Part 1 of Fahrenheit 451- The Hearth and the Salamander

        While reading this book so far, my favorite thing has been how Ray Bradbury portrays what we see as normal. I love how he uses Clarisse and her family as kind of like the window into the real world.

       "I'm seventeen and crazy. . . When people ask your age, [my uncle] said, always say seventeen and insane." (p. 5) This was said by Clarisse McClellan, the young girl that the fireman, Guy Montag, meets late one night. She was told to say this because she was what was considered very weird. She is not “social” in school. She knows strange things. When she and Guy first meet, she tells him of how things supposedly “used to be”. She tells him of how firemen used to put out fires instead of creating them. This set Guy off and thought for sure she was crazy. Yet, they still both seemed to have a fascination with each other. Clarisse sparks a curiosity in Guy about his life and morality. The two of them meet a couple more times until suddenly, no more Clarisse. Guy questions where she is when his wife, Mildred, says she was hit and killed by a speeding car. (oh the irony)

        To me, Clarisse's dying is like the normal society dying with her. Also, that now, the crazy world they live in will never go back to the way it supposedly once was. The little piece of hope that existed is now gone. Unless... Guy can save it. I feel as though it kind of maybe alludes to something at the end of the section when we find out he’s been hiding a book in his house. Maybe he’ll try to change things?-- I can’t wait to continue reading and find out!

The Great Gatsby- Final Essay

The Great Gatsby and The “American Dream”

     What is the American dream? The American dream is claimed by many to be living as high up on the social ladder as possible and achieving whatever you put your mind to.  The 1920‘s, also known as the roaring 20‘s, is known for being the time period of the decline of the American dream.  The theme of The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald, is said to represent the time period very well and is said by one critic to be the “withering of the American dream.”   The main way Fitzgerald shows this theme is through the main character, Jay Gatsby.

     Gatsby grew up in a very poor family.  At a young age, he made it his priority to become very wealthy and extravagant later in life.  Jay Gatsby achieved this- but not legally.  He bootlegged alcohol, gambled, scammed to get his money.  This is how life was in the 1920’s.  People put the priority of money so high, that they were willing to do whatever it took to get that money.  Most of the time, this way was illegal.  The integrity of the American people was shot down.

     Also, the 20’s had a boom in materialism.  Everyone had to have the latest styles and fashions, and everything was always one big party.  This is shown in the book through Gatsby’s parties. Gatsby has a huge party every weekend at his mansion in West Egg and is known for his parties. Most people would have said that he had it all and was living the dream, but he wasn’t. He didn’t enjoy his parties. Instead, Gatsby would look out window in hopes that one specific person would show up. That person was Daisy. 

     Daisy was a wealthy girl whom Gatsby fell in love with before he went off to the war.  She said she would wait for him, but she didn’t after she found out Gatsby was poor.  Gatsby was heart broken and then made it his goal to become wealthy in order to win Daisy back.  He won her back at first, but then lost her again to her husband, Tom.  This is the most important aspect to me because it represents so many things.  The fact that Daisy left Gatsby the first time shows how important it was to only be with people in your own social class during the time period. Gatsby then shows the determination and drive it takes to reach your goal and then makes it his life and won’t stop until he achieves it. Many people classify this as the American dream. But, the “hard work” he put into becoming rich to impress Daisy ends up not working the way he expected it to. He later gets killed and his dream dies with him. 

     On the surface, the American dream may look spectacular. But, once it is achieved, it may not turn out to be all it is cracked up to be. Much like Gatsby’s experience, The American dream was corrupted and twisted in the process of obtaining it.  During the 20’s, all America had lost its integrity in the pursuit of the American dream- a point very clearly expressed in The Great Gatsby.

Chapters 6-9 of The Great Gatsby

         I think in the last chapters of the book, we finally see all of the major characters’ true colors. We see, when Tom and Gatsby first meet, the hostility between them and we see how they both truly care for Daisy. Also in that situation, we see how Daisy is so easily swayed between the two men and doesn’t really know which one she loves.  We see that Wilson may have been a bit crazy and abusive after he locks his wife in a bathroom. And the fact that once his wife dies, he kills Gatsby and then himself, is an indication of is slight madness. When we see Gatsby take the blame for Daisy’s running over Myrtle, we see Gatsby’s undeniable love for Daisy in that he’ll take the blame for her in order to keep her safe. This also shows us the selfishness in Daisy’s character for allowing Gatsby to take the blame her her terrible mistake. Lastly, we see the actual “value” of friendships. Nick was a great friend to Gatsby, so he wanted him to have an extravagant funeral. This shows that Nick was a loyal friend. But, hardly any one showed up. Tom and Daisy moved away and Wolfshiem didn’t come. 

Chapters 1-5 of The Great Gatsby

        While reading the first five chapters of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I have noticed many things. I’ve noticed that there is a lot of relationship drama. Daisy is married to Tom, but in chapter two, we meet Tom’s mistress, Myrtle- his “woman in the city.” Myrtle is married to George Wilson, a gas station owner in the Valley of Ashes. Nick, the narrator of the story, is Daisy’s cousin and is Gatsby’s neighbor. Gatsby is in love with Daisy and in chapter 5, the the 2 of them meet for the first time in 5 years. It is very awkward at first, but by the end of the gathering, they’ve re-kindled their love for each other. All of this love triangle craziness is, I think, a symbol of the love craziness going on in the 1920’s time period. I think this represents not only love, but the craziness of the decade in general. 

