Fahrenheit 451

This store is unlike any story i have ever read. In some stories the story line is creative, but some stories I think are common thoughts of people. I would have never thought about burning books and what a world would be like without books.

Guy Montag is a fireman. The type that start fires. He is married to Mildred, who tries to kill her self in the beginning of the book. Clarisse is his neighbor and makes him realize that there is so much more to life then just waking up, going to work, etc. She makes him think about the little things that no one cares about anymore because they are to affixed to technology. This causes Montag to have an almost mid life crisis. I think that he secretly was falling in love with Clarisse. But sadly a while later into the book she gets hit by a car and dies. This was another moment in Montag's life where he stopped to think for a bit. Later, at work he is burning down a stash of books an old woman has. But, the woman doesn't want to leave her books so she is burned with them. This struck Montag because he realized that there is something special about books, if people would die for them then what is he missing out on? He then gets a book and begins reading it. He goes to meet with Faber about books and what is the importance of them. Later on Mildred tells on Montag and Montag is forced to burn down his own house. Then he kills beauty for making him do it and a mechanical dog that hates him. Then Montag is on the run and eventually finds book readers who help him start a civilization with books.

I think this story was a great story, it seemed adventurous while making you think about, what if? It really interested me and the story line was more different then any other book I have read.

Bradbury Interviews

Ray Bradbury seems like an interesting guy. He sort of inspired me in one of his interviews. I know we have all heard this multiple times but, "do what you love, and love what you do." I don't know why it seemed to make perfect sense when he said it, but it did. He truly loves writing and it seems more of a hobby to him then a profession. Bradbury is very intelligent. He wrote Fahrenheit 451 in 18 days. That is very impressive. Let alone to write it in a library at UCLA. I would have never thought to work at a college or even work around a bunch of college kids. He was brave in that sense. Bradbury also talked about how his characters talk to him and tell him their stories. I like that concept and it is a nice way to think of characters, like they are really people. I don't think I could write a fiction story because I can't make up many characters and backgrounds for all of them. I'm just super impressed with Bradbury.

Star Trek

We can relate to Star Trek today because of the technology they use. They have a device similar to a cell phone used to contact enterprise to beam them up. They have a headset type thing similar to bluetooth. We have space travel now as well. They wear spandex type clothing. And the women wear very little clothing like today. In probably 50 more years we will have most of the things in that episode like living in space. Although we have the Space Station it is not the same as seen in the episode.

I don't believe that novel writers influence scientist or vise versa. I think that writers are creative and use their imagination. I think that scientist are thinking of ways to make life easier. They don't sit down and read and think, "hey I would like to use that!" They sit down and say, "hey we need to think of a better way to communicate [or etc]." I do not believe that there is a valid comparison between the two. It is like comparing tooth paste to pencils.

The Great Gatsby

I really enjoyed The Great Gatsby. It was very interesting and I like the time period it was set in. The dresses, parties, and people make the story realistic, but at the same time it isn't realistic because we are only seeing the book from wealthy people's prospectives.

One character I really liked was Jay Gatsby. He was such a nice person and had nice intentions. He wasn't a stuck up wealthy person, but more of a fun person that you wouldn't suspect was rich. I think that when Jay gets shot in the end it is very sad, because you have acquired such a liking for him that it's hard not to feel bad.

The setting in New York on Long Island was fun because, the characters were far enough away from the city to live in mansions and be undisturbed, but close enough to just drive to New York City. But, because of this it makes it easy for Tom to cheat on Daisy. And he has the nerve to bring Nick long to meet the girl and stay at an apartment with a bunch of people, having a small party.

I think that the theme of the story is to get to know people because you will never know how much one person can change your life.

To Kill a Mockingbird

This book is one of the most interesting books I have read so far. I have just finished part 1 and am very eager to start part 2. I think the characters really make the story what it is. Starting off with Scout. She is quiet the opposite of me. She gets dirty, hits people, and talks weird. Her character is very likable because she is crazy and fun, so you can't help but to like her. Then there is Jem. He is the typical loving older brother. They have a relationship that you wouldn't expect from kids that are 4 years apart. Jem never turns a dare down. He is always trying to prove that he is someone worth sticking around for.

The book has mysteries within it. Like Boo Radley. The awful stories are just the beginning. Then things appear in the tree for the kids. Boo is a mystery that I am not completely sure if he is someone completely harmless or someone who the kids might still need to watch out for. Then there is Atticus. He is very wise and is a great father. I have always wondered why they never refer to him as "dad." I do not know if that is symblolic or if in that time they just never said dad. But I enjoy the book so far and am looking forward to part 2.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

I believe that the relationship between Huck and Jim is interesting because Huck doesn't know what to do half the time with Jim. At first he takes Jim with him out of sympathy. They become friends but later Huck thinks of turning in Jim. He doesn't because Jim says that he is his best friend. After that they become great friends and Huck risks his life as well as Tom's to save Jim and help him become a free slave.

The setting is at a real life location so it makes the story even more believable. On the Mississippi river the boats and ferries were and still are real life things. People use them regularly and it really contributes to the story because that is how Jim and Huck get away the whole time.

I wonder why people that day were so critical about slaves and why it was such a big deal that a slave ran away when it seems that a lot of slaves in that day ran away from home. Big rewards were set out for Jim, but why didn't the family just buy a new slave? It would have probably been easier to buy one then to hunt down a runaway slave.

I think the theme is to care for the people that care for you.