Fahrenheit 451: Part 1 (:

The Hearth and the Salamander

               The first section of Fahrenheit 451 is an insight into the heart of a man whose conscious becomes evident. The description Montag provides at the beginning of the book about the “fiery smile” and details of book burnings expresses just how much he loves the job of being a fireman. The love slowly turns to questions when seventeen year old Clarisse steps into the picture and begins questioning the actions of everything. She dives into detail of the past where people could read what they wanted, do as they pleased, and when things were simpler. She leads Montag to begin to question things himself, and try new things such as tasting the rain and the self-discovery of unhappiness. However, as he becomes accustomed to talking to Clarisse, she turns up missing and thought dead. He questions the actions of society more when his crew goes to burn a house and the woman inside will not leave her books. He even goes as far as to steal one and hide it under his pillow, pretending sick the next day and having the boss explain how and why things are as they are. Montag still seems to disagree, not wanting to ever go back to the book burning job. He resents it more as he meets a college professor who discusses how things used to be when books were acceptable. As the section ends, Montag is questioning all the actions he is forced to do, and is actually performing the illegal action he was raised to oppose and do the job of removing – reading books.

The Great Gatsby (:

A critic who wrote that the theme of The Great Gatsby is the withering of the American Dream is correct. Throughout the story, a reader can sympathize with Gatsby, who faces the harsh reality of life’s troubles. He reaches the materialistic American Dream, but not the emotional dream, and thus the American Dream is crushed in total.  

The Great Gatsby expresses early signs of the withering of the American Dream with Gatsby’s reaching towards the hope of the green light. Gatsby, who seems to have everything one could want in America, still isn’t happy and desires something. He is incredibly wealthy, and he throws extravagant parties that people travel to from all over New York. He’s the object of wonders and rumors, and the most mysterious man that people want to know. He’s everything that one living in America could wish to be, yet the one person no one would ever want to be.

Although he appears to have the American Dream in the palm of his hand, the insight into his life allows one to realize that the American Dream for Gatsby is incomplete without hope, and his hope relies on his love for Daisy. Without hope and happiness, money is just materialistic and not worth anything to the owner.

The same of lack of happiness applies to the relationship Tom and Daisy. Their relationship seems perfect to the eyes, until one is caught up in the middle. The realization of the lack of love becomes more evident, and the unhappiness is expressed. Both want someone else, and are only with each other simply because if they’re both miserable, they can be miserable together.

The death of Gatsby in the end of the book brings the story together, on how the author seems to believe that life isn’t worth it in the end, because it’s all leading to a tragic ending of death anyway. No matter how much worth someone has, happiness is the American Dream, not what he or she has. With the lack of happiness, the American Dream falters and doesn’t exist, and will one day be completely gone and unexpected.

The Great Gatsby 6-9

Oh my gosh. I totally didn’t realize this never posted and saved into drafts instead. I’m so sorry.

The final chapters of the Great Gatsby give insight into what life is like in his mind. Gatsby has reasons, well, a reason for his actions, and they become evident. All he wants is Daisy. The chapters describe the struggle he has gone through to appeal to her, to just grab her attention again, and the joy he feels once she is his again. Although the story is a tragedy, it really pulls at a reader’s heart, in that the reader feels the pain and joy that Gatsby encounters, even though you only truly see it through Nick’s eyes. The argument with Tom, when Daisy and Gatsby kill Myrtle and he loses her, all of these are so filled with emotion that one can’t help but see that life is just not all that worth living in this story. “Life sucks and then you die.” The sign outside the Wilson’s store truly did have an underlying meaning, and the book represents this well.