Section 5

In the final section of this heated page turner Montag manages to escape the mechanical hound by masking his scent with Faber’s and floating down the river. After he is sure the hound is gone he climbs the bank and walks until he finds train tracks. He follows the train tracks a group of Einstein hobos. This is my name for them because they have novels, plural, memorized, word for word. After that the books ends and the story is left incomplete,yearning for a sequel that will never come.

Text to Self Connection: This past summer I myself floated down a river. Although there were no killer robot dogs… or Einstein hobos… but still, when I read about him floating down the river my mind jumped back to several weeks ago when I floated down the Provo River with a bunch of French Exchange Students.

Text to Text Connection: Speaking of killer dogs that reminds me of hagrid’s giant three headed dog named Cerberus that guarded the Sorcerer's Stone in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Section 4

In this section Montag starts out by reading a poem to his wife and her friends. This starts a trail of unfortunate events in which he gets turned in by his own wife, is forced to burn down his own house, and then he cooks his captain with a flamethrower! That last part isn’t too bad i guess, I mean who wouldn’t want to flamethrower their boss? But then he ends up on the run with a mechanical hound, the unstoppable killing machine, hunting him down.

Text to Self Connection: Sometimes we all feel like taking a flamethrower to our superiors. They can just get on your nerves and push your buttons. I applaud Montag for what he did and soon, metaphorically of course, I will release my anger in a flaming torrent.

Text to Text Connection: In this novel there is the savage death of Beatty. In the book Lone Survivor Marcus and his comrades fought for their lives on top of a mountain in the Middle East, the 4 of them against hundreds. They fought their way down the mountain, getting severely wounded but killing many enemies. They caused many, many savage deaths.

Section 3

Last we left Montag he had decided to investigate the reason behind firemen and their actions, but even with his best effort, he was stumped. Sure he could read but did not understand! He had no clue what he was reading because he couldn’t think complex enough to understand the concepts. He seeked help from a scholar he had met in the park one year ago. He found him and convinced him to help. This new dynamic duo sets out to save books, and move the country towards a revolution.

Text to Self Connection: Whenever I am confused or lost I also seek out the help of friends or family. I hate floundering in my own confusion and seek out help to guide me to understanding. If at first I don’t get it, I try, and try again.

Text to Text Connection: Montag in this section reminded me of Stanley Yelnats from Holes. Montag has trouble understanding what he is reading, so he goes off and finds Faber to help him. In Holes, Stanley can’t dig his holes by himself, so he finds Zero, another boy at the camp to help him dig. They both struggled and instead of drowning chose to find someone to teach them how to swim.

Section 2

In this section everything changes. It starts with Montag and the other firemen going on another call, burning another house. Same old story. Except this time not only does Montag save a book from the flames, but they also burn a woman. With Clarisse, the burned woman, and even Fire Captain Beatty pushing him along, Montag started reading his collection of books he has acquired over the years, he wants to know what’s so special about them… He starts thinking on his own, which is the very danger that books were outlawed for in the first place. Self thought does not lead to bliss.

Text to Self Connection: Like Montag I also want to know why I do something. I don’t want to just have a job that has me do misleading work for no reason. I want to know my purpose and the reason behind my actions, so in Montag’s position I would do the same, I would read the book.

Text to Text Connection: In the book Stormbreaker the protagonist Alex Rider is also curious about his purpose in life. With the recent death of his uncle, odd people keep showing up and his life is put in danger. Like Montag he sets out on his own mission to not only find himself and his purpose, but to discover the cause behind his uncle’s murder.

Section 1

In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 we meet the protagonist as he burns down a house. His name is Montag, and he doesn’t really burn down the house, just the inside of it because in this futuristic world all houses are fireproofed. Montag is a fireman unlike the ones we know in real life. In this story firemen are more or less fire starters. What they do is go into houses and burn books because reading is illegal. After we meet Montag we are quickly introduced to another character named Clarisse, and Clarisse surprises Montag by asking him questions he has never thought about, she gets him thinking about life.

Text to Self Connection: This last year I have met many new people and with each person I meet they change the way I look at something. They affect my thinking and leave an impression on me that never fades, just like Clarisse does to Montag.

Text to Text Connection: When Montag met Clarisse, she caused him to rethink his entire being and life, this similarly occurred in the novel Eragon when Eragon met Saphira, she completely changed his view on life and what is possible.

Eragon

This quarter I read the novel Eragon by Christopher Paolini. No, not Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings, but a young kid that lives in Alagesia. The two get mixed up a lot because their names are pronounced similarly but you can tell from the spelling alone that they are completely different. Now that we have that established, this novel takes us through the magical realm of Alagesia and shares the adventures of Eragon, a simple farm boy.

One day Eragon found a mysterious stone in the mountains. When he tried to trade this stone for goods in town no one would accept it because he found it on land owned by the king, Galbatorix. He ignored their many warnings and kept the stone, changing his life forever. Little did he know it was not a mere stone, but an egg, containing a creature of myth and times long ago, more peaceful and benevolent times. The egg hatches and Eragon is transformed from an innocent farm boy into a Dragon Rider accompanied by his new dragon, Saphira.

The novel follows these two unlikely companions throughout the world of Alagesia  as they evade Galbatorix, befriend new allis, and flee south to The Varden, the only place where they can feel safe. After many close calls and a long journey they arrive at The Varden exhausted and pursued by Galbatorix’s soldiers. They lose friends in the battle but come out victorious, continuing Eragon’s training and keeping the hope alive that dragon riders will soon return to Alagesia.

