A lot of people in modern day society deal with pain from difficult relationships and their partners. In both, Fahrenheit 451 and Kesha’s “Praying” this problem is dealt with in somewhat similar ways but they are also different in many ways as well. They both have to find their own type of inner peace after deal with their breakups and relationships. They have to learn how to move on from this as well. In Kesha’s “Praying ” she finds peace by wishing her ex-lover the best and advising him to turn to the Lord and start praying. In Fahrenheit 451 Montag couldn’t care less about what happened to Mildred.

A common theme with these two literary works is that both of the main character in the stories are separated from their partner. Kesha having to build up the courage to willfully do it herself after coming to the point of not being able to deal with the abuse. Then you have Montag, who’s spouse left him and turned him in after 10 years of marriage. In “Praying” it said “I had to learn how to fight for myself. And we both know all the truth I could tell. I’ll, just say this ‘I wish you farewell.'” This shows that she was able to leave her partner after years of his abuse. In Fahrenheit 451 it says ” She walked down the stairs stiffly holding her briefcase.” This, shows how Montag got separated as well,  just in a reversed way which is why these two share similar themes.

 

But, although they both have to deal with being separated from their lover, their ways of moving on differ in  many ways. Like I said, Kesha has a more positive outlook on her life without her ex-lover and even goes as far as to give him advice and tell him to pray. But, Montag is different in the fact the he doesn’t really look back after Mildred leaves him and seldom thinks about her up until the very end of the story. In “Praying” it says “I hope you’re somewhere prayin’, prayin’, . I hope your soul is changin’ changin’.” This shows that she doesn’t have the pessimistic outlook on things like Montag does. In Fahrenheit 451 it says ” Mildred, she did this didn’t she?” Which shows that the first thing he thought about when finding out Mildred was gone was her plausible guilt rather than her sudden disappearance.

In both Fahrenheit 451 and Praying the characters have to deal with the pain of losing their partner in the way of being separated from them. After reading both of these, one may draw the conclusion that it is hard to move past from them, but you must and also have a positive outlook when doing so to allow you to do it successfully. For Montag it wasn’t really the right time to deal with something like this so he did a shotty job of focusing on what really happened. But Kesha, who doesn’t live in a futuristic society that condemns the citizens, was able to do it right. So, in conclusion, be like Kesha and not like Montag.

Fahrenheit 451 was basically about a guy named Guy Montag, is a firemen who lives in a society where books and buildings are burned by firemen instead of being extinguished by them. The thing that spices the book up is while everyone is fine with their lives and his fellow firemen don’t mind burning books and all that, Montag is the complete opposite and he comes to question nearly everything in his life. His line of work gives him a moral dilemma and he starts to wonder whether his marriage is strong and if he really loves his wife. This leads him to do something to change it. That entails devising a plan to obtain books (in unorthodox methods) in hopes of trying to save them in a way. What happens as result of this is up to the reader to find out. One recurring theme from this book was that society can weigh heavily on someone that attempts to rebel against it and makes said person do things they normally would not.

One way the author shows this theme is by showing the reader the comparison between Montag’s life before and after he discovers/learns about books. Before he finds out about books at the beginning of the story, he seems very sad and unhappy, as if he was just making due with what he was forced into, but yearning for something more than it. However, this could partly be Clarisse’s fault. In the book it says ” A book lit, almost obediently, like a white pigeon…”. This shows that Montag is just doing what society asks of him and unlike other people around him, this isn’t enough to satisfy him. That idea of him being set aside from the rest of the people around him is also repeated several times in the story and serves as a stimulus for what he wants to do. Also, in the story, the scene where Montag burns down the house of an innocent old lady provides Montag with a sense of self-revelation because that is when he truly realized that he felt nasty about what he was doing.

