Montag asks Mrs. Phelps how her children are, she freaks out. She says "You know I haven't any! No one in his right mind, the good Lord knows, wouldn have children" (96). One lady, Mrs. Bowles, states that she has two children though. She also says that she had them by Caesarian Section (CAE section). I don't know if you're not allowed to have a child be born the normal way, I just think that no one wants to. Mrs. Phelps says in the book that it's not worth it. This world that Montag lives in is completely different than any other thing I've ever heard of.

similar thinking

The first post I've read was from Dominique's blog. I agreed completely with what she said about the book. Montag and his wife Mildred are very unhappy, even though they seem happy. Dom was right about this book being taken place in a dystopia. In this book everyone is created equal, and everyone knows the same things. I feel that this doesn't leave any room for people to expand their learning. It puts a damper on someone's education, which is very important to society. I think that living in a place like this would be boring and uninteresting. I find something new out everyday, and living in a world where everyone's the same would be not fun at all. There would be no diversity or people who are different.

further thoughts

I've been reading Fahrenheit 451 for a while, and the big theme that I'm seeing is how technology has taken over. Also how the author thinks that in the future (from when he wrote this) things would be dramatically different. The author perceived people in the future to be against learning, but he thought that they would be into technology. To me, these two things are very similar. If a person couldn't learn something because everyone had to be equal, how would someone create the things in the book, for example the wall tv's or the buds for Mildred's ears. Someone who's smart had to come up with the ideas, unless those things wouldn't have been invented. If everyone was forced to learn the same things, no one would teach anyone anything. I learn new things from my friends everyday. They may not be relevant to my life, but they're still facts like "how long it takes for your brain to realize you're full". I highly doubt that's something that someone in this book would know because everyone knows the exact same information. No one would be able to take the credit of inventing this new technology because everyone would know how to create it.

I think that the best thing about this world is that everyone's different. I don't like how in this book everyone should know the same things. How would you learn anything new then? You wouldn't. The style of "learning" in the book is a bad style because you'll never know what you could. It wouldn't be possible for you to know something more than another person because you're not allowed to. People are supposed to be different for many reasons. Not everyone's supposed to think the same. People should be able to have their own opinions, and they're own style of learning. Not everyone should believe in the same things, this would take away from debates and arguments, which should happen. Debates are a huge part of politics, which are a huge part of our society. If everyone knew the same thing and learned the same things and were supposed to be equal, you would never have a leader.

I'm glad our society didn't turn out this way. I wouldn't have liked to know the same thing as everyone. It wouldn't be right. No one would be unique or different, which is the best part of being a person. No one's the same. Everyone's supposed to be different and think for themselves, not think the same things as everyone.

technology take over

There's not many things that I can relate to in this book, but there are some things. I know that some people like Mildred. They're obsessed with their electronics. You never see them without their iPod or cell phone. Some kids even bring their laptops to school. Mildred is the same way. She might have not had the technology that we have today, but she loves what she has. She has different types of technology.

Mildred lives with Montag, her husband, who's the main character of the book. She doesn't leave the house ever. She has a room called the "parlor" that she's in every day all day. She isn't aware of anything that goes on around her house. Mildred and Montag have invested in walls that are actually tv's. The entire wall is a tv. Montag and Mildred have spent thousands of dollars on these tv's which was a great investment for Mildred considering how much she uses them.

These tv's aren't regular tv's though. These tv's are special. You are able to see the person you're talking to, and you hear them. It's like the "video chatting" (on iMacs) back in the olden days. You spend all day talking to them, it's like communicating with your friends without ever seeing them in person. People who use these tv's use them everyday. They seem addicting. Mildred actually considers the people she talks to everyday her family. I'm not sure if she's ever seen them in real life, but i know they speak everyday and they are always "together".

Mildred doesn't realize what goes on around her because she loves the electronics she has. Her only focus is the new technology. One night in the beginning of the book Mildred overdoses. The next morning she's making breakfast with her "headphones" in her ears like nothing's wrong. Mildred didn't even kn0w that she had overdosed, nor did she want to believe it. She didn't even take out her "earphones" when Montag was trying to speak to her. Mildred had learned to read lips so she'd never have to take out her "earphones".

This book's really showing me how much our generation depends on technology. These days everyone's on their cell phone (clearly including me), and people are dependent solely on the computers. Without the computer, we can't find out anything. People read the newspapers still, but they're quickly fading. Soon there will not be that many newspapers around, and people will really always rely on the computers.

This world has changed so much since our parents have grown up. So much more technology has been founded, and since this book was written a long time ago, Ray Bradbury knew that there was going to be a huge change from his time to ours. This book makes me realize that no one isn't dependent on technology. Even I don't know where I'd be without my cell phone or my computer or let alone my tv. I don't watch a lot of tv, but I do watch a lot of movies. I would hate to live in a world where none of that exsisted, but I would also hate to live in a world where books didn't exsist. Books are a huge part of my life, and they should be a big part in everyone's life. This book should send a message to everyone that books should always be allowed, and should never be burned.

It's okay to have someone be smarter than you, not everyone has to be equal. Everyone should be treated equal, but not everyone should be the same. If everyone knew the same thing, you'd never learn anything new. It wouldn't be a good world to live in because there'd be no debates, no arguments that you learn from, no confrontation. That's what living and learning is about. If you don't live and learn, you're not living the right way.