My Antonia question #2

There are many causes, gains, and losses dealt with in the book "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. Because this is a story of their lives, there are several conflicts dealt with in this story. Some of the main ones would be Antonia's loss of her father and failed marriage, and the relationship between Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda as their lives change and are separated by life's demands. I'll start with the first conflict. The conflict of Mr.Shimerda's death happened within the first part of the book. The cause of this was because he was so homesick and unhappy in this new country and he felt that the only solution was to take his own life. He was very civilized about it and washed himself, shaved, put on clean clothes, kissed his girls goodbye before leaving forever. " 'His coat was hung on a peg, and his boots was under the bed. He'd took off that silk neck cloth he always wore, and folded it smooth and stuck his pi through it. He turned back his shirt at the neck and rolled up his sleeves' "(Cather, 61). There really was not much gained of this conflict except that the family and friends grew closer together. Obviously the loss of this conflict was Antonia's father and hero. Another conflict was when Antonia was betrayed by her husband. The cause of this was because Larry had lost his job and simply did not desire to be married to Antonia. The gain of this conflict was her first baby, which she did not tell anyone she was having. The loss of this of course was her husband. The final conflict of Jim Burden's and Antonia Shimerda's relationship is on going through out the whole book. Towards the end though, is when they really are separated. Jim goes on to succeed with his education and becomes a lawyer while Antonia had to stay at home to work and provide for her family. The cause of this was simply because of the circumstances they were in. The loss of this was that they did not get to see each other as much as they would like, but even so they gained a life-long friendship.

Cather, Willa. My Antonia. New York: Barns & Noble, 2003. Print.

My Antonia question #1

The writing "My Antonia" by Willa Cather reveals a lot about the author's values and attitudes. I think a few of these would include family, as well as hard work. As I said, I think family is one of the main things that Willa values. I say this because this is what the majority of the plot has to do with, family and their struggles. There are two main families that this story talks about. These would be the Shimerdas and the Burdens. These two families go through a lot including moving, struggles due to the winter weather, and also family deaths. The Shimerda family had moved all the way from Bohemia. Their family must adapt and survive on their new farm land in Black Hawk, Nebraska. With the help of the Burden family, they are able to learn the ways of the farm, the English language, and also gain life-long friendships. Later in the book, they lose Antonia's father, and this tragic affair really brings the family closer together. "I knew it was homesickness that had killed Mr. Shimerda, and I wondered whether his released spirit would not eventually find its way back to his own country" (Cather, 64). Something else I think Willa valued was hard work. This is also a trend in "My Antonia". Life on the farm requires a lot of manual labor and hard work, which is exactly what Antonia steps up to do. The books talks about her strength and how she was able to work just as well as the men. Jim Burden is also a very hard worker and because of this he was able to move to town and learn more to better his life. The book "My Antonia" by Willa Cather is written in first person by Jim Burden. This story is from his perspective as an adult, looking back at past events and his childhood while growing up. I enjoyed this perspective and thought it was perfect for this type of writing.

Cather, Willa. My Antonia. New York: Barns & Noble, 2003. Print.

Mildred Montag in Fahrenheit 451

“Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury contains unique characters that are vital to the story. One of these characters is Mildred Montag. Mildred or as Guy Montag calls her “Millie” is Guy’s wife in the story. She is described as being very angry and distant. When we first meet Mildred’s character, she is not even conscious. Before Guy Montag left there were thirty sleeping pill tablets in the little glass bottle, but when Guy comes home he runs into it in the dark and finds it empty. Mildred ends up having to have her stomach pumped in order to save her life. The thing is, Mildred does not even realize that she is suicidal and denies that she took all of those sleeping pills. “She was quite obviously waiting for him to go. ‘I didn’t do that,’ she said. ‘Never in a billion years’ “(Bradbury, 20). She obviously suffers from great depression and it is safe to say it is because of their over controlling government. I think Mildred is the perfect example on the effects of a society with no freedom. In this city, the government controls with violence and fear so people are too afraid to fight against them. Because of this, the people do not think for themselves. When you do not think for yourself, and your life is filled with pointless activities such as watching the parlor walls, it is not surprising that you would become depressed and suicidal like Mildred. Like I said, Mildred is Guy’s wife. She does not act like a wife should though. She does not show any love or affection for him and cannot even remember where they met. Her character is very stiff and we never really get to know her intimately. Not only is Mildred a poor wife to her husband, but on top of that she turns him in to the firemen when she learns about his secret library. After they show up at their house, she walks out of Guy’s life forever without even thinking twice about it. I did not enjoy Mildred’s character and her traits very much and I wish we could have gotten to know her character better.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.

