Fahrenheight 451

Fahrenheight 451 Analogy of the birds The novel focuses on the suppression of the masses through the media and censorship. Books have been outlawed and consequently, the fire department has been allocated a new role: burning books (Bradbury, p.1). Guy Muntag, the main protagonist in the novel, is a firefighter who is tasked with incinerating books. He is a troubled man since his job does not afford him happiness. Though he burns books, his conscience constantly haunts him. That is why he hides some of the books so that he can read them later.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Fahrenheight 451 specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At the beginning of the novel, a moving description of one of the book-burning escapades is brought to the fore (Bradbury, p.1). The exercise nearly drives Muntag berserk. His whole body and mind is engrossed in the exercise and as he throws book after book into the raging inferno he has created, the books seem to come alive. They are transformed into birds before flapping their way into the fire. This comparison is significant. Books contain knowledge, which can easily be lost when they are destroyed. Once that happens, it will be difficult to retrieve the lost knowledge. In the same way, once birds are threatened, they fly away and it is almost impossible to recover them. It is also important to note that books, just like birds, are alive. This is because they enshrine knowledge, which is important in man’s life. The importance of books is illustrated in the novel when a woman chooses to die rather than watch her most prized books set to the flames (Bradbury, p.1). It is clear that people cannot do without books since they lend meaning to their existence. Symbolism: Kerosene Kerosene is used to accelerate the burning of the written materials. Naturally, its smell sticks on the users long after coming into contact. Therefore, Clarisse, being very observant, is able to tell that Montag is a fireman responsible for burning books. This implies that the agents of suppression can never quite shake off the guilty conscience that follows them everywhere they go. In as much as they may justify their actions in whichever way, they lead disturbed lives. This fact is not lost on captain Beatty, Montag’s boss, who states that it is common for a fireman to make off with one or two books during the burning exercise (Bradbury, p. 2). Beatty seems to understand the guilt that the firemen experience and, therefore, allows them to have some books so long as they are destroyed within 24 hours. This is the reason why Beatty expects Montag back at work the same day that the latter takes a sick leave (Bradbury, p. 25). Guilt is the source of unhappiness in Montag’s life. He leads a plastic life, devoid of any feeling – or so he would have liked to believe. He discovers that he is not happy after all; he has been wearing a false smile all the time. It is his encou nter with Clarisse that forces this discovery on him (Bradbury, p. 2). Consequently, he decides to drop the faà §ade and look for the true meaning of life. This would involve quitting his job, which he eventually does.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The assertion that kerosene can never be washed off completely also points to the inevitability of reality. One can never quite escape the reality. Montag is jerked back into the harsh reality by Clarisse while his wife’s attempts to block out the real world by immersing herself in electronics seems to fail as she constantly has to resort to sleeping pills. The contrast between Mildred and Clarisse The author introduces Clarisse before Montag’s wife in order to underline the stark contrast between the two women. For once, Clarisse has been described as vivacious: full of life and a passion for everything around her. When Montag encounters her at night, she is having a walk just to enjoy the gifts that Mother Nature has provided. She confides in Montag that at times she stays awake all night in order to watch the sunrise and even the moon (Bradbury, p. 4). She further informs him that were he to look closely, he would see the man in the moon (Bradbury, p. 4). This is in stark contrast to Montag’s wife, Mildred who has totally no interest in nature and the immediate environment. She spends most of her time in front of the TV and the few times she ventures out are to do speed-racing. She has lost all personal contact with others, including her own husband. Her eyes are glued to the screens and her ears shut to the outside world as they are perpetually plugged by ear pieces, listening to music continuously. Clarisse is a member of a happy family consisting of herself, an uncle and her parents. They spend ample time talking to each other. They rarely watch the â€Å"parlour wall s† and they hardly go to speed races (Bradbury, p. 3). They have maintained their human touch and, therefore, are able to enjoy their lives to the full. Generally, Clarisse is happy and contented with life, unlike Mildred who has to resort to drugs to make life bearable. The contrast between the two women is important because it helps the reader to understand why Montag is drawn to Clarisse rather than his wife. He is completely devastated when he learns about her death. The contrast also serves to heighten the estrangement between Montag and his wife. He is unable to relate freely with his wife the way he does with Clarisse. The contras between the Montags and Clarisse’s house It is evident that life in Montag’s house is radically different from life in Clarisse’s house. In Montag’s house, family values have been replaced with TV and radios. Consequently, Montag and his wife are inexorably alienated from each other. Familial love is completely non- existent and the few times they interact are to disagree on every issue. Basically, they lead separate lives; sleep on separate beds despite being man and wife.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Fahrenheight 451 specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In Clarisse’s house, however, family love is held supreme. The members of the family spend enough time talking and sharing with each other. They have the TV and the radios, but do not allow such devices to compromise their relationship. Due to the constant interaction, Clarisse has benefited a lot from her uncle and parents who have evidently done a commendable job in molding her. In her conversation with Montag, she makes reference to one of the things she has learnt from her uncle: at seventeen, she is most likely crazy. The import of this is that she has learnt to tread carefully. This is essentially a happy family. Unlike in Clarisse house where there is warmth, Mont ag goes back to a cold house. When he gets into the house, he does not wish to draw the attention of his wife. So, he plans to walk quietly to his bed without turning the lights on (Bradbury, p. 5. In a strange twist of fate, it is his attention that is drawn to his wife, who has overdosed herself with sleeping pills (Bradbury, p. 6). The lack of warmth in this house further aggravates Montag’s unhappiness. The two houses are indeed radically different from each other. Bibliography Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheight 451. Dokuz Eylà ¼l University, n.d. Web. http://kisi.deu.edu.tr/murat.goc/451.pdf.

