Knowledge Survives

           Knowledge is a weapon far more powerful than anything on this earth. To have knowledge is to have power. Ignorant people believe that knowledge can be destroyed, that it's something that can be forgotten. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, the firemen promote ignorance and abolish knowledge, for fear that knowledge in the people of society would be dangerous. Only, knowledge cannot be destroyed, and knowledge cannot truly be forgotten. Knowledge is the key to human survival and without knowledge, the people of our world would be ignorant, mindless machines.
           The world that Montag lives in is that of ignorance. The thoughts of the people living in this world have been completely replaced with those of another person's. Bradbury speaks multiple times of characters or things that seem to be alive and yet somehow dead at the same time. He speaks of Mildred and the Mechanical Hound, as well as the rest of the society in this way; like they are nothing but machines, thinking nothing and doing nothing more than what they were programmed to do. Mindless beings living in a pretend world, created with the intentions of being believed, and due to the lack of knowledge in this society and the promotion of ignorance, it is believed.
           Bradbury also uses the idea of nature being disenfranchised with the society in this fake-reality world of Fahrenheit 451. When Montag meets Clarisse -- young, lively, and innocent -- there are many nature symbols. Clarisse shows Montag Truth, and in turn, nature in the novel also shows Montag Truth. In one instance, Montag finds Clarisse dancing through the rain -- head thrown back, mouth open in a smile, letting the rainwater fall delicately onto her tongue. Montag is taken aback; he cannot believe her actions; that she talks so freely of things such as a man on the moon, or the stars, and now, seeing her enjoying nature's rain is making him think that maybe nature is something that can be enjoyed. Montag, having ignored nature his entire life, is now seeing that it is something that is actually beautiful, and untouched by society. He is one of the lucky ones who realizes the nature in his city is not real nature, it is simply manufactured like the rest of society, and he now seeks this truth about the ignorance of his world.
           When Montag escapes out of the city as a fugitive, searching for this righteousness, this truth, he encounters a group of people who are like him -- running from the ignorance of society, being considered outlaws for having thoughts that were not placed into the mind by another. These people, in fact, are not people at all; they are books. Plato's Republic, Gulliver's Travels; but then not only books, but authors and scholars -- Charles Darwin, Aristophanes, and Einstein, and there are more of them, all over the country, people who are keeping knowledge alive. They are eating, breathing, sleeping, living knowledge, knowledge that is tucked away into the vault of a person's mind. Amidst it all, there is Montag, the Book of Ecclesiastes. Montag is now not searching for knowledge, but he is a piece of knowledge himself.
           "We're going to meet a lot of lonely people in the next week and the next month and the next year. And when they ask us what we're doing, you can say, we're remembering. That's where we'll win out in the long run." - Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451,(pg. 132). The Firemen in Fahrenheit 451 were so ignorant they believed knowledge could be destroyed, that it was something so abase that it could be forgotten, simply floating around the mind, slipping just out of grasp into the shadows, and then seeping so deeply into the shadows that knowledge is lost; lost, but not destroyed. 
          Like the men Montag meets and like Montag himself, knowledge is trapped in a mind, and only given up willingly. For most people in Montag's society, knowledge was easily disregarded because people were so ignorant, but for the select few that are able to illuminate the shadows of the mind with the brightness of knowledge were shown a world of remembrance and good. In the end, those of ignorance were lost, and those of knowledge lived, for knowledge is survival.

With New Eyes

Author's Note: A reflection on the quote "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger" by Friedrich Nietzsche and how it relates to Montag's actions recently in the book.

Pain and strength. Two words of quite different meanings, yet, there isn't one without the other, as demonstrated in Friedrich Nietzsche's quote, "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger." Life cannot exist without pain, or it would be meaningless. In Fahrenheit 451 Montag experiences this daily. He is trying to choose between being numb, or feeling; living a meaningful life. As a result, Montag uses the pain to make his life serve a purpose.

In Montag's world, there was only confusion and hurt, a hollow inside him, empty for so long he did not know what was to belong in its place, and then there was the fire,burning and destroying; killing. Montag was lost in a life where he felt he didn't belong - but then he met Clarisse McClellan. She was so innocent and full of life; she was so much different than Mildred. She made him feel, made him laugh -- a sound he had not heard in a long time. Her ideas introduced him to a whole new world, a world free of the confusion, and hurt, a world free of burning. Most importantly, she introduced him to a world with something to replace the missing part of his soul: love.

