Night pgs 81-93

3-20-14 Night pgs 81-93

Summary: Elie describes the terrible journey to the new camp. Running 43 miles non stop, and telling of the deaths of many other jews like him. When they all arrive at the new camp, its just as bad as the run there. Elie looks death right in the eye but pushes through it. Others like Juliek weren't so lucky

 

Quote: “My father's presence was the only thing that stopped me… He was running at my side, out of breath, at the end of his strength, at his wit’s end. I had no right to let myself die.”

 

Sig of Quote: Elie cannot let himself die. As much as he wants to, for he believes that death would be better than the nightmare he’s living, Elie has a reason to stay alive. His father is what's pushing Elie to live on.

 

Reflection: In this section you can feel the shaky legs, and frozen fingertips that Elie experienced. He writes of it all in such detail. What he felt, and what he saw. The number one thing on every jews list is life; their own life to be more specific. The trampled bodies that they look over once they reach the shack, had no chance once they hit the ground. No jew looked back to help another up. Not even a son to his old, shaky father. Elie seems to be the only one whose father is a priority. Of course, if anyone else would fall to the ground next to Eli, he wouldn't hesitate. Running was the goal. To never stop running. Never to stop fighting for life. He was running for life. They all are.

 

Question: What is happening to Elies mother and sisters?

Night pgs 66-80

 

3-18-14 Night pgs 66-80

Summary: The Jewish New Year is approaching and the jews are starting to lose faith in their god. The SS officers started to kill of many more of the jews, thankfully Elie and his father weren't one of those unfortunates. They are brought to a camp further into Germany.

 

Quote: “I hated it. Whenever I dreamed of a better world, I could only imagine a universe with no bells.”

 

Sig of Quote: The bells, what give the command to wake up and go to sleep, are one of the many things Elie can't stand about the camp. Its surprising because, in everyday life bells are  beautiful things, but Elie makes them seem just as terrible as death itself.

 

Reflection:  The rabbi who has begun to lose faith in god is setting an example to all the jews around him. Having lost everything else around them, God is pretty much all they have left to believe in. If they all start to completely lose hope in their God, then they won't have anything to fight for anymore. Nobody to ask advice to, or ask for mercy. Only the lucky ones have someone who they love with them during this terrible times. Like Elie and his father. He has somebody he loves to fight for life with.

 

Question: What will the journey to the new camp bring to the jews?

 
 

Night pgs 47-65

3-17-14 Night pgs 47-65

Summary: Elie is taken to a new area called Buma with his father. They are forced to work at a warehouse with everyone else. They are watched over by a guy named Idek. He and his friends torture Elie for his golden tooth.

 

Quote: “Three victims in chains-- and one of them, the little servant, the sad-eyed angel.”

 

Sig of Quote: This quote can pretty much describe the whole book. The “sad-eyed angel” is innocent, and doesn't deserve to die. Just like Elie, he doesn't deserve his fate either.

 

Reflection: This section was very sad. Of course, the whole book is upsetting too, but this section described events that should come from a nightmare. So much happens around Elie, and he has so many close calls to death. I don't understand how he hasn't been shot yet.  He is such a free spirit, and that doesn't mix well with the people he is with. He is living on luck. Pure luck. He could have been the sad faced angel who got hung for nothing. He could have been separated from his father the first day, if that man hadn't have told him what to say. Elie is one of the lucky ones, for luck seems to be the only thing that keeps you alive in the holocaust.

 

Question: Why would that man risk his life to get a second serving of soup?

 

3-12-14 Night pgs. 1-20

 

3-12-14

 

 

 

 

3-12-14 Night pgs. 1-20

 

 

 

Summary: The narrator sets the scene and mood for th book in this section. The jews of his town are getting prepared for deportation, and he talks of all the dreadful things the jews must go through. Like hot weather, curfews,and the long walk to the little ghetto.

Quote: “Anguish. German soldiers- with their steel helmets, and their emblem, the deaths head.”

Sig of Quote: Im assuming that the “emblem” is the natzi sign. It must have been very scary watching men like them march down your street.

