451 Essay

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury conveys a significant message through the contrasting tones he uses to describe Clarisse and Mildred. Bradbury uses a reverent, respectful tone to describe Clarisse, when Guy Montag sees her for the first time in the street as he walks home from work (3). The diction â€Å"slender† and â€Å"milk-white† portrays that Clarisse is young and innocent. These words create this feeling because one would normally associate slimness and a clear complexion with youth. The personification used in â€Å"gentle hunger† and â€Å"tireless curiosity† reveal the fact that Clarisse is inquisitive to the reader. The use of â€Å"gentle† and â€Å"tireless† allow the reader to see that Clarisse has a hunger for knowledge. The imagery â€Å"sliding walk† and â€Å"dress was white† creates an image of Clarisse’s demeanor and general appearance in the reader’s mind. Using these words also gives the reader the sense that Clarisse is pure, like an angel, because a sliding walk and white garments are associated with angels. Bradbury’s praising and positive tone shows that he strongly identifies with her personality. In contrast to the tone he uses when describing Clarisse, Bradbury uses a dull, monotonous tone to talk about Mildred when Guy Montag sees her as he walks into their bedroom shortly after his encounter with Clarisse (11). The metaphor â€Å"felt no rain† and â€Å"felt no shadow† compares rain and shadow to the feelings that Mildred does not feel. With this metaphor, Bradbury reveals to the reader that Mildred is apathetic, unfeeling. The diction â€Å"tamped-shut ears† and â€Å"ears all glass† suggests to the reader that Mildred is oblivious to her surroundings. These words create the effect that Mildred does not see and hear what is going around in front of her. The simile â€Å"like a snow-covered island† compares Mildred’s face to a snow-covered island. This simile leaves the reader with the impression that Mildred’s face is pale, almost lifeless. Bradbury’s apathetic, negative tone shows that he does not approve of Mildred’s obliviousness and lifelessness. Bradbury uses an admiring, awed tone to describe Clarisse when Guy Montag is remembering his encounter with Clarisse (8). The simile â€Å"face like the dial of a small clock† compares Clarisse’s face with the dial of a small clock. Bradbury goes on to describe the clock as the type giving off light in the darkness in the middle of the night. This comparison conveys the idea that Clarisse represents good early on in the book. The simile â€Å"how like a mirror too, her face† emphasizes the fact that Clarisse’s demeanor in general makes Montag reflect on his actions, thoughts, and words. Bradbury is trying to relay the message that Clarisse has the type of personality that makes other people reflect upon themselves. The simile â€Å"like the eager watcher of a marionette show† compares Clarisse to an eager watcher of a marionette show through a simile. This simile demonstrates how perceptive Clarisse is. Bradbury’s tone of disbelief and awe shows his admiration of Clarisse’s character. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses contrasting tones towards Clarisse and Mildred in order to convey his opinion that one should not blindly the beliefs that are presented to them. Bradbury strongly believes that we should constantly question the world around us. 451 Essay In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury conveys a significant message through the contrasting tones he uses to describe Clarisse and Mildred. Bradbury uses a reverent, respectful tone to describe Clarisse, when Guy Montag sees her for the first time in the street as he walks home from work (3). The diction â€Å"slender† and â€Å"milk-white† portrays that Clarisse is young and innocent. These words create this feeling because one would normally associate slimness and a clear complexion with youth. The personification used in â€Å"gentle hunger† and â€Å"tireless curiosity† reveal the fact that Clarisse is inquisitive to the reader. The use of â€Å"gentle† and â€Å"tireless† allow the reader to see that Clarisse has a hunger for knowledge. The imagery â€Å"sliding walk† and â€Å"dress was white† creates an image of Clarisse’s demeanor and general appearance in the reader’s mind. Using these words also gives the reader the sense that Clarisse is pure, like an angel, because a sliding walk and white garments are associated with angels. Bradbury’s praising and positive tone shows that he strongly identifies with her personality. In contrast to the tone he uses when describing Clarisse, Bradbury uses a dull, monotonous tone to talk about Mildred when Guy Montag sees her as he walks into their bedroom shortly after his encounter with Clarisse (11). The metaphor â€Å"felt no rain† and â€Å"felt no shadow† compares rain and shadow to the feelings that Mildred does not feel. With this metaphor, Bradbury reveals to the reader that Mildred is apathetic, unfeeling. The diction â€Å"tamped-shut ears† and â€Å"ears all glass† suggests to the reader that Mildred is oblivious to her surroundings. These words create the effect that Mildred does not see and hear what is going around in front of her. The simile â€Å"like a snow-covered island† compares Mildred’s face to a snow-covered island. This simile leaves the reader with the impression that Mildred’s face is pale, almost lifeless. Bradbury’s apathetic, negative tone shows that he does not approve of Mildred’s obliviousness and lifelessness. Bradbury uses an admiring, awed tone to describe Clarisse when Guy Montag is remembering his encounter with Clarisse (8). The simile â€Å"face like the dial of a small clock† compares Clarisse’s face with the dial of a small clock. Bradbury goes on to describe the clock as the type giving off light in the darkness in the middle of the night. This comparison conveys the idea that Clarisse represents good early on in the book. The simile â€Å"how like a mirror too, her face† emphasizes the fact that Clarisse’s demeanor in general makes Montag reflect on his actions, thoughts, and words. Bradbury is trying to relay the message that Clarisse has the type of personality that makes other people reflect upon themselves. The simile â€Å"like the eager watcher of a marionette show† compares Clarisse to an eager watcher of a marionette show through a simile. This simile demonstrates how perceptive Clarisse is. Bradbury’s tone of disbelief and awe shows his admiration of Clarisse’s character. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses contrasting tones towards Clarisse and Mildred in order to convey his opinion that one should not blindly the beliefs that are presented to them. Bradbury strongly believes that we should constantly question the world around us.

