Fahrenheit 451 Part 1 Response DUE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 @ 8:15 a.m.

[Mr. Daiss]

Please respond to this post in 100-200 words (remember to use specifics from the text to back up what you claim!).  

Respond to at least one other student post as well, asking questions, commenting, or arguing (politely). 

These responses are due no later than 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday, September 18.

Consider the following quote, which is an excerpt from the book Montag is reading at the end of Part I: "It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end." 

Summarize Beatty's explanation of why books became banned.  What role does society play in shaping its own rules, customs, and values in the novel?  How does the excerpt from the book Montag is reading at the end of Part I ironically comment on the values of Montag's society?

[jkramer]

Beatty explains that books were banned for many reasons. One reason was that "Things began to have mass." Books became appealing to people and were read more widely among society. Books were made shorter and transferred into radio and TV shows. School was changed greatly and the only thing that was valuable to learn was "pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts, and bolts." According to Beatty, authors were filled with evil thoughts and critics say that books are full of "dishwater" and useless ideas. Books eventually stopped selling but comics remained popular. The Government was not the one who banned books but rather the people due to "technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure." Montag's society is practically ruled by technology and an obsession with material belongings. The rules of his society are shaped by common belief and what has been passed down from generation to generation. The customs of his society have been for firemen to burn books but oddly enough before this they were not unlike our society today. His society has very upside down values in that they do not believe in imagination and the forming of ideas. This excerpt means that his society has been doing things a certain way for such a long time that rather than change their ways they would choose to die.

[aherndon]

Beatty says that the books were banned because people were made unhappy by the content of them.  In the book, Beatty explains that the “bigger the population, the more minorities.” The minorities that he is talking about are the different groups of people in society such as lawyers, doctors, Baptists, Mormons, Germans, and Swedes.  He says that books are banned because the content of them contradicts the beliefs or ways of different groups of people.  The society in which they are living wants to make every person happy and the way to do that is to not contradict them.  Society shapes its own rules, customs, and values because in the novel, society wants everyone to be happy.  In order to do this, society creates a rule that bans books.  Since books are banned, the customs of the people are to be completely immersed in multimedia instead of real world situations.  Because of this, people value material things instead of intellectual things.  The excerpt from the book comments on society by saying that the people are stubborn and they do not “break their eggs at the smaller end.”  This quote means that people would rather go along with what everyone else is doing instead of being different.

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

[gparsons]

         I think Alex is somewhat right about this, but i mostly think Jillia was right on the money. Beatty states that books started taking over, they had "mass". People started not agreeing with what the books said or what they implied about other's beliefs. In this society people are trying to be made happy, but its really more about them not being able to speak for themselves. At least thats what i think. Society wants them to silent and unnecessary. If human life becomes smaller and smaller on the radar then it won't matter who is killed one day and who is killed the next. No one is noticed. Which is why i think they made the "NO BOOKS ALLOWED" rule. it was so they could have more control over the people in each county. If people have books, then they get ideas, if people have ideas then they start questioning their life and more importantly who runs it. I think the quote talks about how some people will go overboard rather than take do something lighter and not so extreme. If that makes any sense to you great.

[kparys]

In Fahrenheit 451, Beatty explains to Montag why books are banned. One of these reasons was they wanted more “serenity” and “peace” but did not want to use “censorship”. He further reports that “authors are full of evil thoughts” and “lock you up in their typewriters”. Beatty felt that any book that offended any person should be burned and considered “dishwater”. He also believed that with “burning the books” they would be able to give off a new light on society that is “bright and clean”. This society is shaped by technology and they feel that they do not need to read from books as they are capable of gaining knowledge from each other and from other technological resources. The common rules and customs of this dystopian society are learned from previous generations and tend to mirror the use of technology today. The excerpt from the book Montag is reading shows that people would choose to die rather than resist or change the expectations and values of society.

 

I agree with Jilla’s post comparing the society in Fahrenheit 451 with our society today. I think that society today could discourage writers from using imagination and humor to entertain readers due to fear of discriminating against a religion or ethnical background.

I agree that Montag’s society is “upside down” and would have a difficult time changing their values and customs.

