The Hearth and the Salamander Really Isn't A Good Title

I’ve been putting this off way too long. I actually finished part one, “The Hearth and the Salamander” about a week ago, and… I failed. Here’s my uh, reaction I guess?

So I'm a third done of the novel so far. Some of my most pressing questions have been answered (Why do they burn books, more on that later) and the story is starting to come into itself. I'm not going to say I like it just yet, but it's growing on me. Not the most exciting read by a long shot, but it definitely gives the reader something to... ponder.

Can I just say how awesome Clarisse McClellan is? She should be the definition of a foil character. She makes everything else seem dim and pale in comparison to her inner strength, creativity, imagination and beauty. She reminds me a bit of Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter - considered "oddballs" and looked down upon for their unconventional thoughts and behavior - and Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie - always speaking up and getting into mischief. If she is as dead as Mildred claims she is, I will definitely be disappointed. As it is, I feel there is something fishy about her "death" and am holding out hope that she'll pop in announcing that she visited her great-grandmother or something.

Moving onto more important matters: the future. I don't like it. If what Ray Bradbury is suggesting actually comes true, I know I will definitely be one of those kids who ends up dead from all the fighting that teenagers apparently do. I'm weird enough as it is, and like Clarisse, I'd probably have a big "X" over my forehead before long. Hey, it's not my fault I like to daydream. It's their fault for not wanting to join me.

Moving on to even more important matters: why they burn books. I can't say I'm surprised with their logic; it even makes sense in some situations. You see in everywhere: People in charge don't want an uprising/rebellion, so they take away the tools necessary for one and create a false world where everything seems perfect so they (common folks) don't have a need for questioning authority. I'm not saying it's right, but I do believe that the people who run Montag's world originally started the book burning to try to make their people happy. Knowledge is said to be power, and sometimes certain people are better off without power. There is a reason that we, as a people, don't know state and government secrets. It lets us lead our lives without worrying about them. But to take away all knowledge (power) is like a slap to our intelligence. We can't be trusted with information, so we get nothing at all. It's no wonder the people who populate Montag's world are brainless bobble-heads.

Random thoughts whilst reading:

- Mildred is a boring character. I hope she does something redeeming or leaves/dies. So far, she's added nothing to the plot besides try and kill herself.

- Billboards are 200 feet long?!? Cool.

- Significance of the Hound please? I still don't know entirely what's going on with that... thing.

- If books are forbidden, how do people read? Why teach them to read if they aren't allowed books? So they can know when it's a red light? What fancy new product to buy? Something just isn't adding up here.

- Why is everyone so clueless? I mean, I know times have changed, but you'd think there would be more people like Clarisse. And more people who notice normal, everyday things like dew on the grass or the moon's shadows and whatnot. It's not exactly rocket science, people.

- Why does Ray Bradbury use so many oxymorons? (ie, "The Mechanical Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live..." [page 24]). It's. So. Confusing.

- I liked the Benjamin Franklin = First Fireman reference. Ironically (and that's what I assume the author was going for), Mr. Franklin encouraged they start a fire-fighting club in Philadelphia like they had in Boston. To prevent fires, not start them. But then again, you knew that right?

- I knew there was something weird about that air conditioner! It didn't make sense for Guy to rant and go on about it if it was just an ordinary one. But full of illicit books? Not what I had in mind. I applaud him for his courage, or actually, his naivete. He's not exactly heroic, is he? He takes books even though he knows it's wrong (according to society and the law), but he doesn't do anything with them. So, he's not courageous. He's more like a child who can't help himself. He wants to read, he wants to know what's inside the covers of the forbidden books, but he's too scared to. I'm glad he's finally doing something about that fear.

- Guy Montag is going to start a rebellion. I can feel it.

Pages I've bookmarked whilst reading:

- Page 44: "And he remembered thinking then that if she died, he was certain he wouldn't cry. For it would be the dying of an unknown, a street face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong that he had begun to cry, not at death but at the thought of not crying at death..."

- Page 58: "We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against."

Things I plan on keeping in mind when reading part two:

- Please tell me they go through with reading the books. If they don't, that will be a major letdown.

- I wonder if they'll read anything real (ie, something we know. Like a classic.) or if Ray Bradbury will make a bunch of books up. I'm leaning on the first.

- Is Mildred going to stay? Or is she jumping out of there the first chance she gets? And if she leaves... will she tell?

I've read futuristic novels before. And none of them end well.