What I've learned in this course so far

Prompt: "What have you learned so far in this course? (Note: You can include anything from literature, writing, technology, or your personal ideas about thinking, working, being creative, etc.)"

 This course has taught me many different things about my self and the way that I learn. It has taught me how to use the internet to help myself and how to create a page to show my thoughts. How to personalize it, and how to make it good for colleges to understand what I do and how I like to write. With learning how to write better in this class will help me prepare for all of the writing that I am going to have to do my senior year with college apps, and anything else that I am going to have to write an essay for. The blog help with that because its getting me ready for an online course that I might have to be taking later in life and how to set things up online to share with other people. Going into the second half of my junior year will be interesting. I have learned so many things so far and I cant wait to see what lies ahead. 

       I have learned how to create something in such a way that it will help the other students in my class..  For instance I am getting better at doing work on a blog instead of a piece of paper and being able to just look at the blog for homework instead of having to turn it in late or to miss and assignment. The blog is definitely a new modern way of learning and it really help to connect the students, and gives a way for all of us to work together. Getting to use this type of learning is going to help not only me but every student tremendously for when we get into our senior year or for when we get into college. It not only will get me a jump start on applying for scholarships but it helps me realize that not every school teaches the same. 

      Secondly, I like learning this new way because it gives me a sneak peak of what college could be like and I feel like it's preparing me for what a college would expect. Now days with all this technology I am going to have to know how to make a blog and use the internet more efficiently to meet the expectations of teachers. This course has given me a whole new perspective on learning. I think that taking this course is a challenge, and a privilege all in one, but I'm glad I got placed in this class. This course is defiantly preparing me for the outside world. 

          Lastly, I have learned a lot more about how to read a book and take important notes. I used to take notes that weren't  really notes. They were really long quotes pretty much and they didn't make sense. I now get a sense of what I should be writing like the main details of whatever it is we are reading. I hope that this will help me in other classes and that it will also benefit my future as I try to get into a four year college. 

      I think I have learned a lot of new skills during this course. Not only computer skills, but I have learned a lot about how to understand the material that I am given to read or write about. This course has taught me a lot and there is still more to come. 

Fahrenheit 451 Essay 1

 Prompt : "Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 as a dystopian novel, a work featuring a negative view of society in the future.  The lives of the characters are filled with entertainment but little true happiness.  Describe three features in the world of the novel that lead to such a state?  One example of a feature is the rampant use of “seashell” radios by the characters.  How could this device contribute to the unhappiness even as it seems to provide information and entertainment?  Other features may go beyond the realm of devices to that of activities, events, values, and expectations.  Pay attention to specific examples of such features as you read the novel and consider how each one plays a role in the dystopian world created by Bradbury."

 What has the world that we live in created for us? Why is it that a mane and a woman, or even a husband and wife cant even have a normal day to day conversation with each other. In Fahrenheit 451 Montage and his wife Mildred don't even sit and talk to each other about what is going on in their day and what they think is going on in their relationship. There are so many different things wrong in this society that Montage lives in which is slowly starting to become the society that we live in in todays world. Montages society is a great reflection of what is happening in time and what might happen in time.

     Many things could have led to the society that Guy Montage lives in but the major aspect was having the parlor walls. The parlor walls are what they used as a television, it was  a large canvas over multiple walls in your house. The fact that there are people that watch television more than communicate with each other anymore is very disrespectful and unnecessary. Now a days its even worse that people admit to sitting in their rooms or sitting in a room in their house and only watching TV instead of talking to someone in their family.  Montage's wife Millie would rather sit in front of the "walls" than be social or have an intellectual conversation with him,  let alone have any conversation at all. 

        People in the story seem to continuously speed through the days and speed through life. Even while they are driving, they can't take a second of time to look at the scenery. Clarisse said in the book, "If you showed a man a green blob he'd say that's a field of grass." This meaning that the people in this society don't really pay attention to anything but instead see the colors of what is going on around them. It's strange that anyone  would rather watch T.V or movies than talk to their family or friends or anybody around them. Going through life not knowing what is going on around you is a terrible way to go through life no matter who you are or what you do. You should never go through life just watching any type of social media or anything because its all things that we created to make people judge others, when human interaction is so necessary.

        In the book  Montage says that his wife had the sea shells in her ears all the time even when she was sleeping. How does he go through things knowing that his wife really doesn't want to face reality or pay attention to it at all? She can go through the days blocking out everything that the world has to give her and everything that is going on with her husband. The fact that she tried to kill herself and didn't even recognize that she did, shows how little she pays attention or acknowledges her own actions. 

