Magnificent Obsession Post 2: Chapters 1-2

In the first two chapters of the book, we're given a glimpse into the world we're in. The story begins in a hospital. Rumor has it that the brain surgeon, Dr. Hudson, fainted during an operation! The worst part was that the rumor was true! In an effort to not let the cat out of the bag, all the doctors had a secret meeting. Their goal was to make sure that the fact that Hudson fainted is never learned by any of the patients. Many of the other doctors feel guilty meeting behind Dr. Hudson' back.  By the time we reach the 20th page, our protagonist dies! I was reading the book and I was very shocked. I was not very prescient at the time. Thanks a lot, Lloyd C. Douglas. We were just getting to know Dr. Hudson and you go and kill him off. Oh well. non traditional stories are always fun to read, (or watch, i.e., Megamind). Dr. Hudson had a fear of swimming, therefore, he took a dip in the lake. Pretty strange guy, huh? At least he tried to overcome his fears. Meanwhile, on the other side of the lake, a man named Bobby (Genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist, minus the genius and philanthropist part, plus a little bit of dipsomaniac), was out sailing on the other side of the lake. His sail knocked him upside of the head, and his buddies on board grabbed Dr. Hudson's resuscitator, and saved Bobby's life! Unfortunately, Dr. Hudson needed his resuscitator at the same time as it was borrowed, and he died. Bobby was later blamed for the accident and says that he's not the one who stole the resuscitator! It was a sad day for everyone. 

Magnificent Obsession Post 1: About the Author

Lloyd C. Douglas was born on August 27, 1877. He lived to be 73 years old and died on February 13, 1951. Being a pastor's kid, he eventually became a minister. Like many authors, Douglas didn't begin his writing career until he was older. 50, to be exact. After marrying a woman named Bessie, and having two children with her, Douglas published his first book, Magnificent Obsession, in 1929. Douglas was considered one of the best authors of his time; Magnificent Obsession got rave reviews. He wrote ten more books after Magnificent Obsession, including an autobiography and one distinctly popular title, The Robe, which was made into a motion picture in 1953. Many of his other books were also adapted for the screen, including Magnificent Obsession, which won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Unfortunately, Douglas had passed two years in California before the The Robe's film release, and before he had the chance to write the second part of his autobiography. Luckily, his daughters took care of that for him.

Fahrenheit 451 Post 5: Conclusion (Final)

Fahrenheit 451 gave what I believe to be a very possible outcome of the world. The book doesn't qualify as science-fiction. More like science-this-could-really-happen. He predicted a few things. Take the seashells, for example. We now have earbuds that some keep in their ears constantly, listening to the messages of the world, whether it be in music, podcast, or live radio talk shows. As far as the living room family, I have a 120" screen in my home that my family watches movies on all the time. We're not addicted by any means, and there's only one screen (not one on all four walls), but you get the idea. Bradbury wrote this book in the 50's. He was just a genius, as far as I'm concerned. Fahrenheit 451 is written in such an artistic way that the reader feels like he's in the moment. Reading it is an experience. I hope you'll read this book and get a glimpse into the possible future.

