My Very Awkward Formula

Q:Why is it that the government can use the walls so effectively?

T:Everyone in the city of F.451 that we've come across when studying the book that actively watches the walls seems to think the same thoughts, do the same things, and seem to not even question the information given from the walls.

SQ: As humans we all have different personalities, thoughts, and insights.

Claim: The government can use the walls so effectively because they have become the only access of knowledge and is a common use of entertainment to citizens now that literature is banned

Exploratory Draft

Proposal: Whoever the higher authority is of the society in F.451 destroys books and makes television the only source of knowledge. Therefor the society believes what the authority wants people to.

Automatically I stare at my proposal and I wonder where I went wrong with such a wackjob topic. I do have somewhat multiple forms of evidence to support it but they’re not nearly as strong as I want them to be. Considering that nowhere in the book do they even mention someone with political power such as presidents or mayors. But the only thing I do feel that I have is that not only are people dedicated to the walls but they also believe whatever is heard from it. But I feel that my only source of evidence for this topic is through Mildred considering the book gives most details about the numbness of the walls through her.

What I know about the authority of the society of F.451

• It isn’t directly defined
• Mildred and her friends place their support based on the looks of the candidates
• Page(34) the book claims that the firemen were established in 1790 by Benjamin Franklin

I’m panicking. I understand that the point of this is to be able to work around our problems like Mr. Kiley did whith his topic but I can’t find any loopholes in mine. Maybe because it’s too narrow but that’s the point of a proposal. I also don’t think it’s alright to change my topic because the entire point of this assignment is to power through this. Iv’e hit the wall, very hard.

Ideas That I’ve had:

• The point of burning books is to create an equal minded society that all thought the same there for there would be no superiority over anybody. But with the burning of books come those that refuse and will continue to read until their death( the woman in her library w/ her books). In that case not everyone is equal minded and defeats the purpose making the society do what it can to make sure that everyone is. This connects to Clarisse’s death, Fabre’s Fears, Montag’s secret, and Beatty’s deathwish.
• If the society manages to believe that Montag is dead despite the many holes in their evidence that he is, the society must have full trust and belief into what they watch. Basically whoever runs what’s on the walls control what the minds of people think.
• Like Mildred people must see the walls not only as projections but actual live people that they consider family that they feel they must watch which is of course hidden behind such a shady government.

But why is the government so shady? Throughout the entire book we hear barely about them. Even with the war it would seem as if the views of the government would seem significant but it isn’t. Perhaps the government isn’t really a government at all just people who hide behind the walls? For example:

• They would rather lie to the people than admit that they have no clue where Montag is
• Their congressmen are all voted upon their appearance instead of their morales and views.
• They make sure that the walls are needed by burning books and other forms of writing.

Even with the insights I’m making now I still cannot claim anything because they are all hypothetical. I’d like to give up this topic but then I would just feel that I’ve failed the task.

Facts:

• Almost everything that seems educational (school, philosophies, grammer, languages, etc.) one all forms of literature begin to fade.
• Firemen arrest those who have books on strict orders and at some moments actually burn the person without any treason whatsoever.
• Police seem to only worry about  books instead of speeding teenagers

Examples on how the walls have control over people:

• The walls manage to get people on a manhunt simultaneously
• According to Clarisse and Mildred it is the only thing people worry or talk about
• The walls even use the name of the user for “attraction”
• The goals of people (according to the behavior of Mildred) is to get all four walls
• Despite it’s intensity people have no idea about the war and seem to still be arrogant of until the demise of the city where it seems that everyone has died. Why didn’t the walls warn the people about this? Is this something they didn’t want people knowing about?

Maybe I do have something here but I cannot see it. Maybe it’s not the society I have to worry about but the walls themselves. Maybe if I alter my topic to a much broader subject I’ll be able to recieve much better evidence which was my downfall in the Malcolm X asighnment.