Reflection: If the narrators name has been said already, I must have missed it because I’m clueless of what his name is. Anyways, this book is already really frustrating and sad. Frustrating,because nobody is trying to run away. They should at least try… Thats just my opinion. But, its sad, because none of them can do anything about their fates. The hungarian officers dont care about them, and that angers me because they are all people. Treating other human beings like animals- or “dirty swines”, as they’re called- just makes you an animal. The jews dont deserve what they are getting, for they have been obeying all the terrible rules layed down by the Hungarian officers.

Question: What will life be like in this new place where they have journeyed?  

451 pg. 131-143

3-6-14 451 pg. 131-143

Summary: Still running from the weird dogs, Montag decides to get rid of his smell, along with his existence completely. Now everyone believes he is dead. Montag travels to a new city and changes his identity. He plans to find as many books as he can and change the way people live.

Quote: “It was not burning, it was warming.”

Sig of Quote: Up until now Montag has never thought of fire as anything other than destruction. This campfire wasn't killing anyone, or burning anything not meant to be burnt. It was warming the people around it, who are gathered around in a little conversation. A group of people, TALKING to one another. Something Montag has never been around until this moment. 

Reflection: This is a fantastic section. Montag really shows what he is capable of when under terrible conditions like his own. This new city where he has travelled to will bring him so many new opportunities. Those that may lead to what he is hoping to achieve. New name and new people who will understand what Montag is set out to do. I think the main reason Montag is on this heroic (yet idiotic) journey, is to avenge Clarisse’s death. This is what she would have loved to see happen. Her world changing, for the better. Secretly, she must have known that she could impact Montag and change how his mind was geared. Which obviously worked because here he is now, doing all he can to make her dream come true.

Question:  What would Clarisse have thought or done if she were still alive?

451 pg 107-130

3-5-14 451 pg 107-130

Summary: The firehouse gets a call about a house with books. When Montag arrives, he see’s Mildred run out with a suitcase. It is his home that he has to burn down. After Montag had finished burning down his home, Beatty see’s the “bug” in his ear. He threatens to kill Faber… So Montag burns him to death. Now Montag is pretty much on the run for the rest of his life. 

Quote: “We never burned right”

Sig of Quote: Montag is meaning to say that they have been burning all the wrong things. The firemen believed that books were harmful and wrong, but it was really them and the consumer products that have been harming their society for so long. 

Reflection: Montag shouldn't have done what he did to Beatty. He just signed his death sentence and I really doubt there is any way out of it. Montag is going to have to get used to living a life like Fabers: always hiding from the sun, from their reality. However, I may be wrong. Montag is different, for he has had many different influences on his life. Clarisse and Faber are who may have made Montag into someone special, who may break the system. Getting rid of people like Beatty, who are trying to keep society how it is, is the first step to open everyone's eyes. Even if Montag gets killed in the process. 

Question: Was killing Beatty really the best course of action for Montag to take?

451 pgs. 76-106

3-4-14 451 pgs. 76-106

Summary: Montag arrives at Faber house. The two talk about books and their meaning for a while, often getting into arguments. They plan on recruiting people like them to basically rebel against the firemen. Montag returns home with a “bug”  in his ear that connects him with Faber. His wife and her very annoying friends are at the house when he gets there, and they discuss the war. 

Quote: “Faber, for the first time, raised his eyes and looked directly into Montag's face.”

Sig of Quote: Faber has been terrified of Montag until this moment, a moment of true clarity and trust. Montag has shown that he can be trusted by telling of his common interest and goals as Faber.

Reflection: This section is where, I believe, all the action is beginning. It just increases the entire time till towards the end, it all explodes! The fire and the teachings; the journey and the betrayal. Mildreds betrayal to Montag wasn't a surprise. You could clearly tell she was going to do something about Montags stolen books, for she had been very worried about it ever since she found out. Being paranoid that her home would be burnt down by the chief (ironic because it was Montag who did that), Mildred did what she could to survive. What she had been taught to do even if her brain is altered to be like a televisions. She just didn't know that it would result in the loss of her husband and “family”. 