       All in all, Montage wanted the same things that Clarisse did. He really didn't know it till the day he met her. What he wanted weren't possessions they were memories or real emotions, but instead he  wanted to look back on his life and remember things of importance. He wanted to be able to feel something in his life, but all he felt was empty. His wife, Mildred, didn't even remember where Montage and her had met. In thus showing that after Clarisse had died he wanted to search for answers about the way things were in society and why things were they way they were. 

Fahrenheit 451 Study Questions

Part 1:
1. Montage live in a society that is completely different then what you would think people would live in. He lives in a world where things are backwards and people don't act like people they act more like robots. They have gotten so used to not know what is going on that when someone tries to step outside of the norm they are frond upon and judged.
2. Clarisse wasn't afraid to question what was going on in her society. She was one of the people that would test other people and the person that influenced Montage to change. She had asked him "Are you Happy?" and that really got him to think about his society and why everyone does what they does.
3. The dog is meant to react to anyone that seem suspicious and anyone that seems to be "reading." Beatty believes and understand that Montage has been reading though so he is using the hound to get Montage to confess.
4. The woman decided to burn herself because she would rather go down with something that she loved then stay in a society that is going to judge and think she is insane for trying to learn something. She didn't want to live somewhere that if you want to learn something then you have mental problem and you should be put somewhere. This affects Montage because it shows that people can actually care about something. It makes him want to read what she had in her book to try and figure out what it is that is going through her mind and why she was the only person he knew to burn herself with her books.
5. Bradbury described the shows that she watches like that because its helps the readers to visualize the nothingness that we watch on TV. It shows that everything that is provided to us on TV is all just a blur and is made to make us pay attention but within itself really doesn't mean anything. All that we watch on TV is just customized to appeal to the common eye.
6. Mildred had told Montage that Clarisse died and that it didn't matter because he family had just moved out so it was like they were never there before. Mildred had no response to how things had happened or why they had happen just that she had died and that was the end. The society doesn't seem to care when anything happens, they barely seem to knowledge the fact that it even happened.
7. Montage gets sick because he doesn't want to face Beatty at the fire house. He is starting ti question whether he likes burning the books or wants to continue to try and steal and read more of them.
8. The fact that Montage is hiding the books and continues to steal and gather books says a lot about how he is changing. Montage wants to hid the books because he is still afraid of how Mildred will react.
 9. Beatty says that society didn't want books because it made them think, and they became angry at books.

10. I think that she actually is because she doesn't know any better. Happiness is having no worries and being in a state of appreciation for everything. I believe it is the most important goal because being rich, or having the best paying job is fine and dandy, but if you're not happy it's a life that's wasted. 

11. The main event  is when Clarisse asked Montage "Are you happy? " The old lady wanting to be burned with her books and also that Beatty could quote some books. These all show how he's changed. 

12. The ventilator grill was foreshadowing Montage's secret books. The old lady that died with her books was foreshadowing that he was going to be effected by the event. The mechanical hound is only out to get Montage and this shows something's is wrong. 

13. When the Montage talks about his wife's overdose. 

14. The mechanical hound is described as a robot. 

15. I think that Montage will kill someone because he feels so strong about books and their "rights".
Part 2 1. Mildred says that the books make her think too much. She means that it's easier to watch something rather then reading. I don't agree I like reading about things that happen as well as watching. Books you read and television you watch and don't have to think that much. 

2. Faber gave Montage his name and number for whenever Montage feels like he is going to get upset with him. This way he can communicate what is wrong and why he is acting the way he is.

3. I believe that Montage would ask Mildred "who is more imprortany me or the parlor wall?" Yet when he is asking her he is already going to have an idea about who she thinks is actually more important because by perspective she doesn't seem to have feelings for other humans.

4. The second part of the book is called The Sieve and the Sand because Montage has changed from keeping his mouth closed to wanting to share what is going on in his mind (the sieve) and to give that info to other people.(the sand)

5. Montage goes to his complex and tells him to let him in  so that he can talk ti him about the books that he has hid in his house. He wants to talk to him about what is going through his mind and what is inside of the books without actually having to read them.

6. Montage tell Faber that his wife is dying but he doesn't really mean that she is dying. He is trying to tell Faber that he thinks that his wife is empty inside. 

7. Faber thinks that the three major focus points that are missing from Montages society is: 1.quality, 2. leisure, 3.and the right to take action on quality and the thought of leisure.

8. Faber invented a radio to help him communicate with Montage. The radio was lik a modern day blue tooth and was the size of a .22 Caliber bullet shell.

9. The women said that their children were just there and that they really didn't mean anything to them. It was said that they are just a burden and sometimes hey can match what you are wearing like little accessories. 