Ruth Frankenberg Reseach Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ruth Frankenberg Reseach - Research Paper Example We begin to get a glimpse of Frankenberg’s life in her first book and perhaps the book which she is known the most for, â€Å"White Women, Race Matters: The Social Construction of Whiteness†, which was published in 1993. It is telling that Frankenberg begins with the admission that she had at first considered race far removed from her work as a Marxist Feminist. To quote her, â€Å"I saw racism as entirely external to me, a characteristic of extremists or of the British State, but not a part of what made me or what shaped my activism.† (1993: 53). Her race consciousness was triggered by the observation that unlike those she campaigned in the All-Cambridge campaigns who were whites like her, those she worked alongside in the feminist movement in the United States were â€Å"lesbian women of color and white working class women† (1993: 54) – bringing forth a heterogeneity that demonstrated the unities and linked experiences of women from all over. Blac k writers like Patricia Collins (1995) saw the import and contribution of this kind of literature. B. Choosing Career From this early experience, Frankenberg developed a critical perspective towards race and saw whiteness as a category that bestows â€Å"structural advantage† and â€Å"privilege† (55) and as a â€Å"place from which to look at oneself, others and society.† In her work at looking at white women’s childhoods, Frankenberg saw how race was used as an organizing device to bestow or deny privilege; to include or exclude. In a way, therefore, it becomes inextricable with class – particularly when race becomes the determinant of conferring economic benefit. The criticism that "'whites' in the United States historically have been extraordinarily good at not looking inward† (Durso, 2002) appears to be a valid one. C. First Book Ruth Frankenberg then takes off her discourse in her first book, â€Å"White Women, Race Matters: The Social Construction of Whiteness† where she began with the provocative observation that â€Å"any system of differentiation shapes those upon whom it bestows privilege as well as those it oppresses.† (Frankenberg: 1993: 131). This is a critical starting point in beginning to understand the complex ways with which the color of one’s skin – whiteness – impacts on race, gender, and class. It can therefore be seen that Frankenberg is critical of, rather than apologetic for, white racism and her work in fact is a scathing indictment of the structures of dominance that have resulted from skin color differentiations. Looking deeper and unpacking her work more, Frankenberg explores the themes of race, gender and class vis a vis whiteness not as independent from each other, but as overlapping structures of oppression and exploitation that must be addressed and resisted together. She surfaces, to paraphrase May (1999:4) the hegemonic processes that lead to the univ ersalization and normalization of whiteness and the â€Å"othering† of non-whiteness. Frankenberg’s critical – as opposed to apologetic – perspective on race and whiteness becomes even more apparent when she reveals how the subjects of her study, the white middle-class women who she had asked to describe their childhoods, had managed to render invisible the black people who they had lived with or encountered within their communities. And when these black people are summoned to memory, it is always in the

James Matthew Barrie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

James Matthew Barrie - Essay Example Barrie himself, in the novel titled by his mother's name, Margaret Ogilvy (1896), describes his mother's very careful ways: She begins the day by the fireside with the New Testament in her hands, an old volume with its loose pages beautifully refixed, and its covers sewn and resewn by her, so that you would say it can never fall to pieces. It is mine now, and to me the black threads with which she stitched it are as part of the contents. Other books she read in the ordinary manner, but this one differently, her lips moving with each word as if she were reading aloud, and her face very solemn. The Testament lies open on her lap long after she has ceased to read, and the expression of her face has not changed. (Chapter 3) Books were indeed very common in the Barrie household and would surely sow the seeds of imagination in the young James that would do him very well in his writing career. Margaret would read the classics in "Robinson Crusoe" and "Arabian Nights," among many others, together with her children, thus giving them the desire to read and to allow their creativity fly. Yet, as any biography of the respected novelist and playwright will surely mention, an important moment in Barrie's youth was the tragic death of his older brother, David, in a senseless skating accident before the 14th birthday. David had been a favorite of the mother and from this accident she never fully recovered. The young James, barely seven at the time of the tragedy, made every loving attempt to console his mother, once even wearing David's suit. Only then was he "rewarded with the first intent glances of his mother toward him" (Sarris, Page 1) This key event in Barrie's youth would turn into one of the most unforgettable images in his art, because in the eyes of his mother, comfort was found in the fact "that her dead son would remain a boy forever, never to grow up and leave her" (Wikipedia, Page 1). Barrie managed to complete his education at Dumfries Academy at the University of Edinburgh with an M.A. in 1882. He started professional work as a journalist for a local newspaper before moving to London in 1885, freelancing for national dailies and magazines. After three years in London, Barrie produced his first novel, Better Dead (1888) - a funny whodunit about the imaginary deaths of the most famous celebrities at the time. Indeed, his own fame would soon follow with a series of novels based on his hometown of Kirriemuir, beginning with Auld Licht Idylls (1888), A Window in Thrums (1889), and The Little Minister (1891). Soon after, with his working together with Charles Frohman, Barrie realized his ambitions of writing plays which in turn made his stature grow as one of Britain's most popular writers. His penthouse would entertain a continuous line of visitors including ministers, royalties, politicians, artists, celebrities, socialites and a list of who's who in society at tha t time. Already, he counted the most famous writers as his friends: Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy, H.G. Wells, Jerome K. Jerome, George Bernard Shaw. His influence was beginning to exert itself well that he even managed to form a cricket team of these literature giants called the "Allahakbarries," a