Weekly Reflection

   This week in class we finally began to look into F.451 deeper that I expected to. It's as if every choice the author made in his book is for a purpose. From word choice, and the length of sentences, to descriptions and details we managed to find what seemed to me like secret pieces of information through what was described as close reading. At some point it confuses me because I'm not sure what to assume from the smallest details that Ray Bradbury provides. It's as if everything that he states in the book has a secret symbolic meaning to it. For example, when reading the description Bradbury gave for the hound it seemed to me that he simply managed to capture the terror behind it as well as the fear Montag has for it. But after close reading it we realized that Bradbury used the precise wording that he used to make the hound symbolize Montag. It's something I feel I would have never picked up on no matter how many times I were to read that section. From this week's classes I now feel like I understand the importance of close reading and the purposes it has specifically in F.451 but yet I fear of making conclusions from close reading  because they don't always seem "affirmative." I'm excited to see what we will continue to do with F.451 and the little bits of information Bradbury leaves between the lines.

Klosterman Tree Map

THE INTRODUCTIONS OF ALL INTRODUCTIONS OF ALL INTRODUCTIONS RELATED TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X AS TOLD TO ALEX HALEY(not rly) by gabriel hudson

   
    The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley is the story of  Malcolm's continuously changing life from a young boy to a full grown man. One major changing point in his life is told in the seventeenth chapter titled: Mecca. In this chapter Malcolm receives money from his half-sister, Ella, to make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca which Malcolm states is mandatory for every Muslim. In Mecca, Malcolm eats, sleeps, and prays among st fellow Muslims of different cultures, and races in what he describes as "a spirit of unity and brotherhood..." From this experience Malcolm reaches the conclusion that it's not the white man who are the problem with American society but it is racism that plagues America like an "incurable cancer," and that Islam is the solution.
  When you change your perspectives on something due to a strong, impacting life experience that made you see the world in a new way, you usually don't transition back to your old one which one would expect from Malcolm who had underwent such a huge transformation at Mecca. He even changes his name to El-Hajj El-Shabazz to represent that. During his trip at Mecca, Malcolm accepts a new insight about the white man when he receives kindness from a man of Islam named Dr. Azzam whom Malcolm states,"... would've been considered 'white' in America." From this incident Malcolm understands that it isn't the white man who are the problem with American society but racism itself. His new goal after Mecca is the integration in America through Islam just like how it was in Mecca. Through Mecca Malcolm, has finally accepted the white man and now strives for goal of integration in America.

      But yet ,despite discovering new outlooks such as the problem of racism in American society, and goals of integration in America from Mecca, Malcolm seems to have returned back to his old perspective. Malcolm later states on page 40, within the chapter "Mascot",“I've often thought that if Mr. Ostrowski had encouraged me to become a lawyer, I would today probably be among some city's professional black bourgeoisie, sipping cocktails and palming myself off as a community spokesman for and leader of the suffering black masses, while my primary concern would be to grab a few more crumbs from the groaning board of the two-faced whites with whom they're begging to ‘integrate.'" Within the quote Malcolm seems to criticize the thought of integration despite his support for it in Mecca where he seemed to have desired the same integration. Malcolm presents the idea in this quote that efforts for integration are the attempts of the black bourgeoisie to receive prestige, money and favors ("crumbs") from what he describes as, "the two-faced whites," which is completely opposite from his new outlook that he claims to have undergone in Mecca. Not only that but he still refers to whites as "two-faced" when that is the exact opposite of the treatment he received from Dr. Azzam who Malcolm himself says would've been considered white in America. It's as if Malcolm's new outlook never happened, as if he never went to Mecca or have met the variety of races that he did. The point is that Malcolm claims to have changed since Mecca but continues to make derogatory statements about the white population as well as completely forget his goal of integration in America. The sudden change seems way too contradictory... almost two-faced.

    If Malcolm had changed his mindset on the white population and had desired the integration of races in America after Mecca, what had made Malcolm return to his old perspectives? One way to think about it is that possibly Malcolm never really wanted integration or had realized that it wasn't the whites who were wrong with American society. But even I'm not satisfied with that answer.

The Introduction of all Introductions relating to the Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley

     At a first glance, it may seem like Malcolm is a completely changed man after taking his journey to Mecca. He even changes his name to El-Hajj El-Shabazz to represent that. During his trip at Mecca, Malcolm accepts a new insight about the white man when he receives kindness from a man of Islam named Dr. Azzam whom Malcolm states,"... would've been considered 'white' in America." From this incident Malcolm understands that it isn't the white man who are the problem with American society but racism itself. His new goal after Mecca is the integration in America through Islam just like how it was in Mecca. Through Mecca Malcolm, has finally accepted the white man and has changed his negative thoughts about them, or has he?