The world Montag was living in was so completely void of emotion that Montag himself was numb.This pain was the only thing that kept Montag sane, for it was all that he could feel. Without the pain that Montag experienced he would not have lived.Clarisse awakened the side of him that can finally feel, and the numb melted away; he started to see that there are many different kinds and forms of feeling, such as love, as well as different ways to live life. The pain he experienced before he met Clarisse has made him a man that does not just walk around, letting himself be carried to and fro, not feeling. Instead, it let him see the world with new eyes. Montag is breaking free of his chains, and coming out into the sun, ready to live a life full of meaning.

Standing Against the Wind

You are running. Running, running…Time is counted by how many steps you take... How many breaths you take... All around you there is smoke and debris; images of your fellow comrades that have fallen flash by you as you continue running. Yet, you see nothing but the American flag, waving high at the top of a pole, waving for freedom and liberty; justice. That flag is the reason you keep running. That flag is what makes you a Patriot for life. That flag still stands, and as long as it does, so will the country and the millions of people being the wind to make it wave.

My grandfather, Delmar Clark Khonke, told me of the wars that he fought in, all of them as courageous and full of bravery as the next. Also within the stories my grandfather relived was the grief and sadness that lingered in the air with every gunshot. Yet, knowing that death is a possibility, brave people with big hearts, like my grandfather, still give the safety of themselves for our country. That is pure Patriotism. This patriotism stays within the lives of everyone, whether it is someone taking their last heroic breath and the American flag is placed upon their casket as a symbol of their honor, or it is someone placing a rose upon that casket; our patriotism will never truly fade.

As a child, I was told that the American flag should hang outside every house, that it flies over all the United States and that it shall never, ever touch the ground. Now, as a young adult, things have not changed. Our American flag still flies all over our country, our houses wear red stripes; blue and white stars, and our flag hangs proudly, high above the ground. Over the years I have learned that this is what Patriotism is. It is the flag that flies against the wind. It is the flag that lasts through hardship, and it is the flag that reminds us every day of the millions of people that make that flag fly. For as long as that flag is seen standing against the wind, the rain, and the hardship, our country will be standing behind it.

Man is Pig and Pig is Man

Heavy work boots drum the ground, echoing off the crowded streets of Russia, and into the air, air now filled with the sounds of planes flying in formation above the crowds of people. Chanting, chanting as machine guns and tanks roll down the cobble stone streets on this day; once untouched by the eddy of corrupt power now flowing through Russia. May Day is just one example of how the Russian Revolution changed Russia, and it's people; a day that was full of life and joy, reduced to a day devoted to showing off Russia's guns. This day represents how the corruption of the revolution by it's leaders destroys any hope for a better world. The satire novel Animal Farm expresses an important point: problems ignored due to unawareness and greed will lead to corruption.
Eric Arthur Blair, better known as George Orwell, writes the novel Animal Farm to poke fun at the Russian Revolution's idea of Communism. Orwell writes this novel shortly after his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, where he first saw communism in affect when he had to escape groups of communists in Spain. These experiences gave him the idea of how people can be so easily persuaded by propaganda and more so "the opinion of enlightened people in democratic countries." This uprising novelist was inspired to write about communism, and got the idea to use animals from a time when he saw a little boy driving a horse cart, whip in had, whipping the horse every time it tried to turn, and in this moment, Orwell had an ingenious thought: if animals were only smart enough to realize that they have enough power to override their human masters; much like how the animals on Animal Farm and the Russian citizens could easily have over thrown the pigs, or in real life, Stalin.
"Napoleon is always right." This quote, one of Boxer's maxims, shows how corrupt leaders have so much power over things; how once intelligent and insightful people lose their intelligence and begin to believe foolishness. Boxer, who represents the hard-working lower class of Russia, is a strong and powerful horse, much larger than any animal on the farm, and yet, he does not stand up to Napoleon because he is blinded by the propaganda the pigs put out. Once the animals realize that Animalism is not what they had envisioned it to be, it is too late; Napoleon and the pigs already have absolute power. Power is a blinding thing, and if you misuse it, the outcome could be drastic. In the novel, power is too large an extent for the pigs to handle, and slowly, slowly, they became what animal feared: Man.
George Orwell did not choose pigs to represent man by coincidence; pigs are the dirtiest animals one can think of. In the rush to get to food, many pigs get trampled by each other and when pigs are fed, all leftovers of any kind of food are given to them, for pigs do not deserve better. This is how George Orwell had wanted the reader to view man because it is true; man is greedy and ignorant. At the end of the novel, the animals can no longer tell the difference between pig and man, or man and pig, because of their crave for power. The decisions the pigs made led them to Animalism falling apart, such as the decisions Stalin made leading to the failing of Communism.