Fahrenheit 451 Post 4: Burning Bright

Montag is in disbelief. Who could have pulled the alarm for his house? Mildred, he thinks. Beatty orders Montag to burn down his own house. Montag obeys. His entire house is in flames. Even though it's 3:30 in the morning, the entire neighborhood comes out of their homes to see all the action. After Beatty takes away Montag's earpiece, Montag kills Beatty with a flamethrower! This (I thing) is where Montag gets the ball rolling. Montag also kills all the other firemen around him. Even more shocking, Montag manages to kill the Hound as well. When Montag goes out into the back yard, he finds four books that Mildred missed. He takes them along with a Seashell (the he lodges in his ear) and runs away. Listening to the live police reports, he uses the Seashell to his advantage as he's a fugitive on the run. Montag heads to a gas station to wash the soot of his face. He hears that war has been declared (Well, that escalated quickly!). Montag hears on the radio that the police are advising people to look for "a man running." Therefore, Montag tries his hardest to walk everywhere, so as to not arouse suspicion. As he's walking down a street, he sees a car approaching him. Montag thinks it's the police. After he almost gets ran over, Montag realizes that it's just a bunch of teenagers who couldn't have cared less if they killed someone. Maybe they were the same people who killed Clarisse? We'll never know as that information isn't revealed before the end of the book. Montag goes to a coworker's house and hides the books. He proceeds to call an alarm on for that house. Montag goes to Faber's house and gets some advice: Go along the railroad tracks. They're never used anymore as almost all transportation is done above ground. Faber says that there's a lot of hobo camps along the tracks. The government is doing all they can to capture Montag. A new Hound is looking for Montag. The new Hound can recognize many different scents. Montag follows Faber's advice, and finds one of the camps. The hobos give him a drink that will make him smell different. Granger, the leader of this particular hobo camp, shows Montag a portable TV. They watch the police chase and see the camera zoom in on a random guy on the street. The announcers say that this guy is Montag, and they declare that the search is over. The media has to keep the people entertained, and if they had taken any longer to find the real Montag, the people would have gotten bored. Next, Montag learn that the hobos aren't hobos at all. They're books! What? Well, the hobos have found a way to fabricate a photographic memory, thus storing books in their heads. Hobos on the outside, books on the inside. As long as they don't die, the hobos can restore books eventually.

The book ends in an epic apocalyptic finale. A bunch of bombs are dropped onto the city. Montag and the hobos are determined to help the survivors, and restore humanity.

Fahrenheit 451 Post 3: The Sieve and the Sand

The meaning behind the title of this chapter is this: As a child, Montag put sand in a sieve and tried to retrieve a dime. He failed, and cried. The sieve represents the human mind, and the sand represents information and truth.

After reading a bunch of the books with Mildred, Montag realizes that he has no idea what he's reading. He sets a goal to find someone who can explain the meaning behind these books. Earlier, before the time set of the book, Montag met a guy named Faber in the park. Montag saw that Faber was reading, and Faber freaked out. But Montag assured Faber that he was fine. They talked, and Faber gave Montag his contact info. Montag calls Faber to question him, but Faber cuts off the conversation because he thinks that Montag is trying to trick him. Montag then realizes that he has a copy of the Bible at home. He thinks it may be the last copy in existence! Montag takes it to Faber and the two discuss why Montag is unhappy. Montag says that it might be the books, or lack thereof. Faber explains that it's not the books. It's the words, and their meaning. Faber gives three things that are missing:

Quality of Information: "[Books are important] because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores. ... The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more 'literary' you are."
Leisure to Digest It: "Thank God [that books aren't real]. You can shut them, say, 'Hold on a moment.' You play God to it. But who has ever torn himself from the claw that encloses you when you drop a seed in a TV parlor? It grows you any shape it wishes! It is an environment as real as the world. It becomes and is the truth. Books can be beaten down with reason. But with all my knowledge and skepticism, I have never been able to argue with a one-hundred-piece symphony orchestra, full color, three dimensions, and being in and part of those incredible parlors."
The Right to Carry Out Actions Based On What We Learn From the Interaction of the First Two

After some threats and discussion, Faber finally tells Montag how he can reprint the Bible. Faber has a friend with a printing press (score!). Montag says that he needs help facing Beatty that night, so Faber gives Montag a radio for his ear. It's like an ear plug that acts as a small walkie talkie. Montag knows that Beatty knows that Montag has at least one book. Montag decides to take the risk of giving Beatty a replacement book. Faber will be with Montag the whole time.