[smiller]

Beatty explained how books and why books were banned.  The main reasons books were banned was because of grew population, everyone was becoming diffrent, the world was becoming roomy, and books became radion which became tv and it was just too much.  In this novel society really doesnt play muc of a role because they cant fo alot of things.  They are told what they can and cant do.  The quote shows that their society really isnt anything and that the value of a human life is little in their society. Such as the fact that they didnt care if the woman burned to death inside as long as the books were burnt then they were satisfied.   I agree with Jillia.  She too states that books turned into radio and tv shows.  also another thing that she hits on that i didnt is that it changed school immensely. Montags society is practically ruled by technology and the world around it. 

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

[lreed]

Beatty explains to Montag why the books are banned; because what's inside the books makes the reader unhappy. Society plays the role of trying to make people happy instead them just generally being a happy person. Things don't make you happy, it's the reality of being a happy person. Beatty believes that the books are "pointless", books disrupt the regular intellectual pattern of the people beacause they lack definitive clarity. They are banned because some books might offend people or go against what someone believes. He says authors full of evil thoughts, lock up your type writers. So they did" So it is merely to keep the people happy. Death to those is Montags society is nothing, Beatty says " ten minutes after death a mans a speck of black dust. Lets not quibble over individuals with memoriums." Montags quote is pointing out to Millie that people are willing to die for what they believe in rather than adjusting to the change of it, even though others may think their position is absurd.

[lreed]

I also think Julia is "right on the money" haha nice Grayson! But yes, she's totally right about the people banning books due to their massive use of technology and obsession with "their belongings". Kinda sounds like our society huh?

[dclaxton]

When Beatty starts to explain about why the books are banned his first reason is "Things began to have mass" this means that they appealed to everyone and everywhere.  Another reason is that photography and motion pictures improved, people watched these instead of reading a book.  Eventually people just wanted to see pictures because they were impatient.Beatty said that authors had too many ideas that opposed other ideas and then books just stopped selling.  Society plays its own role in shaping its rules, customs, and values.  The excerpt comments on people sacrificing themselves to keep something, just like people die for the books that firemen burn.

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

[dclaxton]

I think that Jilia is spot on with her response about how society wanted to please everyone  and make technology the primary source for everything in the novels world.

[sperry]

In this book, books basically became banned due to lack of popularity. If nobody is going to do anything with them then what purpose do they serve. In that explanation, no purpose basically means BURN IT, as also with dead bodies. Society plays a big role in all that stuff, so big that it is really the only thing that shapes it. The excerpt represents the thoughts of book owners like himself. They would rather die than just not read. Those that do not read fit in fine. But the egg can represent many things. I personally think it represents happiness. After all, nobody is happy, right?

[sperry]

I think that Alex is right in nearly all of his statements. It is especially a great point saying that people are like material, with no higher value than anything else. Also different races being considered small minorities is nearly a theme. Look at what the world is at now, this dosent seem like much of a fiction...

[jwestcott]

Almost all of us can agree that we see several similarities between the book and our everyday lives! For example, technology is the center of our lives: without it, what would we do? We also see society (and the government) trying to satisfy everyone. Not everyone can be satisfied. As I'm sure Glenn would have put it, you wouldn't try to satisfy an opposing terrorist? Why? It's because they have different moral values and beliefs that you do! It seems that by attempting to satisfy everyone we try to silence the minorities that seem to contradict what we believe in, resulting in a battle of beliefs. You can't please two opposing minorities. You just can't do it. So instead you chose to annihilate the least popular ideas, beliefs, and minorities in culture. This is usually hidden between popularity and cultural "peer pressure" And by doing so, you displease those minorities as well! It is a gift God gave us in the garden of Eden to have free will. That means that we are allowed to have different beliefs. Arguments allow us to glean important insight into matters we may have not previously seen due to our insistence that we are ultimately right. Books also use the gift of imagination. People use imagination and make it their realities. Someone would have had to imagine rockets and space travel before actually achieving it! Yet we start to think like the society in the book ("Don't step on the toes of the... lawyers,... merchants,... Mormons,..."). It isn't alright to entirely mock what one believes in, although it is alright to voice your opinion of it. 