      When you change your perspectives on something, the way Malcolm claimed he did, you're not supposed to refer to it in a negative connotation, which is exactly what Malcolm does. On page 40, within the chapter "Mascot", present- day Malcolm (the one who had the interview with Alex Haley) states,“I've often thought that if Mr. Ostrowski had encouraged me to become a lawyer, I would today probably be among some city's professional black bourgeoisie, sipping cocktails and palming myself off as a community spokesman for and leader of the suffering black masses, while my primary concern would be to grab a few more crumbs from the groaning board of the two-faced whites with whom they're begging to ‘integrate,'" which seems odd from a man who has changed his view on the white man. Within the statement is the idea that whites as a race are two-faced when that is the exact opposite of the treatment he received from Dr. Azzam who Malcolm himself says would've been considered white in America. If I were to ask someone who has read the book if this quote was made before or after Malcolm's trip to Mecca they would most likely say before, and would be surprised to find out that it was made after especially because of its placement in the book. The point is that Malcolm claims to have changed since Mecca but continues to make derogatory statements about the white population. It seems way too contradictory almost two-faced.

         If Malcolm is a changed man but still refers to whites as two-faced then how has Malcolm changed if he really did? One way to think about it is that possibly when Malcolm says he changed he wasn't referencing to his new insight but his new found religion. But even if, it would still contradict with the whole-hearted kindness that he was so moved by from Dr.Azzam. 

Not Really My Inroduction

In the chapter Mecca in the "Autobiography of Malcolm X", Malcolm receives a new outlook on the white man as well as the evil of racism. Many people think he accepts them as human beings instead of what he would consider as the devil as well and another victim of racism. And yet we fail to look back within the book notice the large detail that would disagree with this claim. On page 40 Malcolm states,"...while my primary concern would be to grab a few crumbs from the groaning board of the two-faced whites with whom they're begging to 'integrate,'" which seems odd from a man who has suddenly changed his views on the white man. If Malcolm is a changed man but still refers to whites as two-faced then how has Malcolm changed if he really did? One way to think about Malcolm's change of mind towards whites is to consider that he still has a deep hatred to other whites that happened to not be Muslim.

Reflections on my peers and I Exploratory Drafts

Vanessa Gawelko
1) Claim: Important events in Malcolm's life changed his perspectives of the white man.
2)Question: What made Malcolm change his perspective of the white man?
3)Trouble: Later on in the book, after Mecca, Malcolm believes that it wasn't the white man who were the problem but it was the racial barriers in America.
4)Status Quo: Malcolm has gone through a life filled with unfair treatment and nonacceptance from the white man and strongly believed that the white man was the devil.
5)Fine Tune It: If Malcolm has gone through a life filled with unfair treatment and nonacceptance from the white man and strongly believed that the white man was the devil, but later on in the book believes that it wasn't the white man who were the problem but it was the racial barriers in America, then what events in Malcolm's life changed his perspective of the white man.

Heaven Torres
1)Claim: The corruption of Elijah Muhammad must of had some sort of effect on Malcolm because of the adoration Malcolm had for him.
2)Question:Does Elijah Muhammad's corruption have an effect on Malcolm?
3)Trouble: Malcolm seems more confused than desperate despite loosing his new insight as well as his role model.
4)Status Quo: When something is cut from its life source or hope it becomes a wreck.
5)Fine Tune It: When something is cut from its source of hope it becomes a complete wreck, and yet Malcolm seems more confused than desperate despite loosing his new insight as well as his role model, then did Elijah Muhammad's corruption have an effect on Malcolm?

Gabriel Hudson
1)Claim: Malcolm seems to have kept his opinion about white people despite his trip to Mecca.
2)Question: Has Malcolm changed his opinion about white people after going to Mecca?
3)Trouble: Malcolm makes the quote "...while my primary concern would be to grab a few more crumbs from the groaning board of the two-faced whites whom they're begging to integrate," in a (breaking of the fourth wall...?) which would be after his trip to Mecca.
4)Status Quo: Malcolm seems to have changed his opinion about the white man during Mecca.
5)Fine Tune It: If Malcom seems to have changed his opinion about the white man during Mecca, but then makes the quote,"...while my primary concern would be to grab a few more crumbs from the groaning board of the two-faced whites whom they're begging to integrate," after Mecca, then has Malcolm really changed his view of the white man?