        I’ve also noticed how he uses the settings of the book to represent some aspects of the 1920’s. The East Egg represents the people of the time who were born into money and the West Egg represents the people who earned their money- whether it be through business, gambling, etc. This is important because money was a huge deal during the 20’s. The Valley of Ashes represents the downfall of American Society.  

        In my opinion, people who live in the West Egg, in a way, represent American Dream. They are “new money” which means most of them, have been in a low social class, and have worked their way to the top. After all, that is the American Dream to many people, isn’t it? Doing whatever it takes to get to the top. 

        The Great Gatsby is a very interesting book and I have really enjoyed reading it so far. I hope to find it even more entertaining as we continue reading. 

"The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

           In “The Birthmark”, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about a man named Alymer who is married to a woman named Georgiana. Georgiana is a very beautiful woman, but she has one small birthmark on the side of her face. It is shaped like a small hand and is crimson in color. Alymer is not phased by this at the beginning of his marriage, but soon realizes that a birthmark is Nature’s way of marking imperfections in a person. His imagination and fear of this lead him to constantly fear about Georgiana’s liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death. He was afraid og her morality. This caused him much horror and grief. He asks her if she has eve thought of removing the birthmark and she is then embarrasses and slightly offended.  Alymer becomes obsessed with her having it removed. Alymer then brings Georgiana to the laboratory, where he works, to have the birthmark removed. He sees and tries many experiments on which to remove the birthmark, including a magic flower, immorality globe, etc. Georgiana constantly begs him to just forget about her blemish and leave it be. Later, Alymer claims the hand upon her face has taken over her and that the hand upon her face is causing hr to be mortal. Georgina then begs Alymer to remove the hand on her face, no matter what he has to do. Alymer then brings over a liquor that then she drinks. The potion removed the hand, but then Georgina ends up dying shortly after. 

      This short story’s theme is very similar to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The theme of The Crucible. is that you are what you fear the most. This means that what you fear happening to you the most, is what takes over your thoughts and dreams and you end up making it happen yourself while trying to prevent it. In “The Birthmark” that is exactly what happens. Alymer is afraid that his wife’s birthmark will make her die, and so he gives her a liquor to make the birthmark disappear in hopes to make her immortal. The poison ends up killing her- which is exactly the fear he was trying to prevent.

On Writing- Final Essay

On Writing by Stephen King

Final Essay

        Writing... That is the key. Writing as often as possible is the key to becoming a good writer. Stephen King expresses this in many aspects in his book On Writing. King uses real life stories and literary examples to show that the best way to become a great writer, is to write. 

        Stephen King begins the book by telling his life experiences. These life experiences show how King evolved into the writer that he is today. He tells of how he began writing in the first grade when he was forced to be at home because he missed too much school due to strep throat and ear infections. (Page 27) This shows that he was, for lack of better terminology, almost born a writer. So what if it was only copying comic strips? At such a young age, most kids are running in circles or playing with toys. King wanted to write.

       As the section goes on, King tells of many other experiences with writing. As a teen, he helped his older brother with his newspaper, Dave’s Rag, and then became the editor of his high school’s newspaper, The Drum. (Page 50) This shows that he continued to love to write though his teen years and kept the interest alive. King wrote about what was important to him. (Even though it may have gotten him in trouble a time or two.)

       King also tells of his many horrifying experiences. King was hit by a truck while on a walking on a vacation and at one point, was addicted to drugs and alcohol. (page 87) These things normally would’ve kept a person from writing, but Stephen King chose to fight through all of this and take these opportunities to write. 

       To me, this book is inspiring because King shows a true love for the art. King is proof and is an example and a role model to know that no matter what I’m going through, I can still write. I can take the situation I’m in and use it to my advantage to better my writing. To become a great writer, I must write as often as possible- no matter what. 

On Writing- Third section

       In this last section of On Writing, King focuses more on how to revise and end with your finished product. One of the first things mentioned in this section, on page 201, says, “... but it seems to me that every book- at least every one worth reading- is about something. Your job during or just after the first draft is to decide what something or somethings yours is about.” This stood out to me because it is such a simple and seemingly obvious statement, but for me at times, is so forgotten. When writing, I often find myself getting easily off topic and then I end up being unsure about that I was writing on in the first place! Then when I go back and revise, I do not realize how off topic I am.

       Also, throughout most of this section, King mentions in some way about waiting a while to work on your next draft. This is hard for me because once I start writing something, I feel as though I am “on a roll” and I have to finish all of it right then. I know see how that can be a problem. If I don’t wait at least a day or so, I will still have the same mind set I had while writing and I won’t catch my mistakes. 

       The last thing that stood out to me was this quote from the section On Living: A Postscript. King says, starting on page 268, "I’d gotten going, there was that much. The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better." I feel as though I can relate to this the most because every time I write, getting started is the hardest and most stressful part. I always sit and stare at a blank page for what seems like hours waiting for my brain to start working. But once I finally have my topic and come up with my thesis, ideas start flowing, and, like King said, things only get better.