Fahrenheit 451 Journal #1

Pages 3-10
“he flicked the igniter and the house jumped you in a gorging fire with the thought of what came next…, page 3.”
I don’t see why he lit the house on fire. He is a firemen after all. He should be saving someone or being a hero. He should not be starting the trouble. That is the total opposite of the definition of firemen. And the are killing the ozone layer too.
“You never wash it off completely, page 6.”
I think the meaning of this quote, is that the guilt never goes away. Maybe the book is going to be based on the guilt Montag feels when he burns the books. Or maybe the guilt of an event that is going to happen in the book. I predict that something that Montag does will make him feel guilty later on in the story. Hopefully what I predict comes true. I would like to see what the outcome is.
Pages 11-18
“The operator stood smoking a cigarette, page 15.”
If the operators make house calls to emergencies, they should not be smoking. That makes their job look unprofessional. And I do not see why they are not licensed. What if someone just happens to dress the way they do and acts as if they are operators as well and kills someone because they are faking being an operator. I think that would be really bad. And would make the real operators look like the bad guys, when all they are doing is trying to help.
“Let me come in. I wont say anything. I just want to listen. What is it you’re saying?, page 17.”
Why does Montag want to listen to them. I think that it is weird. Why is their conversation so important to him. They are talking about how society today is different. And I do not see why Montag would want to listen to that. He is a firemen that burns books so how is it that their conversation is so interesting to him.
Pages 19-26
“She watched his lips casually. ‘What about last night’, page 19.”
I find it totally weird that Mildred doesn’t remember anything from the night before. She was rally hungry as well. But she should remember taking the pills. But she denies that she took that many pills. Guy found the bottle and it was empty. So where did the pills go. That is really weird how she doesn’t remember. It is like she doesn’t want to remember because she keeps in denying it.
“I’m still crazy. The rain feels good. I love to walk in it, page 21.”
I think that Clarisse is there to change the way guy thinks. To make him make a difference in the world they are in. In our world you find that normal when like to walk in the rain. But it is totally opposite in their case. What is good here is bad there. And vise versa for bad here is good there.
“How did it start? How did you get into it?…, page 23.”
Right here in this paragraph is where Clarisse really gets into Montag’s head. It seems like brainwash a little bit. It seems that way because she just keeps shooting Montag with questions. But I don’t think she’s is doing it on purpose. It’s just the way she is.
Pages 27-34
“I‘m antisocial, they say. I don‘t mix, page 29.”
I don’t think that Clarisse is antisocial at all. She is more social then a regular person. She is anything but antisocial though. Everyone in thinks that she is weird when she is more normal then anyone else in the book to me. Everyone to me seems weird except her and her family. I don’t see why people do not understand them.
“’I‘ve tried to imagine,’ said Montag, ‘just how it would feel. I mean, to have firemen burn our houses and our books.’, page 33-34.”
I think that it is good for Montag to try to visualize and see how it would feel even though Beatty thinks it is weird. It wouldn’t hurt to try and get to know how it would feel in another person shoes. To Beatty and the other firemen it is like you shouldn’t break your role in society. Like the poem “Not My Best Side” by U.A. Fanthorpe. This story somewhat relates to that poem.
Pages 35-42
“Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiously in each trembling finger, had turned theif, page 37.”
I could see why Montag looks at his hand in a way that it would betray him. Even though he doesn’t want to ignite the fire he will because he has done it so many times before. It is like a reflex for him. So he I don’t think he should feel bad. But that is his choice to feel that way.
“He knew when she pulled her hand away from his face it was wet, page 42.”
Why was Montag’s face wet when Mildred touched it? I wounder if he was crying or something. It seems like it though. Maybe his face was wet from washing it or something. I find it weird though.
Pages 43-50
“Only ten years, that’s all, ten years!, page 43.”
I think that is sad that Guy or Mildred can remember how they met. I don’t see how they could forget. Most people don’t forget how they met. I just think that is very weird and said. And that’s when Montag realizes he doesn’t know if he loves Mildred or not.
“No. The same girl. McClellan. McClellan. Pan over by a car four days ago. I’m not sure. But I think she’s dead. The family moved out anyway. I don’t know. But I think she’s dead, page 47.”
It shocked me when Guy found out that Clarisse is dead. It’s really said as well. He probably misses her a lot now, because she is the first person that made him feel like he counted. Clarisse made the story a lot more exciting. And she changed the way Montag looked at life.
Pages 51-58
“She‘s got you going and next thing you know we‘ll be out, no house, no job, nothing, page 51.”
I think that Mildred is getting to worked up about Guy. She should just let him do whatever he wants I guess. Just let him have his time to think about things. Since he is at a turning point in his life.
“…Mildred so deep inside this one, and so bothered, really bothered, that the two women have never met, page 52.”
I think that Guy wants to have the bothered side of Mildred as a wife then the always happy side of Mildred. He seems more interested in that part of her personality. If he got to know that part of her personality maybe he would love her more. And it would help him out a lot too. I think that if she did change it would end the story right there though.
Pages 59-66
“Colored people don‘t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it…, page 59”
I think that is sad and wrong how they are just erasing people’s history like that. I know it might bother them but they should know. By brining those books people would never find out who they are or where they came from. And I don’t see why they don’t want to know about it. I think burning the books is just bad and stupid.
“No front porches. My Uncle says there used to be front porches…, page 63.”
How could they live without porches and gardens? Not only does it make a house or landscaping look good, they are fin to hangout on. They would make people happy. And I thought the government wanted to make them happy all the time. So having porches and gardens would contribute to the happiness of the society.
Pages 67-76
“‘He’ll come in,’ said Mildred, ‘and burn us and the books’, page 68.”
Again Mildred is taking it too far, I think. What the firemen don’t know wouldn’t hurt them. I think she just needs to calm down and give the whole reading books thing a chance. It wouldn’t hurt her to learn a little. The society hasn’t ruled out learning, so she can if she wanted.
“And besides, if Captain Beatty knew about those books…, page 73.”
I think he does already. I don’t think he cares if Montag just took a day to go through some books. And he even said he could. So it wouldn’t be bad he is just trying to prove that once again there is nothing to books supposedly. Montag should go on and just take a day and read them there is no harm to it.
Pages 77-84
"Even the smile, he thought, the old burnt-in smile, that's gone, page 78."
I think that not having the smile is a good thing for Montag. I don't see why he would want to have that fake smile on his face like that. I don't see why he would miss it. He is better without the smile. He doesn't seem to be a real person when he has it. And he knows he feels guilty when he smiles.
"No one listens anymore. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling a me. I can't talk to my wife..., page 82."
By this you can sort of tell that Montag wants the world to change. I think that him and Faber should try to change the way things are. Since Faber says he wanted to change or stand up for what he thought in the beginning. So they should start now, because Montag seems to want to change the world now. The way Faber did when the book burning first started.