What I took the quote to mean ("It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end.") is that people prefer to live their lives a lie and in misery by trying to become people they are not just to feel like they fit in. Although they feel dead on the inside for doing so, they try to show everyone that they are happy and even try to convince themselves they are happy by surrounding themselves with materialistic beliefs and influences,even though in the end we know it doesn't make us any happier. ("'That's what we live for, isn't it? For pleasure, for titillation? And you must admit our culture provides plenty of these.' 'Yes'"- Beattey talking to Montag. "'I don't know what it is. I'm so damned unhappy, I'm so mad, and I don't know why. I feel like I'm putting on weight. I feel fat. I feel like I've been saving up a lot of things, and don't know what. I might even start reading books'"- Montag talking to Mildred only a few minutes later.) (Sorry for rambling, but I couldn't seem to shorten this any more than it is now.)

[mculberson]

Beatty gave many reasons for why books were becoming banned.  One reason is that things "began to have more mass".  And by having more mass it made them simpler.And as technology became more advanced as time went on, books became less popular and simple.  And as time went on books, magazines, films, and radis just blended into the "Norm".  As society got more technological, their rules became more complex.  In one part Montag says that if Mildred finds the book and reads it will say something like this.  School is shortened, discipline is relaxed, philosiphies, history and languages dropped.  So every one just conforms into a form of conformity, and everyone is supposed happy and the same.  It is talking ironicaly about how people have given up all hope and fun to just conform and suffer death.  When they could be "Living" and reading, imagining, and just living life away from the burnings and tv walls.

[etenney]

Beatty explains to Montag why books are banned. One of the reasons was the people wanted more peace and serenity but did not want to use censorship. Beatty says how he though any book who offended anyone should be burnt. Also, Beatty said that writers lock you up in their writings and their minds are full of evil thoughts. In this society they are centered around technology and do not feel the need of gaining knowledge from written books. Montag believes that burning books is good and useful in their society and that it will bring clean and new ways to the society. 

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

[etenney]

I think that Jillia was exactly right with her response on how they wanted to center the society around technology; while ignore and forget the novels world.

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

[mculberson]

i agree with sims on whta he said about Beatty and banning books, especially the part about population growing

[jpark]

I definitely agree with Steven when he said, “books basically became banned due to lack of popularity.” Also radios, television, and things began to have mass like how Jillia explained in her response. And they became simpler. Schools became shorter, discipline relaxed, languages dropped, ect. Like how Jill quoted how books were made shorter and transferred into radio and TV shows, that’s how people became “less interested” in books because they don’t have to do much by reading the books or magazines. Society plays a role by I guess “being lazy” and “not being so lazy” because people do more of the technologies than reading “old style” and being pretty smart with the technology. Just like our society now, technology is starting to grow and GROW as time goes on and books have become electronics.

On Saturday, September 15, 2012 8:04:26 PM UTC-4, jkramer wrote:

[jwestcott]

Lexie does have a point. But don't both the Bible and the Quran and the "scriptures" of all the other religions contradict each other? And it is sad, but some people do believe that if they are not or don't know the person who just suffered, who just brutally died, who lost everything and lives on the streets as a hobo, that it doesn't matter to them. What society was meant to be was a large community of people who, even though they disagreed over trivial matters, looked out for each other like family, becoming a family that cares for each other. The Bible teaches us to care for the widows, the homeless, the poor, and those in need. Through this idea and belief we make many friends who tend to respect us for it. Who wants to feel lonely and abandoned? None of us. We relieve ourselves of greed and selfishness through the assistance of the needy, tending to make true friends through it. So what we must now ask ourselves is, if we were at rock bottom, would people care about us? Would they remember how you helped them? Or would they remember your cruel treatment and belittling and leave you to suffer?

[jwestcott]

Responding to several other comments about the control technology has, what makes television so enjoyable? I believe it because we see our desires and what we have imagined through the story line displayed in Television series. For example, when we watch a movie heavily based on a book you enjoyed, how do you respond to it? You almost always like it only if it displays all that you liked within the book and does a good, thorough job following the story line, because we want to see our desires (both conscious and unconscious) played out exactly the way we envisioned it. When a book or series starts out good, but has a horrible ending or leaves you hanging at the end, you feel disappointed. (I have overheard several conversations specifically talking about how they didn't like the Hunger Games series because the final book had a bad ending.) Ironically I finished an A.R. book earlier today that revealed a poorly done ending when it dropped the "you just brought me back to life, months after I died, using a clone created using a saliva sample from over a year ago, so my ghost could possess it" kind of bomb. And then it left you hanging at that. Nobody would have enjoyed that ending, let alone take it seriously, because it is definitely not what we expected of it and is extremely unrealistic. So, you enjoy what gives you what you expect.