Tone in Fahrenheit 451

The tone of a story is very important and kind of decides how the reader reacts to the book. In “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, there are a few tones used. The main tone that I think is present throughout the entire book is informative. I would say this is the main tone because the book basically tells a story the whole time. The overall plot of this book is about a fireman who learns the value of books and takes a stand for them, but in the process puts his life in danger and loses his home, his job, and his family.  Another tone Bradbury uses in this book is ominous. This is also for the most part throughout the whole story. An example of this tone was during the fires that Montag and the other firemen start. Another example of ominous is during Professor Faber’s and Montag’s meetings and plan. A risky part of the book was when Guy Montag has Professor Faber in his ear and he cannot control his emotions. Montag ends up telling off the women Mildred has over and even reads part of a book to them. This was an extremely dangerous action on Guy’s part and he suffered for it later when one of the women reported him. Other situations that had this type of tone would definitely be every event after Montag kills Beatty and two other firemen with his flame thrower and then is on the run. Then to make matters worse, they bring in a new hound to track him, but Guy and Professor Faber manage to successfully confuse it and get them off their travel. One last tone used in “Fahrenheit 451” is suspenseful. Examples of this tone is used at the very beginning of the book when we are not sure if Mildred is going to survive while she is having her stomach pumped and then also when the hound is tracking Guy Montag and it starts to head towards Professor Faber’s house, but then turns around and ends up losing him. All of these tones really add to the book and make it more effective and interesting.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.

Fahrenheit 451 review

“Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury was the one book I chose to read that was not one of the required. One of the reasons I picked this book to read was because of its size. I consider myself a good reader so it does not take me long to finish a book.  This is why I enjoy shorter books because they are more convenient since I can finish them in fewer sittings. One of the things I liked about this particular book was the way it is split up. The book is split into three main sections: The Hearth and the Salamander, The Sieve and the Sand, and Burning Bright. I enjoyed this layout because it is unique and not just simply broken up into chapters like all of the other books I have read. Another reason I enjoyed this book was because of the setting. “Fahrenheit 451” takes place sometime in the future in a futuristic American city. The exact time and place are not specified. I like reading stories in this type of setting and find them very interesting. I enjoyed the characters as well. My favorite character was probably Clarisse. I liked her probably because she is the most relatable to me since she is a teenage girl. I also like her characteristics and the way she was different than everyone else in society. One thing that I did not enjoy about this book was the plot. I thought it was just okay. I think one of the reasons I did not like it was because it was so serious and lacked humor. I also really like romantic love stories and in this book Guy Montag and Mildred did not even love each other. In this society, I do not think love even existed anymore. The book was not terrible though and it was interesting enough to keep me focused while reading. As a whole, I did not love the book ,but I still enjoyed it  and do not regret picking it for my nonrequired book.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.

Fahrenheit 451 question #8

In "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury, events in history are not really reflected well. The reasoning for this is because of the setting. This story takes place in the future in some futuristic American city. The book does not really specify. Since this is a futuristic setting, there are no historical events that we are familiar with that are reflected unlike in "The Moon is Down" by John Steinbeck where the book reflected events from World War II. The characters in the book kind of talk about their history a little so we kind of get glimpses at what their society used to be like. Examples of this would be when Clarisse talked about her family and their views, what Professor Faber tells Guy Montag, and then what they read in books. I think Ray Bradbury believed in the responsibilities that exist between a worker and his boss. In "Fahrenheit 451" this was the main character, Guy Montag, and his boss, Beatty. Beatty is the head of the fire department Montag works for. He is a moody character who burns books for a living even though he knows a lot of literature and has obviously read quite a few books in the past. The two of them seem almost friends at the beginning of the story but their relationship soon changes. When Beatty has a good idea that Montag has a library he confronts him about it and shows him compassion, but later when he discovers he still has them and has not burned them himself, he does not hesitate at all to destroy his house. I also think Bradbury believed in the responsibilities between men and women. In this book, Guy and Mildred were married, yet did not even love each other. They could not even remember where they had met. " 'Funny, how funny, not to remember where or when you met your husbannd'r wife' "(Bradbury, 43). Mildred also left Guy without thinking twice when his secret library was discovered. I am not sure what people or events might have influenced Bradbury while he was writing this, but I think the idea of an over controlling government and the effects of loss of freedom on a society influenced the book quite a bit.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.

Fahrenheit 451 question #7

The author Ray Bradbury uses several techniques in his book "Fahrenheit 451" in order to engage the audience and make the story more effective. A few techniques he uses are suspense, betrayal, and irony.. Like I said, one of the techniques Bradbury uses is suspense. This is used in a couple different events in the book. The first usage of this would definitely be when Guy Montag walks into his room and finds the empty sleeping tablet bottle. His wife Mildred, is depressed and becoming suicidal. The bottle was full of thirty pills when Montag had left and he comes home with it being completely empty. First it was suspenseful finding his wife unconscious in their bed and then even more suspenseful when they are pumping her stomach trying to save her life. Another technique used is betrayal. This has to do with Mildred as well. The books were too much to handle and she turned in her own husband. After the firemen show up, she completely walks out of Guy's life and probably did not think twice about it. "The front door opened; Mildred came down the steps, running, one suitcase held with a dreamlike clenching rigidity in her fist, as a beetle-taxi hissed to the curb" (Bradbury, 114). One last technique Ray Bradbury uses in "Fahrenheit 451" to engage the audience and make the story more effective is irony. The specific type of irony he uses is situational irony which is when the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what you were expecting to happen. An example of this being used was when the car was coming after Guy Montag. I thought for sure that he was going to be run over but it turns out the car just barely missed him. Another example of situational irony is at the very end of the book when the bomb goes off in the city. In my head, I thought the book was just going to end with Guy Montag living with the other guys in the woods and was not expecting the entire city to be destroyed just like that. All of these techniques definitely added interest to the book and made it more enjoyable to read.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.