Burning Up

Authours Note: This is a Character/Analysis piece on Guy Montag from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Burning Up

                        Guy Montag had always burned books. It was the only thing he knew how to do in his average life. Everyone around him expected firemen to burn books, until one day Montag met a young woman named Clarisse. While Montag talked with Clarisse he transformed as a man and decided to make a difference.

                In Fahrenheit 451 Guy first met Clarisse on the side of the street while heading home from work. He didn’t have a very good outlook on life because he felt controlled by the government. Clarisse questioned Guy about the role of firefighters in previous generations. Guy thought everything had always been the same as what he had experienced in his life. Firemen burning books and people with boring, lackadaisical lives with no motivation to make a difference were two things Montag witnessed as a firefighter. Clarisse motivated Guy to discover what books had to offer. However, when Clarisse suddenly dies and her family disappears, Guy is torn knowing he will no longer be able to share his perspective with Clarisse.

                On a normal night before Montag and his fellow firefighters begin to burn a house down, they ask a woman to leave her house. As a sign of her love and respect for books, the woman stays in her home while the fire rages. Montag wonders what could be so good about books that the woman would burn and die for them. While processing this thought, Guy removes a book from the woman’s house to take back home so he can discover the wonders of its contents. After arriving home, Guy’s wife, Mildred, discovered the book and attempted to throw it into the incinerator. Montag worked up the courage to reveal to his wife that he had many stolen books stored in the attic. Upon discovering this Mildred tries to throw the entire collection of books into the incinerator. Guy is then able to talk his wife out of burning the books and calms her down so they can read the books together. At this moment, Guy realized his life had changed dramatically because of his encounters with Clarisse.

                Montag’s development in Fahrenheit 451 reminded me of Luke Garner from Among the Hidden. In Among the Hidden, Luke lives in a world where parents are only allowed two children, but Luke is the third child of his family. He is forced to live inside his home so he is not detected by the government. After thinking he has seen another hidden child in an adjacent home, Luke decides to sneak out of his house. Luke meets the girl he saw hidden, and learns they must help rescue all third children hiding from the government. In the beginning of Among the Hidden, Luke was a scared, modest boy who did not believe his life could impact others. By the end of the book, Luke realizes he must help others and becomes a hero just like Guy.

                Guy Montag was a very dynamic character in Fahrenheit 451.  He started off as a man who had little motivation and direction, and later realized he had vital things to do with his life. Guy went on and accomplished many tasks he would not have been able to if he hadn’t met Clarisse, and developed throughout the book.

Casey's embarrassment

Authors Note: This is a analyzing of Casey from Casey at the Bat.    

  Casey will change because he tried to show off but he ended up getting shown up by the other team. He won't just let the ball go by in the future because it's not his style, he will do his best to hit the ball each and every time. He wants to earn the fans trust back by winning some games and proving that he is still Mudville's best player. This situation is like the book Life of Pi when Pi is lets his family down because he didn't save them from the boat. At the end of the story he wants to live for his parents and brother so he can prove that he's worth it.

Patriot's Pen Essay

Author's Note: This is a essay our writing class had to write about what we would say to the founding fathers.

Would you ever be willing to give up your life for other  people's freedom? Well the founding fathers of the United States of America did just that. They stood up to the British government and never stopped fighting for our country’s freedom. I respect them very much for that, but there are a few specific things that I would like to acknowledge.

If I had a chance to stop slavery what would I have done? This is one of the few things the founding fathers could have done much better. Once they won the Revolutionary War they should have invested their time and money into stopping slavery. Slavery is, in my opinion one of the worst things that occurred in the history of the world. Furthermore, because the founding fathers were unable to banish slavery in the United States it continued throughout the Civil War; but that is unacceptable. Slaves had been trying to stand up for themselves for hundreds of years. Although a small number of slaves were able to gain freedom, others were still enslaved because the owners did not care enough about them to accept them as human beings. Slavery was an issue that should have been resolved right from the start of the country’s establishment. Had this been addressed, perhaps the Civil War could have been prevented.

Although slavery was a terrible thing, the founding fathers did do some things very well such as fighting England in the Revolutionary War. The Red Coats were driven out of their own land by the colonists who fought tirelessly for to create a country of their own. The Constitution of the United States was officially signed on July 4^th, 1776. But given the opportunity, I would ask the founding fathers how they had the courage to unselfishly put their lives, and the lives of many others on the line for people they had never met. It would take so much courage to stand up for others’ freedom like that. Some people think about standing up to others, but only the true heroes follow through like our founding fathers did. In addition, the founding fathers fought along with many soldiers for our freedom. All soldiers knew they probably would not come out alive, but they desired for America to be free. For that, I would tell the founding fathers I am amazed of their leadership and knowledge of the situation. They controlled the war very well and were able to defeat the British in order form a new country.

The founding fathers were able to establish a prominent country after the victory of the Revolutionary War. They launched a strong government from the start. Additionally, the country elected George Washington as the very first president of the United States after the signing of the Constitution. The country thrived under Washington; it was able to get off to an astounding start. There were many great cities and villages established during the first half century of the U.S. They flourished because of their independence from England. I feel Washington was the best president a country could ask for.

Washington and the other founding fathers were able to govern a new country that was ecstatic to have their freedom. I applaud them for being able to take on such immense work.

Pi Patel's Journey

Author's Note: This is a cause and effect piece on the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel. There will also be an analyzing of the climax. Spoiler alert!!!

     The climax of the story was when Pi Patel's cargo ship began to sink. The Tsimtsu sank because of a giant storm in the Pacific ocean. The storm rattled the boat and made a gaping hole in the side of it. As the ship began to sink Pi should have made a greater effort to reach his family. If he would've been able to retrieve them he might have been able to live a much better life afterward. Additionally even if he was on the ship without his family he should have made a greater effort to find the captain to ask him what was going on.
     If the Tsimtsu had not sank then the story would've been extremely different. Pi Patel and his family would've landed in Canada and had a pleasant life with the animals. In addition Pi wouldn't have had that terrible journey through the Pacific Ocean while having some very disturbing experiences.

Alex Rider's Revenge

Authors Note: This is a piece on Conflict and Resolution in Alex Rider Stormbreaker. Also spoiler alert.

     In the book Stormbreaker a young boy named Alex has lost his parents, he lives with his uncle and his housekeeper Jack. But then his uncle is mysteriously killed. He is facing a person vs person situation in this book. The conflict Alex faces is finding out how to find his parents. Alex eventually realizes that he must work for MI6 to solve the problem. He then has to work for them on a mission and he learns that a evil man killed his uncle and he also killed his parents.
     If Alex would not have accepted the invitation he might not have learned about his parents and uncle. He also would not have been a hero to all of England. Alex Rider should be happy that he was able to work with MI6.