[aherndon]

I think Jillia is completely right with what she said about the excerpt, because the people in that society would rather choose to die instead of changing the way they live their daily lives.  This explanation helped me to understand what the excerpt was saying.

On Saturday, September 15, 2012 8:04:26 PM UTC-4, jkramer wrote:

[pdaugherty]

Beatty says that books were banned for two main reasons, They took too long and that there were too many different groups of minorities.

The reason Beatty says books were too long is because all the stories or lessons in books could be found on the TV or on the radio and that was much shorter than reading the book.  People would rather sit and listen or watch was in books than to take the time and read it.  It was a waste of time to read when you could watch or listen.  At the same time, the world population was growing and new minorities began to arise and eventually it was hard to write something that was considered not offensive to any people group.  Eventually it became so hard to defend things in books when they were considered offensive so the people trying to defend books gave up their defense and began burning books.

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

[pdaugherty]

I agree with Alex when he says that books were banned because people became unhappy with the content in them.  There were so many minorities that it became extremely difficult to write a book without offending some minority group that the author may not have even known about at the time of writing.

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

[cwilliamson]

The book Montag is reading is about the decline and fall of books due to the lack of need in there society. This is ironic because that is exactly what happened in his society. Since so many advantages were made in technology they lacked the need for books and they became frowned upon, until they were completely unneeded and they were outlawed and banned. The government probably did this so people would lose knowledge and not be aware of the wars and political disarray. It seems that the advancement in society is mostly to blame for the way that the world is at the time Montag is living in it.

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

[mstroud]

       Beatty explains to Montag why books are banned in this part. One of these reasons was because books started to interest the people. He also explains, "bigger the population, more the minorities." He uses this phrase by describing the different groups in society. Each of these groups were different and had there own beliefs or opinions. The society itself trys to make everyone happy, but they don't see that THINGS don't make you happy in life. We also look at this society as if they're complete fools , but we're really a lot like them today. We are all obsessed with our phones, tv, computers & not many people like to read today..

[mstroud]

     I agree with Matthew on some things here. Technology became more advance and the other things became simple and old. It's a lot like we are. We get the newest thing and it becomes old and somewhat useless after awhile. Books were just the norm after awhile and nobody seemed to want to do it. I also agree with Matt when he said they formed to a new form of conformity and everyone is now happy. In my opinion they have the wrong definition of happiness.

[rirappa]

Beatty says that books were banned for the reasoning of "books having mass." now that things had mass they were a lot easier to operate and they, the society didnt have any use for them anymore because the world population got to be so much. He also states that everything got to the point were the whole population of people just wanted the "snap ending".This means that as Beatty says "classics cut down to fifteen minute radio shows, then cut again to fill a two minute book column, winding up as a ten or twelve line dictionary resume." Beatty basically says there that people want the bottom line and that they wanted the information as quickly as possible. So they basically made verything quicker and more convenient. In that sense life became to fast. He also makes a point that the constitution wants them all to be equal. The society does not want someone to be a "target" of a well read man. He also states that when houses were fireproofed and they would no longer need firemen for the old purose of saving people from the fires so they made the new fireman by changing all the rules of the fireman book. Beatty goes on to state that the fires at night are meant to give people fun.

Society plays the part of everyone having to be equal really. They complain about the things they dont like that other minorities have and the government does their best to fix the problem. The society tries to make their lives happy by doing all of this. Beatty states that, "isnt that all we live for for pleasure for titillation." This shows that the government is meant to please the people by doing things such as burning books. The excerpt shows that people doing something one way would rather not change their ways but die with their ways because without those ways what are they, they would have to become completely new human beings and they dont want to. 

[rirappa]

now since everyone is agreeing with Julia i am about to argue just to be different. Actually theres nothing to argue so good job Julia. I like the fact that you said "the government was not the one who banned books but rather the people" i think that is a very valid point because the government just passed the law of books to keep their people they rule happy. I agree with you fully in everything else you said.