However, things start to change towards the middle of the story when he does indeed discover books. He does it in such a way that I suppose he really satisfied himself. What he ended up doing is smuggling a large amount of books and hiding them in his house, starting with one book and then slowly adding to his collection over time. In the book Mildred said ” He’s gonna find us and burn us and the books!” Showing us that although Montag is taking steps to change his life, certain consequences are starting to arise. That mostly includes putting him and possibly his wife in danger. But there are some good things that come from this. For instance, he re-meets an old acquaintance named Mr. Faber. The story says “His name was Faber, and when he finally lost his fear of Montag, he talked in a cadenced voice, looking at the sky and the trees and the green park, and when an hour had passed he said something to Montag and Montag sensed it was a rhymeless poem.” This long, detailed sentence shows that they really had a deep connection. The fact that he was an old English teacher has an influence on the degree to which the two of them hit it off (which is indeed a very high one). This relationship allows Montag to face his antagonist in the story, Captain Beatty.

Montag does start making a lot of rash, questionable decisions following his discovery of books and all that they have to offer him. Although some people may argue he was bound to do things such as those, because he was a tad bit crazy all along. The people that hypothetically pose that argument have a viable argument to make indeed. At the start of the story he always talked to his wife in an odd, passive aggressive type of way which could be an incipient stage of his possible mental disorder. Also, I think that Mildred’s mental issues could have rubbed off on him because, honestly it’s not that far off to think that. Overall, his bad decisions seemed to be more progressively getting worse and more frequently along with him getting into books. So that’s why I feel like it’s not a mental issue it’s just him acting out of character to match up with how his life is going. Because he doesn’t just have a normal life he can’t just be his normal self.

 

By the end of the story, Montag had already messed up nearly ever thing that gave him at least a little sense of normalcy. This is showed at not the absolute end of the story but at the very near end when his and Faber’s water- and -ice dynamic fails against Captain Beatty and things really start to go downhill. This is stated in the book when Beatty says ” .. Montag wanted to fly near the light and now he’s burnt his wings…” This tells the reader that not only does Montag know that he is making poor decisions, it’s beginning to become apparent to others around him. Beatty goes on to strike the final blow against poor Montag when he talks him into thinking that he’s failed and burning his own house to the ground. Then this moment of self- revelation lead Montag to follow suit in the striking of blows, even though he had a substantially less amount of control over his situation, so he brutally murdered Beatty with the flamethrower that was conveniently already in his hand.

Although that seems like a perfectly good, but slightly underwhelming ending, there’s even more to It than that. Montag, already a fugitive by this part of the story, flees to find Faber who he thought was really the only one that could really help him in this particular situation. And help him he did, he helped to not get caught for his terrible crime although this could be said to be bound to happen regardless of his help. Nevertheless, after Montag’s visit to Faber, he is forced to bid old Faber farewell as he descends on a trip to a place that even he doesn’t know. This happens as a result of everything and everyone in his life pretty much being gone at the end of the story. It truly is kind of depressing to think that all his family and true friends end up dying but after all he is partly to blame for this because he failed to realize that he didn’t love his wife and make real connections with people while using his own volition. But, miraculously he ends u finding a group of intellectuals whose job is to memorize famous literature and he ends up fitting right in with them. That leads the reader to be at least a little content at the end of the story as well as knowing the fact the Montag helps this group rebuild his city that was recently blow up.

 

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The exact location that the book takes place is not established yet, but it takes  place in the future. The environment seems to be just an average environment but in the future.The setting of this book is some what similar to where I live because it’s in a suburban area with houses and stuff of the sort. The setting is different obviously mostly because of the time period, which is in the future as I said. You can tell that the book is in the future because the main character said “What-was it always like this?The firehouse, our work? I mean, well, once upon a time…”.

The main character is a guy called Guy Montag (no pun intended). He is a normal guy living in a society that has ‘firemen’ who start fires instead of putting them out. The main focus of the firemen is to burn books and that makes Guy feel conflicted because he feels bad for burning the books and houses. He feels like society is programmed to think one way, but he feels different. I don’t really think he is similar to me because we don’t have a lot in common and I don’t have the same feelings as him.

