Packet A Ray Bradbury s Fahrenheit 451

Transcription

1 English IV Senior English 1 Name: Date: Senior English Supervisor: General Coursework Description: Senior English is an independent course of study. Each stage of each packet is to be submitted to the Senior English Supervisor. Submit these assignments in order as they are cumulative (or build upon each other). If you require assistance, please do not hesitate to ask the Senior English Supervisor or another available teacher. Besides teacher assistance, unless the Senior English Supervisor says otherwise, Senior English work is to be completed independently. You will receive a copy of the Packet A book, Fahrenheit 451. There are also copies downloaded onto the school s ipads. These will allow you to hear the text as you follow along and also offer some supplemental material that can assist you with your reading.

2 English IV Senior English 2 Name: Date: Senior English Supervisor: I. Biographical Assignment: 1. Find three legitimate sources about Ray Bradbury s life. You may use web sources, books, magazine articles, or other sources you may find. You may find Bradbury s website of use as well. You may not use Wikipedia though its bibliography may lead you to other, more legitimate sources. 2. Use a highlighter to highlight the information you find most useful and interesting in the sources you use. 3. Using index cards, Inspiration software, or some sort of listing or mapping strategy, organize your notes into categories that represent the paragraphs of your essay. Don t be afraid to steer clear of the standard timeline report and do something a little more unique. 4. Write a standard outline based on the work you did in #3. 5. Write a 2-3 page paper capturing the information you found to be important in this biography. This paper should be drafted several times. The Senior English Supervisor should offer suggestions and revisions. 6. Use parenthetical citation to indicate when you have borrowed information from one of your sources. Remember that you must cite information you borrow even when you use your own words. Others ideas must be cited as well. 7. Write an MLA formatted Works Cited page. 8. Include all stages of the paper process as well as the final draft in a folder that you submit to the Senior English Supervisor.

3 English IV Senior English 3 Name: Date: Senior English Supervisor: II. Video Clip Assignment: Go to Ray Bradbury s website, Scroll down, and click on At Home With Ray. Read the text on this page, and click on the video link at the bottom. Choose several of the videos to watch. Enjoy them. You don t have to write anything about them! Then, watch the video clip about Fahrenheit 451. Using the video clip, explain his inspiration for writing the book in 4-6 sentences:

4 English IV Senior English 4 III. Guided Reading Questions: Name: Date: Senior English Supervisor: Using either the ipad or a paperback provided by SeeWorth, read Fahrenheit 451. A. Complete the guided reading questions, compiled from several sources, as you read. Write in complete sentences unless told otherwise. B. You will not be able to complete the other writing assignments for this book unless you read carefully. C. Have the CliffsNotes Character Map with you when you read. It will help you keep the characters and their relationships clear. Part I: The Hearth and the Salamander: 1. What do the firemen do for a living? Why is this ironic? 2. In the opening scene, why are the books compared to birds?

5 English IV Senior English 5 3. Who does Montag meet on the way home? 4. During his conversation, Montag says that You never wash it off completely referring to the kerosene. What could this mean symbolically? 5. Why does Mildred need help when Montag gets home? 6. Describe the help that she receives.

6 English IV Senior English 6 7. Is there anything unusual about the way the two men go about helping Mildred? How is it unusual? 8. How is life in Montag s house very different from that of Clarisse s house? 9. How does Mildred react after she wakes up from her previous night s experience? 10. What does Mildred do all day?

7 English IV Senior English Describe the setup of Montag s TV room. 12. What is the mechanical hound and what is its purpose? 13. What is the hound s reaction to Montag? 14. Why does society consider Clarisse anti-social?

8 English IV Senior English At the next fire, what does Montag take? 16. Beatty reveals something very important about himself and his knowledge. What is it? 17. What technology does Mildred use to go to sleep? 18. Who is Mildred s family?

9 English IV Senior English What has happened to Clarisse? How did it happen? 20. What is unusual about the way Mildred told Montag about Clarisse? 21. Beatty gives Montag a length speech. List three things Beatty talks about in his speech to Montag that are true about our world. 22. What is Fahrenheit 451?

10 English IV Senior English 10 Part II: The Sieve and the Sand: 1. When was the last liberal arts college shut down? 2. T F Professor Faber thought Montag s call was some sort of trap. 3. Why did Faber s fear dissipate when Montag was standing outside his door? 4. What did Montag want from Faber? 5. T F Faber reminded Montag that people who are having fun are reluctant to become rebels. 6. How did Montag finally get Faber to consider really helping him?

11 English IV Senior English What two items were exchanged before Montag left the professor s house? 8. What is the volcano s mouth? 9. T F Montag pulled the plug on the living room fish bowl. 10. T F Faber objected to Montag s poetry reading. 11. Which lady was affected by the original intent of the poetry? 12. T F In the late hours of the night, Faber refused to console Montag for foolishly reading poetry to the poor, silly women.