[kdoerksen]

                Basically, Mr. Beatty says that if man spends his time with philosophy and  learning it only leads to depression and melancholy. Books lead to this, and only full of opinions and useless information. He also says people should avoid all that, and rot their brains with mindless, fun things. Things like TV, carnivals, and drugs.  The culture and customs have been the result of no books. Since books play such a big part in learning and simplify thinking about new things, society just enjoys simple, mindless things since there is nothing to do or learn. The quote means people are willing to die for their believes instead of change them no matter how strange or irrelevant they are. Just like so many people in this society never want to change and never question the book burning.

[kdoerksen]

This post is for many the comments. I think most people miss a big part of why books died out. People don't want to think, and not because they are lazy. Part of what Mr. Beatty said is true, questioning and learning by books can lead to melancholy. An example would be learning how big the universe and how little you matter in the grand scheme of nature, or if a person without faith questions the meaning life and knows he will only find out at his demise.

[csquires]

Beatty says that the books were banned becacause they had no importance in ife and taught you nothing bcause everything you read in them was arguementive and fake. Society puts a lot of thoughts in the citizen's minds; for example that non-fiction books were fake just like fiction books were. Society ha no respect for books and how the coud help people, but now technology has taken over and no one even talks to each other anymore. I agree with Jillia on what she sid about the excerpt at the end of Part 1, because the people in the society are all alike and treated the sme way for everything, and people would rather die or not be at their homes because everything in society is based on technology and people don't want to be around such a strict community so they would rather die.

[hyun]

There's a lot of reasons why they banned the book, "peace", "happiness", and etc. Like Jillia said, technology reduced reading books and obsession with material belongings. Beatty describes book as "pointless", he says it has no meaning in it. I think that bannging book isn't helping their society(obviously) because it leads to people without feeling that shows when Mildred doesn't care that Clarisse died, they don't care about anything except their technology and material belonings.I also agree with Jillia that book turning into radio, and tv, which makes "pointless" to read book anyways. He also said that certain people don't like certain types of book because of their gender, career, and etc, which means that they will get offended and unhappied by contents in the books. Just like Kayla said, Beatty also thinks that banning/burning the books is giving off new life. Beatty says that   books are full of evil thoughts which lock up your type writers.I agree with Matthew on the last quote from part I, it is talking about how people are suffering when they can actually enjoy and live happily.

[zallen]

Beatty gives a few explanations on why books were banned. One explanation would be that everything that was in the books made absolutely no sense. What is the point of reading something that made no sense? The role that society plays is that they are trying to make everyone equal to each other. Society is also trying to make people less social in the ways that society wants them to be. The excerpt said that "eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end." This means that people have died trying to hold on to stuff that they cared about instead of letting go of them and living.

[zallen]

I agree with Jilia when she said that technology was the main root of the society and the fact that Montag's society was mainly focused on pleasing everyone no matter how they did it.

[gfrick]

I think that the government wanted to pick and choose what they thought what was good for the people. And, by removing stimulus not approved by the government the could in a sense control what people thought. That is why books are such a problem, because if enough book/educated people brought this knowledge to light it could compromise the rich polititcians life. 

[gfrick]

I agree with j park on why the books were banned on because of lack of popularity. I also would add that there is also, I believe a more sinister political motive behind.

[tpatten]

          Beatty explained to Montag that books were banned for many reasons. One reason is that “things began to have mass.” Then books started to be transferred in to radio and TV shows. Books stopped selling and became less popular. Beatty had said that Authors were full of evil ideas and the critics said that the books were full of “dishwater,” and useless ideas. The books were mainly banned by the people. Technology and materialism ruled society. The customs of society led to the burning of books. Their values and customs were passed down from generation to generation. Those who did not want to change their ways often chose to die.

I completely agree with you Jillia. Your response hit the question perfectly.

[aletaylor]

In the book Beatty explains as to why books are not allowed to be read and are burned. Book where once allowed to be read until authors where said to "have evil thoughts". People where also said to be made unhappy by the content of the books. It also seems that they have no need to read books because of all the high advanced technology. In the quote "it is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end" i believe it is saying that people would rather die than conform, even though others may believe their position to be absurd or irrational. All of the society and way of living in this time is place is pretty much based around technology. Montag is trying to say that people do not interact with each other enough. I believe by writing books the authors could express themselves and in a weird way interact but now that it is forbidden to read books they have no way to express themselves. 

[aletaylor]

I agree with lexie. She showed many examples and showed how they answered the questions. Great job!