In Blackhawk Middle School it was May 10th .The anxious students walked into their first period Language Arts in a decent mood, until they found out what the week had in store for them. You see, this week was going to be a great war between Their minds and their computer screens. “Why do we even have to take Istep.” One person grumbled. Their teacher Mr. Bobby had no response so he just droned on about the rules . The computer screens all were opened up to the “enter seal code” screen as they sat and waited for their teacher to continue with the instructions.

One student took it upon to himself yell out ” I’m not doing Istep!” as he got up and stormed out of the room. The teacher picked up the phone and started telling the office about the outburst. Other students used this time to converse amongst themselves. ” I really wish students were not required to take Istep.” Said Noah with great solemnity. “It would make me enjoy school a lot more than I do now.” The teacher put down the phone, settled the students down, and began to recite the four-digit seal code.

“4489” Said Mr. Bobby succinctly. ” You may begin.” At first it seemed like the test was impossible and the students were very perplexed. They slowly went about each question, carefully considering each answer choice. The teacher sat in his desk chomping on an apple and flipping his pencil, as he watched the students struggle with the material he hadn’t taught them. The students on the other hand were tapping their sweaty palms on the keys as they filled with despair. One student had completely given up and resorted to changing the theme on his computer.

Some students started to wrap up their tests although most of them felt unsure about their final answers. They began to feel a little relieved at the fact that the test was about to end. The teacher tossed his apple rind in the garbage as he cleared his throat and read aloud. ” This concludes section one of language arts. You may exit the page and restart your computer.” The students immediately followed his directions except for a couple boys who waited a few moments in hopes of gaining attention for it.

The students all chatted to each other about which questions they struggled with which provided them a lot of talking points. They ended up with one question bouncing off the walls of their brains. “Why do we even have to take ISTEP?” The teacher jolted up from his leaned back position and tried his best to answer the question . “It is an important test that each of your futures. Rather than asking that question ask yourself if you would like to repeat this grade.” The girl who asked the question was not content with that answer and that left the teacher with an uneasy feeling as she walked out of the computer lab.

Later that day, the students gathered a group of 64 other students and had them sign a petition to remove Istep from their school. “I read online that 65 is the required amount of students it takes to change any rule in our school district.” She said later that week when she was interviewed. The other students took time to congratulate one another on what they had just achieved. All that they had left to do was turn in the petition to the principal. They tried their best to walk all together as they marched into Mrs. Groening’s office. “Wow you actually got in done huh?” She said looking through the names on the list . ” Well, good for you guys.” The students responded with a flat ‘thank you’ as they strolled out of the room. One student named Zachary Walker was asked how he felt about the students no longer having to take Istep he had this to say.” I think it’s awesome that Istep isn’t going to be taken here at Blackhawk anymore. After all, standardized testing leads to overall worse academic performance because students would only improve their test taking skills. Washington post says so.”

Not taking some standardized testing is always an option as long as math and reading tests are taken. Be that as it may, students should not have to take over 8 hours of testing per week. That is simply too much. But whether it be signing a petition or taking a stand in some other form, students should do what they have to do to make sure no child is left behind (when it comes to basic rights).

In Blackhawk Middle School it was May 10th .The anxious students walked into their first period Language Arts in a decent mood, until they found out what the week had in store for them. You see, this week was going to be a great war between Their minds and their computer screens. “Why do we even have to take ISTEP.” One person grumbled. Their teacher Mr. Bobby had no response so he just droned on about the rules . The computer screens all were opened up to the “enter seal code” screen as they sat and waited for their teacher to continue with the instructions.

One student took it upon to himself yell out ” I’m not doing Istep!” as he got up and stormed out of the room. The teacher picked up the phone and started telling the office about the outburst. Other students used this time to converse amongst themselves. ” I really wish students were not required to take Istep.” Said Noah with great solemnity. “It would make me enjoy school a lot more than I do now.” The teacher put down the phone, settled the students down, and began to recite the four-digit seal code.

“4489” Said Mr. Bobby succinctly. ” You may begin.” At first it seemed like the test was impossible and the students were very perplexed. They slowly went about each question, carefully considering each answer choice. The teacher sat in his desk chomping on an apple and flipping his pencil, as he watched the students struggle with the material he hadn’t taught them. The students on the other hand were tapping their sweaty palms on the keys as they filled with despair. One student had completely given up and resorted to changing the theme on his computer.