Montag goes home and finds his wife and two of her friends in the TV parlor. Montag and the two women engage in a kerfuffle. Montag pulls out a book (gasp!) even though Faber told him not to. Mildred says that firemen are allowed to bring home one book per year to show his/her family how ridiculous books are. This is a lie, of course, but the two women fall for it. Montag begins to read the poetry to the two women, and one of them bursts out crying. The two women leave; Montag is worried.

When Montag arrives at the House he hands the book over to Beatty. Beatty tosses it before even looking at the title. He explains that everyone on the road of life swerves off every now and then, and Beatty seems forgiving. The alarm goes off, and to Montag's surprise, they take the truck to his house!

END OF CHAPTER 2

Fahrenheit 451 Post 2: The Hearth and the Salamander

Guy Montag lives in the future. In his world, books are avoided like the plague. Censorship is at an all time high. Television rules, and books are obsolete. Any form of creative thinking is illegal. It's considered strange to go a walk. Firemen cease to exist, because all houses are fireproof. Instead of putting out fires, firemen start them in order to burn books. Fire hoses are filled with kerosene. All books must be burned. Montag is brainwashed into this form of thinking simply because of the world that surrounds him. He mentions in the first sentence of the novel that it's a "pleasure to burn." Near the beginning of the novel, Montag meets a young teenage girl named Clarisse. From today's standards, Clarisse would be considered normal, but in the future where this story takes place, she's crazy. She even admits to it. Clarisse does strange (and illegal) things, like taking walks, enjoying fresh air, and thinking creatively. She asks Montag if he's happy. Montag laughs, then returns home and realizes that he's not happy at all.

Montag's wife, Mildred, is a stereotypical member of society. She watches TV all day long, and listens to the voices in her head (said voices are actually seashells that are lodged in her ear at all times.). Mildred attempts suicide, but government workers remove her blood, and replace it with new blood. Mildred forgets everything. 

Back at the Firehouse, Montag encounters The Hound. The Hound is a mechanical dog, and it is very mysterious. When Montag approaches The Hound, it reacts violently. Montag talks to Captain Beatty about it, asking why it would react like that. Montag mentions that this is the third time it's happened to him. Montag asks if The Hound was programmed to act like that towards him. Beatty says that no one would do that to him.

That same day, the alarm goes off. Time to go burn books. An old woman hid books in her attic. She's incredibly passionate. When Montag tries to persuade her to leave, she lights a match herself and goes up in flames along with her books. Right before this happened, Montag snuck a book under his jacket without even thinking about it. 

Once Montag gets home, he hides the book under his pillow. He asks Mildred where Clarisse has been; he hasn't seen her in four days. Mildred calmly replies that the family moved away, and that she thinks that Clarisse was hit by a car and killed. Later, Montag reveals the book to his wife. In fact, it's been a whole year, and Montag reveals about 20 books that he's hidden. Mildred freaks out and tries to burn them, but Montag convinces her that they should read them.

END OF CHAPTER 1

Fahrenheit 451 Post 1: About the Author

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

According to The New York Times, Ray Bradbury was a “master of science fiction”. The New York Times writer, Gerald Jonas, couldn’t be more wrong.

"I don't write science fiction. Science fiction is a depiction of the real. Fantasy is a depiction of the unreal."

– Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury

Literary technicalities aside, Bradbury was a phenomenal writer who changed the world. He lived to be 91 years old and died peacefully this past summer on June 5th. 

Ninety-one years ago, Swedish immigrant Ester Moberg Bradbury brought Ray into the world. He would later go on to win the Pulitzer prize in 2004. Many famous people seem to know what they're going to do with their life from a very young age. Mozart began playing music in public at age 6. Shirley Temple starred in her first movie at age 3. Ray Bradbury decided he wanted to be an author at age 12 (somewhat old when put in perspective). However, Johnny Depp didn’t begin acting until his early 20’s.

Ray Bradbury didn’t just write books. He wrote short stories, and he wrote for theatre, cinema, and television. 

His most famous book, Fahrenheit 451, was published in 1953. It was later made into a movie in 1966.