Christopher was 15 when he started this masterpiece and was still a very young adult when it was published. The novel intrigues the imagination of teenagers and adults alike, dedicating them to the lengthy novel that is Eragon.

Paolini wrote this novel being inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Eric Rücker Eddison among others. He based the landscape of Alagesia off of his home state Montana and wrote the novel to explore his writing abilities and expand his ideas. Inadvertently at first he compared Eragon’s growth and maturation throughout the story to that of his own as a young writer. In the book he is able to show through Eragon’s and his own success that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and remain dedicated.

In this novel Paolini sticks to a third person limited view to describe the adventure. He is still a young writer and it is obvious in his following novels of his improvement. For example, in his third book Paolini adapts the novel to have multiple points of view and several different plot lines all occurring simultaneously, this demonstrates his maturity as a writer. Still evident though in Eragon is his skill and natural ability as a writer. He utilizes imagery to paint the setting in vivid descriptions and alludes often, foreboding to future dangers. Paolini even created his own “ancient language” in Eragon, basing it off of old Norse, German, Old English, and Russian myth.

The books starts off calm and climaxes when Eragon finds Saphira’s egg. After that it recedes back to a calmer tone, slowly increasing in excitement until Saphira hatches. After this event, the journey has begun, and the novel becomes an epic adventure similar to Lord of the Rings and contains excitement and twists on each page. This tone engrosses the reader’s amusement and throws them into the adventure with Eragon.

My rating system for this book is:

1: Farm Boy

2: Boy with a rock!

3: Boy with a big Lizard!

4: Dragon and Companion

5: Dragon Rider

I would say that this novel is at the Dragon and Companion stage in its development. It is well written and a fantastic read that I would recommend but Paolini is still developing as a writer and has yet to reach his full potential and become a true Dragon Rider.

The Devil in White City

When you hear the name Holmes you think of the fantastically brilliant Sherlock Holmes, aided by his steadfast Watson; possibly you even picture Robert Downy Jr. hurtling himself off a waterfall or riding a small, shaggy pony through the mountains. Sherlock, Robert, and Watson -- this is what you imagine when you hear Holmes, not H. H. Holmes, the charming and sophisticated but brutal murderer in Chicago during the World’s Fair.

This four part novel follows the two polar opposite yet intertwined lives of an architect and a serial killer during the Chicago World’s Fair. Larson has done his research and redefines Chicago during this time. He creates the two different plot lines to help fill in the gaps history missed, he follows Daniel Burnham through the creation of the fair while shadowing the destruction of life with Holmes.

Burnham receives the honor of designing the World’s Fair with his partner John Root. After a series of unfortunate events, Burnham struggles alone through the design and construction of the fair. He is able to successfully upstage the Eiffel Tower from the last World’s Fair with his idea of the Ferris Wheel. He unwittingly creates the perfect setting for Holmes, right on his door step.

Holmes moved to Chicago in 1886 to pursue his career as a doctor and pharmacist. He acquired a building near the future sight of the World’s Fair, Jackson Park. He used the bottom level as a store front and later turned the upper stories into the World’s Fair Hotel, the rooms riddled with secret passages, chutes to the basement, and a kiln for easy disposal of evidence. Holmes used his charm to lure in his victims, sometimes even through marriage... Holmes was a reaper in the fair, like a wolf amidst helpless sheep.

Both men start off rather successful in their respective areas. Burnham creates the Chicago World’s Fair to his design, and is almost complete with the Ferris Wheel when the fair opens in 1893. Holmes dolefully killed many people during his time in Chicago. Luckily for the lambs, the police were starting to catch on to Holmes because of his other illegal activities. Holmes fled Chicago and years later ended up getting caught and arrested for tax evasion, you could say he was like Al Capone before Capone was. 

Larson’s target audience is adults and young adults who enjoy reading and learning about historical events in an indirect manner. In this novel he is showing everyone that yin cannot exist without yang, evil without good. Through the characters, Holmes and Burnham, Larson is able to relate the decline and progression of society in the late 19th century. He utilizes prismatic diction to paint an image in the reader’s mind and give us a better feel for the characters personality. Here is an example of what I was talking about, this is how Burnham viewed the ship the R.M.S. Olympic, “ ... he admired the artistry in the iron scrollwork of the balustrades and the immense dome of iron and glass that flushed the ship's core with natural light" (4).  His word choice in this thought clearly shows Burnham's appreciation for architecture and it gives us an idea about his role in the novel, that of a well-educated architecture connoisseur. Larson continues to utilize this character specific diction throughout the book accompanied by direct quotes to engross us in his story. His descriptions and quotes make it possible for us to completely understand each character as if we had grown up with them.

Larson also successfully utilizes direct and complex sentences to enhance his imagery and create an apprehensive tone that shadows over the entire novel. He is able to foreshadow these events through his detailed descriptions. “He entered a world of clamor, smoke, and steam, refulgent with the scents of murdered cattle and pigs. He found it to his liking” (12). The first sentence describes the setting while the second direct sentence places one idea in our minds, he likes murder. From this thought we are able to come to the conclusion that Holmes will at some point in the novel kill because it brings him pleasure. This foreboding tone is present throughout the entire novel and gives us a premonition about what events are about to unfold.

Rating System: 1-5 (Evil to Great)

1: Moriarty

2: Lord Blackwood

3: Adler

4: Watson

5: Sherlcok

I give this book a Watson because it was able to represent historical information accurately in an unorthodox manner and it threw the reader into the shoes of the characters. It was written in a sophisticated manner and allowed the audience to connect to each character through given personal details and opinions.