Some students started to wrap up their tests although most of them felt unsure about their final answers. They began to feel a little relieved at the fact that the test was about to end. The teacher tossed his apple rind in the garbage as he cleared his throat and read aloud. ” This concludes section one of language arts. You may exit the page and restart your computer.” The students immediately followed his directions except for a couple boys who waited a few moments in hopes of gaining attention for it.

The students all chatted to each other about which questions they struggled with which provided them a lot of talking points. They ended up with one question bouncing off the walls of their brains. “Why do we even have to take ISTEP?” The teacher jolted up from his leaned back position and tried his best to answer the question . “It is an important test that each of your futures. Rather than asking that question ask yourself if you would like to repeat this grade.” The girl who asked the question was not content with that answer and that left the teacher with an uneasy feeling as she walked out of the computer lab.

Later that day, the students gathered a group of 64 other students and had them sign a petition to remove Istep from their school. “I read online that 65 is the required amount of students it takes to change any rule in our school district.” She said later that week when she was interviewed. The other students took time to congratulate one another on what they had just achieved. All that they had left to do was turn in the petition to the principal. They tried their best to walk all together as they marched into Mrs. Groening’s office. “Wow you actually got in done huh?” She said looking through the names on the list . ” Well, good for you guys.” The students responded with a flat ‘thank you’ as they strolled out of the room. One student named Zachary Walker was asked how he felt about the students no longer having to take ISTEP he had this to say.” I think it’s awesome that Insteps isn’t going to be taken here at Blackhawk anymore. Now teachers can focus on teaching the students important information rather having to teach a test.”

The rest of that day was filled with students’ celebration and teacher sadness. The students had changed to game and the rule books in one day. And needless to say, Mr. Bobby was not very happy.

On August 28th in Mr.Hoering’s first period class there was a surprise waiting fro the students. That’s right the students did not know it when they walked into class that morning, but they would be getting talked to about their new school uniforms! Let me start from the beginning.

All of the eighth grade Language Arts Enrichment students had just settled into their seats, when all of a sudden the door that separated Mr.Hoering and Mrs.Godfrey class rooms was abruptly pushed open. The students, having not anticipated this, all looked up from what they were doing. Their eyes were met with Mrs. Godfrey’s smiling face as she finished separating the classrooms. She then introduced Mrs. Oakes, the teacher coach at  Blackhawk. “Hey guys good morning” said Mrs. Oakes. “Good morning!” replied the students. “I have an important question to ask you guys, should I go with the black and white or with the colored version of this newsletter?” She asked. The students h ad no response seeing as they did not know what she was talking about. So she continued.” We are sending out a newsletter about the new dress code policy. You see, starting after Labor Day the students at Blackhawk Middle school will be required to wear school uniforms!” She sounded enlivened about this while the students felt quite the opposite.

The students were mostly stupefied upon hearing this from her. She asked if we had any questions and five or so people took upon them selves to yell out “Why?!”. That’s when the shock transferred  into anger. All but few of the students commenced whining and complaining about how they hated this new policy. This did not invoke any reaction from Mrs. Oakes though. She just stood there smiling almost as if she didn’t hear them at all. One person asked ” Wouldn’t school uniforms be a waste of money because parents just bought back to school clothes for their kids and now they have to buy more clothes?” She said that it would not be a waste of money because the school uniforms were relatively cheap. After answering this question she exited Mrs. Godfrey’s door and the big doors that separate the two classrooms were rejoined. Then the students, annoyed as they were, continued on with their day.

The last book I read was “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey. It was pretty good and I liked how descriptive the author was with his word choices. It was about a guy that faked being insane just so he could be in an insane asylum. I chose two books from the library one of which was titled: The Jungle Books and the other being John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath”. I chose the first book because I never got to finish it last year and the second book because John Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors. I think the first book will be about animals and stuff of  the sort and the second one might be about about a war.

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