Note: Please see the attached think piece that I worked on in order to understand the directions below.
DIRECTIONS:
Here are two questions only to think about as you complete this discussion. You dont need to respond to them directly:
- Think about the way the society in F451 entertains itself. This is often done through violence (Mildred hits dogs in her car for fun. Clarisse says kids her age go to the fun park to bash cars or bully people). This is clearly problematic, but is it far off from contemporary American culture? In other words, do we also use violence as a form of entertainment?
- Consider the beliefs, values, and cultural motto of people in the novel. Can you compare them with contemporary American society? (Hint: A cultural motto is something like YOLO, with the idea that one should just live for the now and not think about this consequences of his or her actions in the present. But can this motto be damaging to a person? To a society?)
DISCUSSION 14 DIRECTIONS: After reading Part III from Fahrenheit 451 (F451), consider the prompt you chose for Think Piece 4. Create a second main point that compares the F451 society and American society. Use specific examples from the book AND American culture to support your response. Reminder: The American culture sections in this essay should be slightly larger and more elaborate than the F451 paragraph. They should have current examples, not historical.
Suggested Structure (continue the same structure as Think Piece 4):
Paragraph 1
Topic sentence with main point about both societies. Another specific way topic X manifests in F451 (explain and provide 1-2 specific examples)
Paragraph 2
Transition to the specific way topic X manifests in American culture (explain and provide 1-2 current examples)
Significance (analyze why discussing/examining this is important for a modern reader)