10. Montage needed to cover up the fact that he was actually reading because it gave the women a very uneasy feeling. Montage didn't want to listen to Faber or Mildred to start of with because he wanted people to know but he gave in because he didn't want the women to feel uncomfortable until later he kicked them out.

11. Beatty said here comes a very strange beast which in all tongues is called a fool  He also throws him quotes fron books trying to confuse him. Beatty knows that he had a certain book.

Vocab Canidates

• Leisure 
• Diverted 
• Receptacle 
• Intuitively 
• Profusion
• cowardice
• refuge
• harlequin
• flinging
• praetorian
• insidious
• linguists
• arsonists

Memorization notes

• Be able to break the poem or letter apart
• Have to develop the discipline to do something while someone isnt watching you
• If you cant remember it by just looking at it learn to record it
• Learn how to have fun with what you are doing
• Find it on YouTube or online
• Figure out a way to break iy into chunks
• 
  

Vocab Canidates

• pratfall:a humiliating fall, or blunder. 
• bewilder: confused or puzzled
• titillation:to excite or arouse
• theremin:a musical instrument
• tabloids:sensational in a vulgar way, newspaper
• centrifuge:machine that separates two fluids based on density
• haltingly: to do something in a jerking, halting manner
• probing: to explore something
• stagnate: having no current flow
•  cacophony: a harsh mixture of sounds

What are we talking about?

The people on Righetti's campus have so many different conversations. The day can either start of really well for you , or you can begin the day of with a really deep conversation with you friend or hearing about drama. People on campus seem to focus so much on the drama aspect because that is what is interesting. Yea that's normal for high school students to talk about, but there is so much more that we can be talking about. We can talk about whats going on in the world, or we can talk about music, pretty much anything important. Yet we decide to talk about sex, drugs, and alcohol. I'm nit just saying that because that's what everyone says, I say that because that is actually what people talk about on campus. We have no sense of urgency on this campus and that not only comes from the students. We honestly talk about nothing.

Vocab Fall List #6

• tatters: irregularly torn pieces of cloth, paper, or other material
• merely vast:
• parlor: a sitting room in a private house.
• abrupt(ly): sudden and unexpected
• refracted: change direction when it enters at an angle
• immense: extremely large or great, especially in scale or degree
• imperceptibly: impossible to perceive
• ventilator: an appliance or aperture for ventilating a room or other space
• olfactory: of or relating to the sense of smell

Literature Analysis

Here are some questions to guide your Literature Analysis.

Reading is a relationship.  Sometimes we get to the last page and feel wistful saying goodbye.  Other times we find ourselves telling a book, "It's not you-- it's me.  I just need some time apart, see other novels, get some space... "

1. What drew you to this book?  What did you expect and/or hope to experience through reading it?
2. What kept you reading past the first ten pages?
3. Describe your reading habits

There are elements of literature that any well-read citizen is expected to know.  If we can't identify and articulate an author's main idea (a.k.a. theme), for example, we are functionally illiterate.  Sounding out words isn't reading.

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

Characters aren't people, but they often provide the most compelling connection with a text.

1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.

Fahrenheit 451 Wikipedia

• The title refers to the temperature that Bradbury understood to be the autoignition point of paper.
•  Clarisse McClellan, free-thinking ideals and spirit cause him to question his life and his own perceived happiness
•  Montag reveals to Mildred that over the last year he has accumulated a stash of books
•  Montag laments Mildred's suicide attempt
•  "parlor walls"
•  Montag stole a rare copy of the Bible, from the woman's house
•  Beatty orders Montag to destroy his own house, telling him that his wife and her friends were the ones who reported him
•  Bradbury was horrified by the Nazi book burnings

Dover Beach

The sea is calm tonight.

The tide is full, the moon lies fair

Upon the straits; on the French coast the light

Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,

Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.

Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!

Only, from the long line of spray

Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,

Listen! you hear the grating roar

Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,

At their return, up the high strand,

Begin, and cease, and then again begin,

With tremulous cadence slow, and bring

The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago

Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought

Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow

Of human misery; we

Find also in the sound a thought,

Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith

Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore

Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.

But now I only hear

Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,

Retreating, to the breath

Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear

And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true

To one another! for the world, which seems

To lie before us like a land of dreams,

So various, so beautiful, so new,

Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,

Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;

And we are here as on a darkling plain

Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,

Where ignorant armies clash by night.

Fahrenheit 451 Vocab

minstrel 

imperceptibly

hypnotic 

bewilderment

quavery 

harlequin 

kerosene  

phoenix 

cataract 

stagnant 

cacophony 

pantomime 

bestial 

torrent 

alight 

minstrel

mausoleum

cataract 

slickers
abstractedly