Fahrenheit 451; Part 2

Part three of Fahrenheit 451, Burning Bright, opens as Montag gazes at Clarisse's empty house, and Beatty is berating him for "falling under Clarisse's influence." This part of the book is where Mildred's betrayal of Montag is complete, and Montag realizes that she will soon forget him as she drives away, consoling herself with her Seashell radio. I knew she was crazy from the moment I started reading about her. What a nut! Also, this part of the book is dominated by the final confrontation between Montag and Beatty. Montag remains surprisingly detached in this section of the book. He enjoys burning his own house as much as he enjoyed burning those of others, and he begins to agree with Beatty that fire is removing his problems. He begins to imagine Midred and his previous life under the ashes, and feels that he is really far away and that his body is "dead." Bradbury's writing style is particularly poetic in this section. He uses many figurative language extensively and often bends the rules of grammar, such as using sentence fragments, to convey the breathlessness of Montag's flight. His use of figurative language and misuse of grammar seems to be one of Bradbury's strongest writing tool. Bradbury also seems to use several different devices to heighten the tension of the chase sequence. For example, he uses dramatic pauses, such as when the Hound pauses on Faber's lawn and the countdown to the "look out" in which everybody is to open their doors. That was probably the most never-racking part of the book for me! I had no idea what was going to happen! Finally, the track leads him to a fire with five men sitting around it. The leader, Granger, invites Montag to join them. Granger then gives Montag a bottle of colorless fluid to drink and explains that it will change the chemical index of his body so the Hound will not be able to track him. As the men gather around the TV, they see the Hound pounce on a man the announcer identified as "Montag." The men reflect that the police probably chose the man to be their scapegoat because of his habit of walking by himself, a clearly dangerous habit. As the men continue to chat, they suddenly see jets flash over the city and drop their bombs. The city is vaporized by the explosion. As the men walk upriver to find survivors, Montag knows they will eventually talk, and he tries to remember passages from the Bible appropriate to the occasion. He thinks of Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To everything there is a season," and also Revelations 22:2, "And on either side of the river was there a tree of life...and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

I'm glad that the novel ended in a shocking but slightly optimistic tone. All and all, Fahrenheit 451 has topped my list of favorite books we have read in this class.

Fahrenheit 451; Part 1

Fahrenheit 451 was the one book I was most excited to read in this class. I've heard so much about this book, and I couldn't wait to start it! From the beginning of Part 1 to the ending of Part 2, Fahrenheit 451 kept me on my feet. Part 1 ("The Hearth and the Salamander") focuses on Montag's job as a fireman and his home life while Part 2 ("The Sieve and the Sand") focuses on Montag's quest for knowledge. The opening scene of Fahrenheit 451 describes the pleasure he experiences while burning books. He loves the spectacle of burning and seeing things "changed" by fire. However, in Part 2 of the book, Montag begins a quest for knowledge to answer questions such as the true reason behind why books are burned. Ray Bradbury paints a clear picture of a futuristic society that has abandoned books in favor of hollow entertainment and instant gratification. It is later that Montag meets Clarisse. She is extremely inquisitive and thoughtful. She becomes a enigma to Montag because of her constant questioning of society and his beliefs. I hated the fact that Clarisse is forced to go to a psychiatrist because of her behaviors such as hiking, catching butterflies, and thinking independently. She is forced to go see a psychiatrist because she thinks independently? Seriously?! Speaking of characters of the books, I am not a big fan of Mildred, Montag's wife. Up to the end of Part 2, Mildred seems completely distant and unreadable. Her suicide attempt seems to suggest that she was trying to escape something. In short, I'm not a big fan of her. Who knows, I might change my opinion of her later on. I also didn't like Clarisse's quick death. Her sudden death kept bothering me while I continued reading. I didn't understand why Bradbury would introduce such an intriguing character so early on in the story and then kill her off so suddenly? I guess Bradbury wanted to show the readers how society reacts to "unusual" people such as Clarisse.

Overall, I am certainly enjoying Fahrenheit 451 so far. Bradbury's attempt to paint such a society keeps me interested to keep reading. I look forward to the rest of the book!