Last Post

Hey sorry this is posted late. I wrote it up, but never submitted it. Since this is our final blog post, I only felt it appropriate to write about a summary of what we have learned thus far.

We started with an introduction to Culture Jam, which gave us an understanding about what we would be learning about. We learned techniques of jolting and the ways that we are being affected. Though we do not always see this attempts to "brainwash" us, we can learn how to fight this urges.

Culture Jam connected into reading a book called Feed. A book that put into perspective the question of, "if technology took over our work and our privacy, what would the world be like?" We made the connection between Violet and how she brought back to life the thought process and the term idea. She spoke in ways that allowed Titus to realize that who had his own thoughts and they mattered. Privacy was another connection we made. Connecting this is the advertisements, being blasted in their heads, allowed us to realize that we are being taken advantage of by ads. The government was another focus point of this book. The Corporate Elite decided upon the denial of a new feed.

This book leads us into 1984. The ideas in 1984 were far different, but at the same time, supported the underlying defense that we are losing our individualism. Constantly being watched, no citizen in 1984 was able to do what he or she wanted or speak upon what they thought. This created a place of fright and with this came rebellion. The rebellion lead to compromise and the government, once again, won the battle. Next, the book Fahrenheit 451 was introduced. This book shared the majority of the same societal problems, but dealt more with books. The main character, decides that he has had enough, and does what he thinks is best. He finds a group of people, who share the same views, and they plan their plans to rebuild the literature population.

The underlying lesson that we must all learn is that we are being taken advantage of and we do not even know it. We are being used as ads and as marketing campaigns. Technology is being used against us and has now turned into a device that can take away our freedoms. We are losing our ability to create individuals and are following the footprints of the government in creating a controlled society. The scary part is, that we may never get back our freedom, if we allow this to happen. By building this knowledge and creating awareness, we as citizens of our society, fight this urge to make a "cult" of people. There urge to learn from books, express my thoughts, and keep my freedoms has allowed me to instill a desire to fight against these events working against us.

Fahrenheit 451 4/16

This book has been getting more interesting as it goes on. I am on page 130 and I had to stop right in the middle of the climax. I personally think that Beatty is crazy for his actions and I am glad that he died. I am interested in seeing what happens with the hiding of the books in the fireman's house. I have only heard about good things about this book and I am interested in reading the end.

In class we were asked to do in-class writing. The writing was based off of books that have been banned out of several schools. We were asked if we knew any of these books and why we thought they were being banned. I responded by saying that I have seen and read many of these books, most of which where during my schooling experience. I think that these books were banned because of they controversial issues and make people face ideas that they fear. I think that a lot of people are afraid of change and are unwilling to see other peoples view points. Majority of them contradict what they say about their own personalities. "I am a well rounded person" is a commonly heard phrase. I think that majority of these people are only considered to be well rounded in their own cultures. If we do not see other people’s views than we are only considered what has been passed down upon our generations. Reading books allows us to capture what has happened through the past and recap on what people have learned through their experiences.

This leads to the next question that has been asked, “Do we really value books today?” I think that some people do value books today, but some of us do not. Being an inspiring educator, I often frown upon myself for not reading more books. I sometimes question why I am even here if I am not going to read the given material. To me college is no just about getting a degree, but to be the most qualified in your field. An educator, who is uneducated, is basically a person who is passing on his or her beliefs. If we do not value other people’s thoughts, which are written in books, we do not fully grasp the idea of mankind, humanity, and unity.

The book supports a society without books is a society in which people are unhappy. I am interesting in seeing how the book ends, so that I can see what other connections this book makes with our society.

Fahrenheit 451 4/9

This book is a lot more interesting then 1984. When I first started reading the book I did not know what to expect, but as it went along the plot became more intense. Montag has been chosen to be a fireman by his family’s history. He meets a high school girl named Clarisse who opens his eyes to what the world used to be like. He begins to find out what a firemen did back before houses used to be fireproof. He comes across a job where he must burn a house full of books, but there is lady inside that says she wants die with her them. Montag tries to convince her to leave, but as soon as he exits she lights a match and the books go up in flames.

Ray Bradbury creates this futuristic world to compare it to the one that we live into today. Where books are seen as uncensical and that each one contradicts another. We are not necessarily burning these books, but literature is not what it used to be. We rarely read books any more and if we do read, it is online. Another aspect of this book is that literature is being produced at an overwhelming rate and that by burning these books we are cutting down on that. This futuristic view says that we will become disinterested in books and that is why they are being burned.

The book this far is very interesting and I am interested to see what comes of this and if Montag continues to be a fireman. I am also interested in seeing what happens between him and Mildred because they only seem to become more distant.