Burning Bright

"Burning Bright" - while one of my favorite songs by Shinedown, it is also the title of Part III in Fahrenheit 451.  As we near the end of the novel, you will need to write one more blog post discussing this part of the novel and/or the novel as whole.  Remember that you need to write at least 250-300 words in your post and that you need to use good writing conventions.

Blog Prompts for "Burning Bright"

1. Clarisse describes a past that Montag has never known: one with front porches, gardens, and rocking chairs. What do these items have in common, and how might their removal have encouraged Montag's repressive society?
2. How does Montag feel when the bomb drops on his city?
3. How are the books being saved?  Is this the best method, considering the situation?
4. Why doesn’t the government pursue Montag outside of the city?
5. What does Montag start to quote from at the end of the novel?  Why is that important?
6. Does this novel end with hope? Explain.
7. Why doesn't Bradbury let Faber survive? Explain
8. Montag turns to books to rescue him; instead they help demolish his life -- he loses his wife, job and home; he kills a man and is forced to be a nomad. Does he gain any benefits from books? If so, what are they?
9. Do you believe, as Montag did, that Beatty wanted to die? If so, why do you think so?
10. Since the government is so opposed to readers, thinkers, walkers, and slow drivers, why does it allow the procession of men along the railroad tracks to exist?
11. Once Montag becomes a violent revolutionary, why does the government purposely capture an innocent man in his place instead of tracking down the real Montag? Might the government believe that Montag is no longer a threat?
12. What does Granger mean when he says, "We're going to go build a mirror factory first and put out nothing but mirrors for the next year and take a long time to look at them?" Why would "mirrors" be important in this new society? (Note: In Part 1, Clarisse is said to be "like a mirror.")

The Sieve and the Sand

Happy part two of Fahrenheit 451!  As you've surely noticed, this is an ironic dystopian novel.  The question is, what does Bradbury want us, as the reader, to realize?  What is the purpose of this novel?  Now, this is hopefully readily apparent, but it is important to find support for this (these) purpose(s). The following blog prompts will help us in this endeavor.  Remember that your blog response needs to be 250-300 words and demonstrate complete thoughts and good writing conventions.

 Blog Prompts

1. Why would society make "being a pedestrian" a crime? (Clarisse tells Montag that her uncle was once arrested for this.)
2. One of the most significant of the many literary allusions in Fahrenheit 451 occurs when Montag reads Matthew Arnold's poem "Dover Beach." What is the response of Mildred's friends, and why does Montag kick them out of his house?
3. One suicide and one near-suicide occur in this book. One woman, who shuns books but loves TV and driving fast in her car, anesthetizes herself,; "We get these cases nine or ten a night," says the medical technician. Another woman, who cherishes her books, sets herself on fire with them; "These fanatics always try suicide," says the fire captain. Why would two people who seem to be so different from each other try to take their own lives? Why does suicide happen so frequently in Montag's society?"
4. Beatty tells Montag that firemen are "custodians of peace of mind" and that they stand against "those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought." How well are the firemen accomplishing these objectives? Are conflicting ideas the only source of unhappiness in their society? What other sources might there be? Can conflicting ideas exist even without books that have been destroyed and outlawed?
5. Captain Beatty quotes history, scripture, poetry, philosophy. He is obviously a well-read man. Why hasn't he been punished? And why does he view the books he's read with such contempt? How can Beatty's knowledge of and hatred for books be reconciled?
6. Why do you think the firemen's rulebook credited Benjamin Franklin-- writer, publisher, political leader, inventor, ambassador--as being the first fireman?
7. Why does Beatty program the Hound to track Montag even before Montag stole the book? Do you believe Beatty had seen him steal books before? Or is it that Beatty had detected a change in Montag's attitude or behavior? Cite incidents in the book that support your answer.
8. This part of the book is aptly named.  Discuss the symbolism of the "sieve and the sand."  Be sure to include examples as support (Faber offers quite a few).

Fahrenheit 451

"It was a pleasure to burn." What a great opening line.  This is right up there with "Call me Ishmael" and "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen" - such wonderful openings!  As you know by now, we are reading Fahrenheit 451 in English 10.  When Ray Bradbury first published this extraordinary tale, many of the things he writes of could only be dream - from the 'parlor walls' to the 'bullet cars' to the 'seashell radios.'  It's amazing to think that he predicted many things that are commonplace in society today.

I realize that some of you may forget (or possibly intentionally leave) your book at school.  Good news: the text to Fahrenheit 451 is readily available online.  I recommend the following link as it is the easiest to read: http://kisi.deu.edu.tr/murat.goc/451.pdf.

Now for the fun part.  As you know, you will need to write a blog post about each of the three parts of the novel.  For the first part, "The Hearth and the Salamander" you need to choose one of the following prompts.  Remember that your posts need to be 250-300 words and demonstrate good writing conventions.  And it goes without saying that your analysis needs to be well thought out.  A final note: you may want to discuss more than one of the prompts.