Question: Does Mildred love her “family” more than Montag?

Farenheit 451 pgs 48-60

2-27-14 451 pgs. 48-60

Summary: Montag wakes up with chills and a temperature. Due to his sickness, he doesn't go into work, and so his boss Beatty comes in to check on him. Beatty tells Montag that he was right about the past firemen and what their ways used to be like. He also admits to reading a couple of books before burning them, however he said that they contain nothing. To Montags surprise, Beatty told him that he wouldn't punish a fireman who took a book.

Quote: “... Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag. Take your fight outside.”

Sig of Quote: Beatty is explaining why the firefighters now burn books and homes. The fastest way to rid of a problem is to completely wipe it out from existence, and thats what fire does. It demolishes anything it touches, never to be restored.

Reflection: I think that Montag shouldn't trust Beatty. His chief must know that Montag had stolen that book or else he wouldn't have brought it up. Once Montag returns it then they will have to arrest him or something terrible like that. I dont really know, I'm just guessing. Also, the reason for burning all the books makes no sense to me. I think that people were just looking for easy ways to get out of their problems, like in the full quote that I took that excerpt from. With Beatty’s explanation of what happened to the old firemen ways, I have noticed how it isn't just that. Home life and social life has also gone downhill. I remember in one of the past pages that Montag was surprised to see all of Clarisse’s house lights on, and when she told him that its because they are all talking to one another. Then when you look at his marriage with Mildred, you see that she loves her TVs more than him. Its very sad.

Question: Will Mildred blow Montags secret of keeping the book?

Farenheit 451 pgs 29-48

2-26-14 451 pgs. 29-48

Summary: In this section, Clarisse goes missing. Mildred tells a worried Montag that she believes Clarisse has been hit by a car and died. At the same time, Montag asks the chief about the old firefighters that actually “fought” fire. However, they then receive a call about an old woman whose house is filled with books, so they go and burn her house down. Montag steals a book from the house before burning it though.

Quote: “ What-- was it always like this? The firehouse, our work? I mean, well, once upon a time…”

Sig of Quote: Clarisse has obviously had an effect on how Montag perceives the world. Now hes asking question nobody has ever thought of before.

Reflection: For Montag, it must be very annoying how Clarisse just randomly disappears after having such an effect on him. She introduced Montag to the idea of asking questions about life. Like “why” and “how”. Then in this section, she leaves him to ask those questions about everything he ever knew. Even though he only talked to Clarisse a few times, she was the best and biggest impact Montag has ever had, and then she leaves. This leaves Montag in a very confused spot.

Question: IS Clarisse really dead?

Farenheit 451 pgs 1-28

2-25-14 451 pgs. 1-28

Summary: On Montags walk home after work he meets a 16 year old girl named Clarisse. Clarisse opens his mind to new possibilities, and he find her interesting yet odd at the same time. When he arrives home he finds his wife almost dead from taking to many of her pills. Montag takes his wife, Mildred, to the hospital to be drained of her blood and replaced with fresh, new blood. Later, in the pouring rain, Montag sees Clarisse again. She had been walking though the rain and invited him to join.

Quote: “ ‘Fine! Lets try you now.’

‘It wont work for me.’”

Sig. of Quote: This quote caught my attention because I didnt understand why Montag was so convinced that the dandelion wouldnt work on him. Maybe this is a sign that everyone's mind in this place is so wrapped around solid facts and raw evidence that they dont even believe in old folk tales or miracles anymore.

Reflection: There is a very big contrast in the characters Clarisse and Mildred. One is consumed by the media, as the other is trying to get away from it. Clarisse is probably one of the last people of this time who still knows about the dandelion tale, and is the only one Montag knows who still looks up at the stars and moon. Unlike Midred who is very much like everybody else. She is literally wrapped up in her televisions and radios. She doesn't care for the little things in her life like the moon or the rain or even her life. Montag, however, is a mix of both. His mind is open to new ideas, yet he is still learning and getting used to them after living his life like Mildreds for so long.

Question: Will Clarisse change Montags life for the better or the worse?