Lot's to think about

Wow, talk about getting thrown into a story! It starts really fast and it doesn't slow down. Like Tecia I had to go back and reread some things too. Ray Bradbury moves so fast that it is hard to catch everything. It seemed to me that the author doesn't like Americans very much. However, seeing that he is an American I am now guessing that he is just disgusted with the culture. I was on his official website (to make sure he really is American) and he has some very final opinions. It was actually refreshing. There was a spot on there that said they do not write papers or sell other peoples papers. He said to read the book yourself and write your own paper. I loved it!

Now, to the book. I am amazed at how quickly Montag goes from thinking "it was a pleasure to burn" (first line of the book) to "sitting there saying to myself, I'm not happy, I'm not happy"(top of page 65). It made me think, what changed? What made him realize he was just going through the motions and that he was not really happy? Then the answer came to me-Clarisse McClellan. As young as she is (or was) she comes along and helps him see the light. It was very brave of her to befriend a fireman. Kinda dangerous. Luckily she had good judgement. It appears she was well educated and cultured. I liked how she just went to the psychiatrist just to please everyone. I liked how she said what she thought and how she was able to make Montag think. I like how Clarisse made Montag see the world how it really was, dead and scripted. No one thinks, the thinking is done for them. The part where Montag is on the train trying to read and the Denham's Dentifrice on the radio kept distracting him. That is so true in our world! We are constantly bombarded by advertisements, pictures, and noise! No wonder we can lose track of what is important. The world keeps screaming in our ears and telling us what is important. I also found it interesting that Montag was ready to see the reality but Milldred wasn't. She was far from being unhappy. It shows that we are not all at the same place at the same time. That helps me not to judge people by what I know or understand but to realize that everyone is at a difference place. Faber is wonderful. I love how he explains to Montag that the books will not change everything like he thinks. "The whole skeleton needs melting and reshaping." (87)

The person who really scars me is Captain Beatty. He sure seems to know quite a lot of quotes from many different sources. Interesting, isn't it? And he has all the answers? That is just scary. He uses many different logics and angles to confuse Montag when he is "explaining" things to him. He does explain the gist of it, that in order to help everyone feel happy and feel like a winner, they have to take away the ability to read and think. Then no one feels bad. Wow, that is not a good foundation to build a society upon. And lastly, I liked the way the author ended the second part of the book. Stopping right in front of Montag's house! I thought Beatty was a little too happy! The suspense is killing me!