Prompts

1. Montag comes to learn that "firemen are rarely necessary" because "the public itself stopped reading of its own accord." Bradbury wrote his novel in 1953: To what extent has his prophecy come true today? 
2. Clarisse describes a past that Montag has never known: one with front porches, gardens, and rocking chairs. What do these items have in common, and how might their removal have encouraged Montag's repressive society?
3. What do the firemen “do” for a job?  According to pages 3-4, what does Montag think of his job?
4. During his conversation, Montag tells Clarisse that "You never wash it off completely" referring to the kerosene. What could this mean symbolically?
5. Why do you think that Bradbury would introduce Clarisse before Montag's wife, Mildred?  How is Clarisse different than Mildred?
6. What is the mechanical hound and what is its purpose?  What is the hound's reaction to Montag?  What does this foreshadow?
7. On page 40, Beatty reveals something very important about himself and his knowledge. What is it?
8. Who is Mildred's "family"?  How does she spend her days?  How does she fall asleep at night?
9. What has happened to Clarisse? How did it happen? What is unusual about the way Mildred told Montag about Clarisse?
10. Read pages 55-62 very carefully. They contain great truths about our world. List three things Beatty talks about in his speech to Montag that are true about our world and elaborate on those topics.

Prompt Suggestions?

Recently, it has come to my attention that not all of the blog prompts that I assign are not always favorites of yours. That is quite alright with me, but I also do want your input.  So this blog is simple - it does not even need to be 250 words (it does, however, still need to demonstrate good writing conventions and thought). For your ninth and final journal of the first quarter, you need to suggest four possible blog topics for the coming quarters.  Sounds easy, yes?  However, for your journal to be graded, you must also include at, least one good paragraph with each of your prompt suggestions persuading me to use this prompt. Some of you you may be asking yourself, "What does Mr. B consider a good paragraph?" And in response to this question, I would tell you that you need at least four sentences (that are not simple sentences) to constitute a good paragraph. So to sum this up: persuade me to utilize the prompts that you suggest for upcoming blogs.  Good luck.

The Eighth (Not on the 8th)

I was thinking about numbers this weekend.  Part of that could be because the Browns committed twelve (yes, twelve) penalties this weekend.  If that weren't bad enough, they only completed 17-42 passes.  Anyway, as I thought about numbers and attempted to get past these woes, I remembered an article that I read in college dealing with reading statistics.  And guess what?  I was able to find this article.  It comes from the Washington Post and is titled "One in Four Read No Books Last Year." The article is a little dated, but if we were to extrapolate the data presented over the years since the article has been written we would surely find even more shocking results.

For your blogs this week, you will need to read the article and respond to the following questions:
-What is most shocking to you in the article?  Why?
-If you read, why do you?  If you don't, why not?
-What is your favorite genre to read?  Why?
-What is your least favorite genre?  Why?
-Do tablet (iPad, Kindle) affect the amount of reading people do?  Why or why not?

Remember, you need to write at least 250 words (shoot for four good paragraphs) and demonstrate good writing conventions.

Very

As I was sitting down to my cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch) and coffee this morning, I came across a quote that is not championed enough from the Dead Poets Society:   "Avoid using the word 'very' because it's lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted.  Don't use very sad, use morose.  Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do."  I then began thinking about your previous blog prompt - you know, that one you all complained about?  This blog will not be about Giant Mustard, however, it will be about Giant Ketchup!  Okay, okay, so I jest.

More than anything, the previous quote dredged up my hatred for word about which Mr. Keating (played by Robin Williams) is complaining.  And more so, about the difficulty of thinking.  If you google 'difficulty of thinking' you will get "about 57,300,000 results [in] (0.18 seconds);" you don't need to do this, because I already did. Henry Ford even notes the difficulty in thinking: "Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it."

When we come in contact with a difficult activity, we are faced with two options: either give up, or practice.  Frankly, I am a fan of the latter because there is a great feeling of accomplishment after achieving something that seemed previously out of reach.  And let's be honest; how great is it to attain a feeling of fulfillment?

Continuing in this same vein, I am going to ask you to think for you blog prompt.  That's it.  Think.  You may be asking yourself "about what?" or be questioning my sanity, but I assure you this is your prompt.  You must write 250 words that demonstrate good writing conventions.  Pretty open-ended, eh?  Yes.  Take a chance.  Take a leap.  Meditate.  Think.

Oh, and one final note:  You may not use the word 'very.'

Elation: is there a word for that?

I am currently elated with the state of Cleveland sports.  Yes, this does not apply to all of you, but my excitement hopefully has spilled over (even if not for sport).  That being said, we have some wonderful blog topics coming your way this week.  At least one is set in the creative while the others may be a little more concrete.  This week, you will not need to do two blogs if you are in English 9 and English 10: you only need to do the English 10 blog. 