12 English IV Senior English Listening to Captain Beatty play his harp and needle, Montag had what effect upon Beatty? 14. What interrupted the poker game? 15. Captain Beatty drove the Salamander to whose house?

13 English IV Senior English 13 Part III: Burning Bright: 1. How has Beatty given Montag hints that he is under suspicion? 2. Who must have brought books back from the garden? 3. Who turned in an alarm against Montag? 4. What happened to Montag s green bullet?

14 English IV Senior English Why did Montag burn Beatty s body? 6. What is Montag s plan to escape? 7. How much money did Montag give Faber? 8. How many scents can the mechanical hound remember?

15 English IV Senior English Why did Montag want Faber to turn on the air conditioning and sprinklers? 10. Interpret Twenty million Montag s running, soon, if the cameras caught him. 11. Why did the search for Montag veer inland? 12. Who died in Montag s place?

16 English IV Senior English What did Granger mean by Welcome back from the dead? 14. When Granger and other like minded people are stopped by authorities, why isn t any incriminating evidence found? 15. Do you have a sense that there are other book chapters in other towns? What proof do you have? 16. What does Granger mean by his quote You re not important. You re not anything?

17 English IV Senior English Explain the last implications of the events in the last 4-5 pages.

18 English IV Senior English 18 III. Discussion Questions: Using the computer, answer any three of these questions, taken from the National Endowment for the Arts website. Answers should be in paragraph form. Support your opinions. When writing about a piece of fiction, write in the present tense. 1. Montag comes to learn that "firemen are rarely necessary" because "the public itself stopped reading of its own accord." Bradbury wrote his novel in 1953: To what extent has his prophecy come true today? 2. Clarisse describes a past that Montag has never known: one with front porches, gardens, and rocking chairs. What do these items have in common, and how might their removal have encouraged Montag's repressive society? 3. "Don't look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or library," Faber tells Montag. "Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were headed for shore." How good is this advice? 4. It may surprise the reader to learn that Beatty is quite well read. How can Beatty's knowledge of and hatred for books be reconciled? 5. Unlike Mrs. Hudson, Montag chooses not to die in his house with his books. Instead he burns them, asserting even that "it was good to burn" and that "fire was best for everything!" Are these choices and sentiments consistent with his character? Are you surprised that he fails to follow in her footsteps? 6. Beatty justifies the new role of firemen by claiming to be "custodians of [society's] peace of mind, the focus of [the] understandable and rightful dread of being inferior." What does he mean by this, and is there any sense that he might be right? 7. How does the destruction of books lead to more happiness and equality, according to Beatty? Does his lecture to Montag on the rights of man sound like any rhetoric still employed today? 8. Are there any circumstances where censorship might play a beneficial role in society? Are there some books that should be banned? 9. If you had to memorize a single book or risk its extinction, which book would you choose?

19 English IV Senior English 19 IV. Essay Question: Using the computer, answer any one of these questions, taken from several sources, including the National Endowment for the Arts website. Basic Standards: Minimum of five paragraphs. Minimum of 600 words. Spell Checked & Grammar Checked. Follows SeeWorth Academy High School Paper Guidelines. Important Note: When writing about a piece of fiction, write in the present tense. For example, do not say Clarisse had difficulty adapting to society. Say instead Clarisse has difficulty adapting to society. The story lives on forever; therefore, we write about it in the present tense. Review Requirements: Outline with thesis statement must be submitted to Senior English Supervisor. Rough draft must be submitted to member of the Reading or English Department for proofreading and editing suggestions. Revisions must be made. Paper must be submitted with rough draft to Senior English Supervisor. Paper Topics Continued on Next Page.

20 English IV Senior English 20 IV. Essay Question (continued) Topics 1. Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopia, or a fictional world that is, in some important way, undesirable or even frightening. Many books and movies depict dystopias. Choose one movie, and write a compare/contrast essay exploring the differences and similarities between the movie and Fahrenheit. A few to consider include The Matrix, Blade Runner, The Terminator, and The Hunger Games. Include a discussion of what a dystopia is, of how each work is an example of a dystopia, and of the characteristics that both unite and divide the two works. 2. Consider the symbolism of fire in the novel. Explore passages where fire significantly factors into the story. How does Montag s understanding of fire (and/or burning) change throughout the novel? At the end of the novel Granger looks at the fire and says, phoenix. How does fire capture both destruction and renewal? 3. Does Montag kill Beatty out of self-defense or to preserve something lost? Has Montag avenged the deaths of Mrs. Hudson and Clarisse? Can Montag justify murder in defense of books? Finally, do the extreme circumstances of Montag s world justify lawless behavior to preserve the freedom to read? 4. Bradbury has suggested the story turns on the input from a teenager, Clarisse. Explore Clarisse s character in detail, explaining her motivations and the values she represents. Why must Clarisse be killed or silenced?