The 1960 presidential election was won by John F. Kennedy. In my opinion, he won basically because most women thought he was very good looking. In Fahrenheit 451, when Mildred, Mrs. Phelps, and Mrs. Bowles were talking about the recent presidential election, it caught my eye. They were talking that the presidant they voted for was better looking than the other. I don't quite understand why people can just look at a persons appearence rather than their ideas to change the country to decide who they want to vote for. They also said that they didn't pick the other one because he didn't comb his hair. That, in my eyes, is ridiculous. It makes no sense to me. During that debate, they were more focused on his hairdue than what he was talking about. I think that is much like what our country is today. I believe that many americans voted for Obama solely on the purpose that he was black. We were looking for change, so we changed basically the color of our presidant. His ideas have done nothing to help our country. His stimulus package has worsened our unemployment rates rather that fix them. I think that we should take more time to look into different candidates instead of just looking at them. This proves that the government being run in Fahrenheit 451 can control the people. Since they didn't pay attention to the presidants ideas, he can do whatever he wants. He controls the peoples minds. He tells them what they can and can't learn or watch on TV. This is much like a Dictatorship. People have no rights, they can't read, only learn what they are told they can. It reminds me of John Locke's idea of survival of the fittest. People kill each other and themselves. For what reason? I don't think there is one. Maybe it's just for fun. The government does not care if they do or do not so why not do it. In the future, I can see the US going in this direction. We must change! This is what Montag is trying to accomplish and will hopefully succeed in doing so.
-Matt "Thee Cooch" Cucciarre
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Matt, this post is inspiring; I appreciate your passion. I hope you have plans of standing up for your beliefs and helping provoke positive change!
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree and disagree with some of the things that Matt said.
ReplyDeleteI agree that people do sometimes choose a president based on their looks or the fact that they are black. John F. Kennedy and now Obabma are two obvious examples of this. A good looking guy or a man of a different race are not more qualified candidates or are not more likely to promote change than any other man. When people do vote according to things like this i think it is just idiotic. In Fahrenheit 451, this shows that the people don't actually think or analyze things. In today's society, it shows that we may be heading towards a society like that in Fahrenheit 451. That is a very scary thought.
However, I do not agree that the government in Fahrenheit 451 is in complete control nof the poeple or a dictatorship. Yes, people listen to they government and do what they say, but they aren't brain washed. Mostly, the people choose to live that way and don't try to change. Montag was like every other citizen. He was just going throught the motions of life and having a false sense of "happiness". Then, he met Clarisse and decided he wasn't happy, and that he wanted to change. I think that most of the people in Fahrenheit 451 could follow this pattern if they choose to. Millie, for example, is one of those people. Montag tried and tried to get throught to her that she wasn't really happy, and they could change together. She would rather go on living the way things are. I believe that most of the people in Fahrenheit 451 have the intellect to put towards making a change, but they just don't use it. As for the book burning, that isn't technically the governments doing. It is the people who wanted to get rid of the books. The government is just doing what the people want and trying to make everyone "happy". Also, I do not think that these people have the idea of survival of the fittest. Sure, they kill eachother but that is their way of having fun. The people don't really care if someone is better than them. They are okay with being mediocre and all the same.
People in Fahrenheit 451 could change if they WANTED to change.
-Danielle Hitchcock
I must disagree with Danielle on just one subject in my view Obama wasn't elected based on his looks he was elected just like other presidents were by promising false statements or appealing to the people and appealing to what they complain about and then things suddenly change when they win the election.I doubt it was much different in Fahrenhiet 451 if the populace of Montag's country wanted books to end completely the presidential canidates would yet again conform to what they wantand pass laws constricting books mainly becasuse all politicians are corrupt.
ReplyDelete-Pepperoni A.K.A.
Christopher Preteroti