Now, for what you've all been waiting for:

English 10: We've just read "By the Water's of Babylon."  In this post-apocalyptic tale, John's quest should be obvious - you will want to remember the purpose of a quest.  In this case, John's quest is also a rite of passage, making this story a bildungsroman (a German word telling us that this is a coming-of-age story).  But, your prompt doesn't have to deal with that.  On his quest, John encountered many things that he was unable to name, or for which he did not have a word.  Your task is to write a short story from the point of view of something (I would choose my shark Herbie) that either goes on a quest or experiences something for which they do not have the words.

All You Others:  If the above topic seems like a fun choice to you, you may choose it as your blog topic.  If not, then I implore you to answer the following question from Tufts University's 2013 Application for Admission: "What does #YOLO mean to you?"  This should go without saying, but this needs to be school appropriate.  If you want my opinion of #YOLO, you need look no further than carpe diem.

Remember, you need to write at least 250 words while demonstrating good writing conventions.

Fourth and Long

It's a great day to be a Cleveland sports fan, and it's always a good day to be a Clevelander.  Because I'm excited about the Browns, Indians, and Ohio State, English 9 will not be writing a blog this week (it certainly has nothing to do with the Monster Paper that you guys are writing).  I'm also excited because fall television is back.  Some of you might be thinking to yourself: "What kind of English teacher watches a ton of TV?"  Well, I do.  I rather enjoy sitcoms (my Seinfeld and How I Met Your Mother examples are endless).  And this got me thinking; What can television and film do that text cannot?  What about the other way?  Guess what?  That was your prompt. 

Remember, you need to write at least 250 words and demonstrate good writing conventions.  Three to four paragraphs will be helpful in doing this.  If I were writing on this prompt, I would start by thinking about films that were based upon books and comparing these.

Another Shortened Week

It seems that we seldom have a full week of school around here!  Some of you probably enjoy that; me, well it depends.  There's not going to be any choice this week (or at least very little).  Let's get into it.

English 11: Why do you suppose that I chose How to Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Frost this year?  And why is it first?  When thinking about this work, what makes it difficult, but also, what makes it easy?  Are you enjoying this work? Elaborate.

English 10: Literary terms are important - why do you suppose that this is?  How do they benefit us (in this class and beyond)?  What is your favorite literary term?  Why is this?  If you could create a new literary term, what would it be and what would it mean?  What are you thoughts on Regina Brett's article "Words we Hate, Words we Love?" How does this article relate to this topic?

English 9: What is your opinion of Steve Harmon in Walter Dean Myers' Monster?  Use details from the novel to support you (I would think at least three).  Is Steve a reliable narrator?  Is Steve guilty? 

Blogging Along

It's time for your next blog.  I apologize for the delay in putting your prompts up.  This week English 9 will be writing on a different prompt than Everyone else (the three gentlemen in both need only write the English 9 post).  Finally, remember that your posts must be at least 250 words (shoot for at least four good paragraphs), utilize good writing conventions, and demonstrate thought put into the topic.

The English 9 prompt will deal with Monster by Walter Dean Myers.  Prompt: What effect does the style of which the novel is written have on the story-telling?  Steve uses two flashbacks - the first to his school's film club and the second to a scene in a park.  Find out about Stuyvesant High School.  How does this school compare to other schools in New York City? What dos this tell us about Steve?  How does the second flasback affect the story?

For English 10 and 11, you may select any of the following prompts or come up with you own. 
1. Write about something that shocked you within the first three weeks of school.  Why did it do so?
2. What is the best and worst thing so far about this school year?  How are you going to change the worst thing and make it better?
3. Within reason, what is something you really want to do or learn about in English?  Persuade me we should do this.
4. Pick a person from history or literature that you want to have a meal with?  Why did you pick this person and what meal would you have?

English Classes be Ready

I spend a lot of my free time attempting to come up with new ways to interact with texts and materials.  This is my most recent endeavor.  While my English classes may not be happy to be creating blogs so that they can interact with texts and each other in a technological setting, they are Surely Out of Luck. 

Using blogs in education is beneficial to the students' critical and analytical thinking, it increases students' interaction with one another while discussing content and texts, it will increase students exposure to quality content, allows for students to interact while outside of the classroom, and also offers a means for students to express their thoughts on a topic completely.

Obviously, some may try to take their blogging to a new level and even try to push the envelope on what is appropriate for the school-based use.  The things that students need to know about their blog posts are: 1. If I deem their post inappropriate they will be asked to remove it and receive no credit for their work. 2. Their interactions with other students' blogs will be treated the same way.  3. Writing conventions are certainly going to be graded.  4. Each blog post must be at least 250-300 words and will be worth 10 points.  5. they will earn an additional five points for interacting with at least five of their classmates' blogs.  These interactions need to be academic interactions that question, comment on, and advance the discussion/ideas that the blog has presented. 

A final note: I will post your blogging topics on this blog.

Blog Topic: Compare and contrast "Catch the Moon" by Judith Ortiz Cofer with "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant" by W.D. Wetherell.  You will want to compare the characters, the themes, the symbols, the settings, the conflicts, and any other things that you deem necessary.