On Monday, September 17, 2012 5:49:34 PM UTC-4, lreed wrote:

Beatty explains to Montag why the books are banned; because what's inside the books makes the reader unhappy. Society plays the role of trying to make people happy instead them just generally being a happy person. Things don't make you happy, it's the reality of being a happy person. Beatty believes that the books are "pointless", books disrupt the regular intellectual pattern of the people beacause they lack definitive clarity. They are banned because some books might offend people or go against what someone believes. He says  authors full of evil thoughts, lock up your type writers. So they did" So it is merely to keep the people happy. Death to those is Montags society is nothing, Beatty says " ten minutes after death a mans a speck of black dust. Lets not quibble over individuals with memoriums." Montags quote is pointing out to Millie that people are willing to die for what they believe in rather than adjusting to the change of it, even though others may think their position is absurd.

[jkramer]

I agree with Sims in that books were banned due to population growth, the world started to change, and people began to see society differently. Books began to be televised and turned into radio shows because it was no longer popular for people to read. Reading became a waste of time and no one wanted to put forth the effort needed to educate yourself through a book when you could just watch it on TV or hear it on a radio show. Technology has taken over and the people have become so used to it ruling that any change would be criminal.
On Monday, September 17, 2012 5:28:11 PM UTC-4, smiller wrote:

Beatty explained how books and why books were banned.  The main reasons books were banned was because of grew population, everyone was becoming diffrent, the world was becoming roomy, and books became radion which became tv and it was just too much.  In this novel society really doesnt play muc of a role because they cant fo alot of things.  They are told what they can and cant do.  The quote shows that their society really isnt anything and that the value of a human life is little in their society. Such as the fact that they didnt care if the woman burned to death inside as long as the books were burnt then they were satisfied.   I agree with Jillia.  She too states that books turned into radio and tv shows.  also another thing that she hits on that i didnt is that it changed school immensely. Montags society is practically ruled by technology and the world around it. 

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

[rcowart]

In the book Farenheit 451 Beaty give lots of reasons on why books are banned. I agree with Sims on how he said that the growth of population was a big deal and how people were becoming different. This makes sense because when people become different they all get new ideas and want to change it up.I also liked how Jillia talks about how the books were made shorter and put into TV  and radio shows. Books were banned for multiple reasons but I believe one of the top reasons was because they didnt want people to be in conflict with eachother over the books and they wanted everone to be happy. Lexie talks about how the society trys to make the people happy thereselves instead of just being a happy on their own. That really points out on what their society is all about.I think the society's role they play in is quite sad. They don't even care if someone dies in a house full of books. I agree on how Montag feels to question why they do that. The books have to have some sort of meaning to be that valuable to die with. I agree with Jillia on how she says that the excerpt means that his society has been doing the same thing for so long that  rather being introduced to something new they would rather choose to die.

[taaron]

Beatty explains in many ways why books became banned. he uses an interesting quote"Things began to have mass". Because they gained mass they also became similar. its basically is saying that a few people read books and over time their popularity started to grow. It soon became normal for people to read. books then were shortened by being made into radio shows and short book columns. the idea of shortening books then spread to education. instead of learning regular school courses, it was more about pushing buttons and pulling switches. also a growth in sports sprouted. it was much easier and entertaining to play sports than to learn subjects. all of these shortening of books and learning where all because of advancements in technology. this proves that the society Montag livs in is all about technology and the newest invention idea. the people grew up with new(different from today)customs and beliefs and with the technology invented. with the idea of the firemen burnig things instead of putting out fires means that they burn books and anything they have to to get rid of the books, even if it means burning an innocent old lady. since books were banned because of the mere thought people would eventually figure out there society, they indulge themselves in all of there noe technologies.the excerpt to me means that people have been born, grown up and lived the same kind of life style for so long that they rather commit suicide or "die" before they change how they live.

I am kinda 'running with the pack'here , but i think jillia did hit the mark with her response. she included all the minor details, which can be very helpful later on in the book

[rgarvin]

In the book people are taught to simply take in information. By this I mean, when kids are taught in school they are taught by a recorded teacher and the rest of school is basically P.E. No one from the start is taught to actually think or ask questions. This links with the law that bans books. For a book to be written it requires a writer to 'think outside the box' or use their imagination. In this dull society no one actually thinks or asks questions for themselves. Books are also banned because they created conflict between people, if one book says the grass is green and another says it is blue then people are going to take sides and start conflicts with each other. Reading books would also take away the impact this society has on the love for technology and how it runs people's lives. 