Exploratory Draft

Proposal: I am interested in writing about the reasoning behind Malcolm's quote on page 40 where he states,"...while my primary concern would be to grab a few crumbs from the groaning board of the two-faced whites with whom they're begging to 'integrate,'" because I want to discover why he calls whites two-faced despite undergoing his transformation in Mecca. This is important because it may hold the answer to the question:"Did Malcolm really change?" One way to consider this is that possibly he wasn't referring to all whites but only the ones in power.

This is a possibility to consider because within the quote he states,” the groaning board of the two-faced whites,” instead of blatantly saying whites are two faced. Then again within the statement are the words “... the two-faced whites” which would refer to the race as a whole. Lets first rewind a bit. Malcolm receives his new outlook on whites when he receives kindness from a man of Islam named Dr.Azzam whom Malcolm says, “ ...would’ve been considered ‘white’ in America…” So in the context of Malcolm’s quote about whites being two-faced would Dr.Azzam be considered white, Muslim or both to Malcolm? I would assume a fellow Muslim considering how Malcolm is so humbled by the man’s kindness towards him. But yet Malcolm reappraises the white man from Dr.Azzam’s kind actions, so in that case he’s considered a white man… a “two-faced white man?” We wouldn’t really know because Malcolm only states that he would’ve been considered white in America, but what does Malcolm consider him?

At the end of his trip Malcolm reaches a new view of racism as a disease only to be cured by no other religion but Islam. Apparently Malcolm’s new goal after Mecca is integration. Allow me to break down the entirety of the quote:  Whatever I have done since then, I have driven myself to become a success at it. “I've often thought that if Mr. Ostrowski had encouraged me to become a lawyer, I would today probably be among some city's professional black bourgeoisie, sipping cocktails and palming myself off as a community spokesman for and leader of the suffering black masses, while my primary concern would be to grab a few more crumbs from the groaning board of the two-faced whites with whom they're begging to ‘integrate.’" Wasn’t Malcolm amongst the black bourgeoisie in Boston? Those who did their best to copy white culture that he deeply hated (but yet got a conk…). Further into the future Malcolm practically became a community spokesperson for the suffering black masses and certainly had a huge influence. And now suddenly he wants integration like he experienced in Mecca. Malcolm basically became what he states he isn't in this quote. Malcolm also states within the chapter “Mecca” that present day racism is due to the past 400 years of cruelty and violence towards blacks. Then again he states that whites are two-faced. Malcolm was just as racist as white people were. He wants integration, but yet is still making racist comments. Perhaps it’s just me but this seems a bit hypocritical… almost two-faced.

So has Malcolm changed? He has done so constantly throughout his life but has he this time? If anything he’s officially Muslim but his mindset on whites seems to not have changed, and yet his view on racism has. If anything he probably gave them some “credit” but not much else. Could Malcolm have changed somewhat in the future? Possibly but not likely. But looking from Malcolm's point of view, how difficult must it be to suddenly love a race that has done so much in your life. I look at it as if one person were to have killed my father, drive my mother to the point of hysteria, and look down upon me as if I was dirt, how accepting would I be of that person if I were to learn that it’s not their fault but the horror of the past. I would consider that person the devil, one that all he does is evil. And for Malcolm to find a religion that completely corresponds with the happenings of his past where else would he have gone. Though I do not agree with or completely understand Malcolm’s thoughts and actions, I can almost, sorta see where he’s coming from. Almost.

My Proposal...

                 I am interested in writing about the reasoning behind Malcolm's quote on page 40 where he states,"..while my primary concern would be to grab a few crumbs from the groaning board of the two-faced whites with whom they're begging to 'integrate,'" because I want to discover why he calls whites two-faced despite undergoing his transformation in Mecca. This is important because it may hold the answer to the question "Did Malcolm really change?" One way to consider this is that possibly he wasn't referring to all whites but only the ones in power.

