Are there any settings in this novel which you have found to be beautiful? Or disturbing? Or memorable? Describe these settings and comment on why they were meaningful to you.
One setting that was beautiful, and sad, to me was when Montag met Granger and the other book-reading fugitives. It was as if two soldiers, separated by war and fighting, were reunited again. The scene was beautiful because you could feel the relief of Montag and him thinking, 'There are others out there, wandering and waiting.' All humans feel relieved when they know they are not alone, but have somebody else struggling with them. It makes the problem more bearable. However, it was sad because of the fact that they were separated. If they had been separated, there must have been something that ripped them apart. In this novel's case, the war between censorship and thinking what one wants to think.
The most disturbing scene was when Montag burned and killed Captain Beatty. The descriptions about Beatty being burned, "Beatty flopped over and over and over, and at last twisted in on himself like a charred wax doll and lay silent." (Pg. 119) were extremely vivid and memorable. However, the fact that Beatty had wanted to die, and let Montag kill him in such a torturous way, was the most disturbing part of the book. The reason why Beatty wanted to die was clear: his life was miserable, but how he could become happy again was also clear: stop burning and hating books. The fact that Beatty wouldn't accept that reading books would make him happy again was probably the most disturbing part of the entire novel, because it is always haunting when someone would rather die than admit that they were wrong.
One setting that was beautiful, and sad, to me was when Montag met Granger and the other book-reading fugitives. It was as if two soldiers, separated by war and fighting, were reunited again. The scene was beautiful because you could feel the relief of Montag and him thinking, 'There are others out there, wandering and waiting.' All humans feel relieved when they know they are not alone, but have somebody else struggling with them. It makes the problem more bearable. However, it was sad because of the fact that they were separated. If they had been separated, there must have been something that ripped them apart. In this novel's case, the war between censorship and thinking what one wants to think.
The most disturbing scene was when Montag burned and killed Captain Beatty. The descriptions about Beatty being burned, "Beatty flopped over and over and over, and at last twisted in on himself like a charred wax doll and lay silent." (Pg. 119) were extremely vivid and memorable. However, the fact that Beatty had wanted to die, and let Montag kill him in such a torturous way, was the most disturbing part of the book. The reason why Beatty wanted to die was clear: his life was miserable, but how he could become happy again was also clear: stop burning and hating books. The fact that Beatty wouldn't accept that reading books would make him happy again was probably the most disturbing part of the entire novel, because it is always haunting when someone would rather die than admit that they were wrong.
3 comments:
I didn't write about a beautiful scene, but I do agree with you. It must have been a relief to Guy Montag after he met Granger and the other "book-readers". Yet shortly after, they had to be separated. As you said, there must have been something that ripped them apart (war between censorship and one's own thoughts).
The most disturbing scene to me was when the woman burned in her house with her books. I can't imagine her pain... being covered in flames. Yet I was also disturbed when Montag killed Captain Beatty. While reading the passage, I could picture the violent scene in my head. I learned from what you wrote, that the most disturbing part of the entire novel was probably the fact that Beatty wouldn't accept that he was miserable and wouldn't admit he was wrong about books.
Thanks for the comment Joanne! =]
I still think Beatty wanting to be burned to a crisp was the most disturbing thing in the whole book, but the woman burning herself in the house was pretty horrible, too. I still admire that woman, though, because she believed so strongly in the truth. It would be hard to burn yourself up with what you know is true, wouldn't it?
Let's hope that we never have to experience this extreme pain; BUT this makes the characters heroic. Mrs.Mc.
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