I really like Grayson's idea on if they get rid of books then people can't come up with any ideas on how to be different or make a change/impact. 

[mnelson]

OMG WHAT IS THE QUESTION I CAN'T FIND IT. BLONDE IN NEED OF HELP AND GUIDANCE 

[jocoates]

Captain Beatty explains to Montag that books are banned because they can offend different varieties of people. This is proven on page 59 when Beatty says, “Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it.” It seems like this society is obsessed with pleasing everyone. This is obviously impossible. Their solution was to burn all books, so no one could possibly be offended. Originally, books weren’t banned by the government; people just stopped reading and began burning libraries. This can be proved from page 58 when it says, "It didn’t come from the Government down."  As a result, the government changed the job of the fire department, from extinguishing fires to burning houses full of books. This hints that society itself shapes the rules, customs, and values rather than the government. The government just seems to reinforce the society’s standards. The quote towards the end of the book means that the people of this future society would rather die than to “stand out” or “stand up for your beliefs.” They would rather be miserable blending in with the crowd than be happy, but alone in your beliefs.   

 

 

[jocoates]

I agree and disagree with you, Patrick.  I don't think a government would forbid books just because they are too long. If that was the case, Fahrenheit 451 would be quite a comedic novel... but it’s not! You are right; it is more convenient to listen to a book rather than to read it, but that doesn't make a government want to banish it for eternity.  However, I do agree with your second point, that books were banished because they were highly offensive to different people.  But, I don’t think the society began to burn books because people gave up trying to defend their main points.  I just think that nobody wanted to offend or be offended in the first place.  Great job Patrick!       

[mnelson]

In the book, Beatty explains to Montag about why books are banned and the history of it. The government wants everyone to be equal and they want everyone to be happy. So, the government bans books so that the people cannot have different opinions and they view everything the same; this way, there can be no conflicts, and everyone will be happy! The government also regulates television, and everyone will also have the same opinions on that. Society played the role of wanting shaping the environment. People want to be happy, and people want to be equal. The people basically said that originality isn't okay, and it isn't right! 

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

Please respond to this post in 100-200 words (remember to use specifics from the text to back up what you claim!).  

Respond to at least one other student post as well, asking questions, commenting, or arguing (politely). 

These responses are due no later than 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday, September 18.

Consider the following quote, which is an excerpt from the book Montag is reading at the end of Part I: "It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end." 

Summarize Beatty's explanation of why books became banned.  What role does society play in shaping its own rules, customs, and values in the novel?  How does the excerpt from the book Montag is reading at the end of Part I ironically comment on the values of Montag's society?

[mnelson]

I really like your reply to Mr. Daiss' question. The way you viewed the quote is really good and reading your response helped me understand it a little more. Job well done

[jnazon]

Beatty explains the books were banned because the people did not like the contents. The quote I would like to use here is: “ignorance is bliss” by not having the knowledge of, let’s say: smoking, they don’t know that it’s hazardous to your health, and of course more people are going to do it. (It’s a bad example, but it gets my point across.)  Society can form their rules based on the majority, and their want to be happy. Again ignorance is bliss people rather do thing without knowing the consequences, because they won’t know the repercussions and it just makes life easier for them. And the quote and the end:It's a joking explanation about how we have all been told to break eggs at the larger end. "It is computed" means "it has been calculated." So, someone has calculated that eleven thousand people (at various times) have rather died than break an egg at the small end. This is supposed to be funny, in the sense that, of course, no one would ever rather die than break an egg the wrong way. That’s one way too look at it but in the context of the novel, I think it means this: that classical literature is meaningless unless you have the context to understand it

 

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:14:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. Daiss wrote:

Please respond to this post in 100-200 words (remember to use specifics from the text to back up what you claim!).  

Respond to at least one other student post as well, asking questions, commenting, or arguing (politely). 

These responses are due no later than 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday, September 18.

Consider the following quote, which is an excerpt from the book Montag is reading at the end of Part I: "It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end." 

Summarize Beatty's explanation of why books became banned.  What role does society play in shaping its own rules, customs, and values in the novel?  How does the excerpt from the book Montag is reading at the end of Part I ironically comment on the values of Montag's society?