              I am interested in writing about the reason why the "Owstrowski moment" made Malcolm realize racism in the world and not the moment with the Swerlins where they speak horribly of "Negroes" in front of Malcolm because I want to discover what made the Owstrowski moment have such an impact on Malcolm instead of the previous moment with the Swerlins where they speak negatively about "Negroes" in front of Malcolm. This is important because this moment is what changed Malcolm and his view of the world. One way to consider this is that he considered the Swerlins his family so he wouldn't take it as personal than if his mentor said it.

Intro to Mecca

       In the chapter Mecca Malcolm receives a new outlook on the white man as well as the evil of racism in America. He receives this outlook when a man named Dr.Abd-Al-Rahman Azzam, whom Malcolm states would've been considered white in America, treats him with hospitality and kindness knowing that Malcolm has nothing to give back. From this experience he realizes that all this time he's been a "racist" and an "anti-white" and "reappraises" the "white man." He also realizes that the problem with racism is not the "white man" but racism itself and believes that the cure for this evil is Islam. From seeing a rainbow of races and cultures united under one god, Malcolm figures that the same god can reunite white people and African Americans.
       And yet in the second to last paragraph of the chapter Mascot, Malcolm states,"...I would today probably be among some city's professional black bourgeoisie, sipping cocktails and palming myself off as a community spokesman for and leader of the suffering black masses, while my primary concern would be to grab a few more crumbs from the groaning board of the two-faced whites with whom they're begging to 'integrate'", and yet he walked among st what could have been considered as "black bourgeoisie" in Boston, has the influence and popularity of a community spokesman, not to mention breaking the fourth wall in this statement meaning it was made possibly while writing this book with Alex Haley which is after his visit to Mecca and is still calling white people two faced after his apparent change of mind, and lastly is wishing for integration. Why did he make this statement after his change of mind in Mecca? Could it possibly be that perhaps another incident more impacting than the one with Dr. Azzam occurred which might have changed his view of the white man back?  

SAVED

I find it funny that despite being a power point in school and creating a name for himself in his community as well as his job, it was when Malcolm went to jail where he finally declared himself truly educated. Malcolm is a man of which I don't understand or cannot place logic behind the events that he goes through and how he responds to them. Your father dies, your mother goes into hysteria, your'e sent into a detention home, then to reform school and you become one of the smartest among your classmates. Then he moves to Boston, which is a mainly black community, and gets a conk to get the hair of a white man. Gets a job, lives a decent life with his step sister, but decides to become a hustler. So now he is imprisoned and this is where he decides to be educated? Perhaps it's just me but why is he such a conflicting person? How is it that all of these events happen through his life and its in prison where he finds religion and education instead of degrading him even further than before? You would expect someone who goes to jail to be dumb, traumatic, and lost when he leaves. But yet Malcolm leaves jail a better man than when he went. What is it about Malcolm that allows him to persevere through desperate times in his life, make bad decisions, but yet benefit from them?

Weekly Reflection 9/21/14

Gabriel Hudson

    No introduction, lets just get into it.
When reading this book one thing that stuck out to me was when Malcolm explains his short and unsuccessful boxing career. Not the fact that he got beaten so badly twice but the fact that every "negro" in the neighborhood knew about it. Initially I thought that this is due to them having a united community but it has changed to: Does this mean they have a united community? Possibly. It could mean that everyone knew Malcolm. Or that they knew him as " that boy over there that got beat." This could mean that everyone knows each other one way or another. Perhaps they know Malcolm as Philbert's brother because of his reputation of being a natural boxer. Was it the same way the other way around? Did everyone in the"white boy's" community know that he beat a "negro?" Did he walk through his community with his head high while Malcolm hid his? Perhaps no body knew or cared? Would that make the black community more united than the white?
    Another part of the text that stuck out to me was when Malcolm had to stay with the Swerlins in the detention home. Specifically the part where he remembers fondly of when the Swerlins would have conversations about negros right in front of Malcolm. How did he not realize the relationship between whites and African Americans right then and there? How is that possible? The Swerlins even stated, "I just can't see how ni**ers can be so happy and be so poor." At that moment how do you not even feel slightly offended at how they talk about your race as if their animals and to make it worse right in front of you? At least Malcolm did eventually realize that the Swerlins looked at Malcolm as a pet but this moment right here should have been the turning point. What was the difference between the moment with Mr.Ostrowski and the moment with the Swerlins that made Mr.Ostrowski's statement eye-opening but not the Swerlins'?...