An Introduction to the Bell Curve

An Introduction to the Bell Curve A normal distribution is more commonly known as a bell curve.   This type of curve shows up throughout statistics and the real world.   For example, after I give a test in any of my classes, one thing that I like to do is to make a graph of all the scores. I typically write down 10 point ranges such as 60-69, 70-79, and 80-89, then put a tally mark for each test score in that range. Almost every time I do this, a familiar shape emerges. A few  students do very well and a few do very poorly. A bunch of scores end up clumped around the mean score. Different tests may result in different means and standard deviations, but the shape of the graph is nearly always the same. This shape is commonly called the bell curve. Why call it a bell curve? The bell curve gets its name quite simply because its shape resembles that of a bell. These curves appear throughout the study of statistics, and their importance cannot be overemphasized. What Is a Bell Curve? To be technical, the kinds of bell curves that we care about the most in statistics are actually called normal probability distributions. For what follows we’ll just assume the bell curves we’re talking about are normal probability distributions. Despite the name â€Å"bell curve,† these curves are not defined by their shape. Instead, an intimidating looking formula is used as the formal definition for bell curves. But we really don’t need to worry too much about the formula. The only two numbers that we care about in it are the mean and standard deviation. The bell curve for a given set of data has the center located at the mean. This is where the highest point of the curve or â€Å"top of the bellâ€Å" is located. A data set‘s standard deviation determines how spread out our bell curve is. The larger the standard deviation, the more spread out the curve. Important Features of a Bell Curve There are several features of bell curves that are important and distinguishes them from other curves in statistics: A bell curve has one mode, which coincides with the mean and median. This is the center of the curve where it is at its highest.A bell curve is symmetric. If it were folded along a vertical line at the mean, both halves would match perfectly because they are mirror images of each other.A bell curve follows the 68-95-99.7 rule, which provides a convenient way to carry out estimated calculations:Approximately 68% of all of the data lies within one standard deviation of the mean.Approximately 95% of all the data is within two standard deviations of the mean.Approximately 99.7% of the data is within three standard deviations of the mean. An Example If we know that a bell curve models our data, we can use the above features of the bell curve to say quite a bit. Going back to the test example, suppose we have 100 students who took a statistics test with a mean score of 70 and standard deviation of 10. The standard deviation is 10. Subtract and add 10 to the mean. This gives us 60 and 80. By the 68-95-99.7 rule we would expect about 68% of 100, or 68 students to score between 60 and 80 on the test. Two times the standard deviation is 20. If we subtract and add 20 to the mean we have 50 and 90. We would expect about 95% of 100, or 95 students to score between 50 and 90 on the test. A similar calculation tells us that effectively everyone scored between 40 and 100 on the test. Uses of the Bell Curve There are many applications for bell curves. They are important in statistics because they model a wide variety of real-world data. As mentioned above, test results are one place where they pop up. Here are some others: Repeated measurements of a piece of equipmentMeasurements of characteristics in biologyApproximating chance events such as flipping a coin several timesHeights of students at a particular grade level in a school district When Not to Use the Bell Curve Even though there are countless applications of bell curves, it is not appropriate to use in all situations. Some statistical data sets, such as equipment failure or income distributions, have different shapes and are not symmetric. Other times there can be two or more modes, such as when several students do very well and several do very poorly on a test. These applications require the use of other curves that are defined differently than the bell curve. Knowledge about how the set of data in question was obtained can help to determine if a bell curve should be used to represent the data or not.