A Child's Innocence

Running through the playground with friends screaming with joy as the sun above spills onto your face ... playing tag on a hot summer's day in your best friend's backyard barefoot, loving the way the small blades of grass cushion each step you take ... pretending to be asleep so your parents won't know your still up, hiding under the covers in a small cave of sheets, illumnitated by the flashlight you hold up to the book in your hands ... these are all things that every child can relate to, most of all, Tom Sawyer. This novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, was written all about Tom and his innocence, and how he never becomes mature in this romantic world he lives in. Most people in this world want to stay a child, innocent and carefree, for the rest of their life; all people have to realize at one point in their life that the human race is built around posterity, and that all people must face the world, become an adult. Tom is not able to realize this in his romantic world, built only for him and the reader to escape into.

All children dream of getting to trick their parents or elders into believing something only a fool would believe, and any time this chance presents itself, they spring at it. Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, wrote Tom's life out to be the perfect life of any young boy, including himself. Clemens had a rough childhood, growing up being the sixth of seven children and a father that would not tolerate failure, even though he was one himself. The book does not mention Tom having a fatherly figure, showing that Clemens wanted Tom to be free; he wanted Tom to have a life with no pressure to be a success, along with a loving aunt like his mother had been. Tom springs at all oppurtunities everyday in his life that offer him a gleam of self triumph in the form of juvenile behavior, leaping right over the gap of manhood and continuing down the same path of innocence.

When The Adventures of Tom Sawyer begins, Tom is a little boy who just can't keep himself out of trouble. His first act includes inveigling his aunt, shouting for her to look in a direction, then bolting out the door and into the sun. This young boy enjoys finding fun and laughter in all aspects of life, always the one to start a riot of some sort. All Tom's friends are of the same ignorance as him, as he is too childish to bond with any kids mature or behaved. Tom looks for things to keep him entertained and feeds off of the way the children his age view him: brave, cunning, and ambidextrous. As the novel goes on, Tom begins to venture farther and farther into his world of enchantment, leading to many enexpecteded turns in his tale.

Becky appears in the picture, a white haired "goddess" of which he seeks romance. Tom wastes no time to plant himself in her heart, displaying boy-like behavior in front of her house, hoping that her blue eyes will catch a glimpse. His faith leaps when she tosses him a flower over the fence, and Tom becomes compassionate towards her; the only way he is mature in the novel. The girl Tom is in love with has a family that is very well off, and quite respected and admirable in social aspect; Samuel Clemens marries a woman in New York who is high on the social ladder and has a rich background. Clemens portrays Tom almost as himself, reflecting Tom as a younger and quite immature version. Samuel Clemens tries to capture a realistic aspect of his life and bring it into the book, a tiny rememberance that finding true love even in a world where things aren't perfect is possible.

In the last chapter of the romantic novel, Tom convinces Huck that he must stay at the widow's in order for him to become part of his gang, for only educated peoples can join. This shows how much innocence Tom has, and will forever hold on to in this dreamy world of St. Petersburg; the fictional re-creation of Sameul Clemens' childhood town, Hannibal. The whole story takes place in a city that Clemens created based off the town he grew up in, and all of his experiences as he matured, unlike Tom.

In this novel, Clemens does not age Tom, representing that he had to grow up early, due to his father's passing when he was only twelve. Tom's laidback lifestyle comes from Clemens' dreams of being a regular boy, instead of having to work as an apprentice printer after his father's death, to support his family. Clemens wrote this book as a gateway to a childhood he never had -- a wonderful world where your imagination is reality, and you never have to grow up.

The Greed of Good and Evil

In the novel Tom Sawyer there is a re-occuring theme throughout the book expressing the feelings of every person during one period or another of their life time. This theme has caught Tom and his friends in some pretty hasty situations while they plow their way through a young child's innocent way of living. This emotion can all fit into one word: greed. Not only does the greed in this book leave Tom fighting to stay alive, it leaves people wishing they were dead.

When Tom and Huck witness the murder of Dr. Robinson, they cannot help but be scared of also loosing their lives to the evil of the book, Injun Joe. This man greedily steals the life of a man, and the body of a dead one, then tries to frame Muff Potter for his wrong doings. This is a very selfish thing to do and in the wonderfully romantic world of Tom Sawyer, something more than evil. The greed of Injun Joe comes back into the book in a innocently modified version of Tom, Huck, and Joe when they run away to Jackson Island; they let their loved ones grieve over their "deaths" while they enjoy the vacation of a life time, for reckless and carefree boys. While this act was selfish, it does not measure up, nor come close to, the amount of hatred and passion Injun Joe displays. This innocent greed grows as the boys continue to travel deeper into the evils of the book.

"There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure." - Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This quote illustrates the boy's innocence in their selfishness as they dig for buried treasure in chapter twenty-six. This part of the novel did not fit into the plot of a romantic novel very well; Injun Joe and his accomplice are far more menacing than the romantic plotline would ensue them to be for there is much evil at play, but the book is a romantic comedy.Their greedy inquire soon is regreted once they arrive at the haunted house to do their biddings, for Injun Joe and his new accomplice show up at the house, looking for a hide-out for them to plan their "revenge". Tom and Huck are trapped upstairs and eavesdropping on the two men, when Injun Joe eyes the boy's pick axe by wall with fresh dirt on it's head; leading to his conclusion of someone being upstairs. The innocent boys are terrified as he begins to descend the stairs, when the stairs fall though fom decay and rot with Injun Joe in the middle of them.

This shows the romantic plot, and also shows the comic romance plot of how once again Tom is saved in the nick of time. Injun Joe is mightily greedy, and when he opens the chest of gold he has found, he takes all of it. The boys remorse in how unlucky they were to have just happened across the wrong place at the wrong time; their harmless and childish greed yearns for the money to be in their hands, not the evil ones of Injun Joe.

This novel demonstrates that when good and evil collide, there is a great deal of greed amoung the air. When the novel started to indulge into it's deeper realms of romantism, the more exciting Tom and his friend's adventures began to be; increasing the risk of what happens when people become greedy with their lives, and start to take from others. Greed is a very dangerous thing to have, and once you are infected, there is no telling how far you will go to get what you want.

Finding the Truth

Looking in the mirror, you realize that a year ago from today, you looked into this very mirror and could only see half of your face, still round and babyish. Now, another year later, you can see that your face has thinned, your hair has grown longer and your lips fuller. Your eyes see things that you have never seen before. They see yourself growing older. As the children of the world continue to grow and become farther on in their journey from innocence to experience, the world starts to speak the truth to them, begins to show them what it has to hold, and in turn, each child must discover their own truth and make use of what the world has taught them.

“It was like nothing wrong could happen in a world where things balanced so stilly” spoke the young Francie Nolan of the brass scale set in the tea store which she loved so much. At the time, Francie thought that her world was perfect. In her eyes, Brooklyn was the most beautiful neighborhood to live in with its organ grinders and tambourine dancers and one-man bands. As she grew, she thought she knew why the scales at the tea store did not shine as brightly and the bins were dented and shabby. This young girl, so inexperienced to the world, thought she knew why the world around her was changing so rapidly, but in reality, Francie was the one who was changing. Each child goes through a period of time in which they must encounter themselves becoming older, and one step closer to becoming experienced, to finding their truth.

In the neighborhood of Brooklyn, there are dangers lurking behind each corner and in the darkest shadows of a deserted hallway, or even in one’s greatest comfort. The young and inexperienced people of Brooklyn believed that it was the greatest place to live, for they were unaware of the people who wondered the streets looking for money with raggedy clothes and a face full of dirt or the reason of why they gathered at bread bakeries to wait for a truck to dump stale bread out. As Francie became more aware of the hateful people living in Brooklyn and the terrible financial situation her family is in, she starts to recognize that her world is not the perfect place that it used to be, yet Brooklyn has a magic in it that she cannot explain.

This magic in Brooklyn is made up out of hope and faith, which are ideal to growing up in hardship as Francie does in the poverty of Brooklyn. In the book, Francie is entranced by the small tree growing beneath her fire escape; the tree that can survive without water, light, and even soil. When Francie is first born, she is weak and so very innocent. Katie relates the tree to Francie. “Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and water only when it rains. It’s growing out of sour earth. And it’s strong because its hard struggle to live is making it strong. My children will be strong that way.” Much like the tree, Francie continues to grow without money, education, and in a neighborhood not suited for children. She becomes a strong woman who has learned her share from experiences in life and unraveled her truth.

Finding one’s truth is not something that needs to be accomplished in one day. Every person on this planet must have the strength and courage to set foot into the world on their own one day; it is just a part of life. Finding the strength and determination to set out on your own in the world, letting nothing push you down, plowing through your life with the confidence and will to succeed is knowing that you have found yourself, your truth, and applied every ounce of what you have learned by being taught or teaching yourself or picking up a few simple tricks and facts about anything in the world. That, all your knowledge of life, and death, added together and strengthened with the love and hope and faith in your heart, is finding your truth, which each child needs to have the courage and passion to uncover.