American Literature and Composition4 September 2012

The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end,

the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion.

~Henry Steele Commager

Did you learn/discover anything new as you re-read this section of

the book?

BURN THE BOOKSMake history what we want it to be

RE-DEFINE, RE-MODEL, RE-FORM

“Established, 1790, t0 burn English-influenced books in the Colonies. First fireman: Benjamin Franklin.

Not long ago, American schoolchildren learned a quaint tale in history class about the nation's first president. It had to do with a precocious George Washington cutting down a cherry tree against his parents' wishes. When confronted by his angry father, Washington had to decide whether to lie and avoid punishment or own up to the offense. As the tale goes, young Washington replied that he couldn't tell a lie and confessed to axing the tree.

Revise and Rewrite

Good use

• Correct factual inaccuracies

• Adjust dates based on research

• Offer an additional point of view (without diminishing the actual facts of the history.

Not so good

• Falsify events• Falsify rationale for

event• Change history for

political purposes• Change history for

a particular agenda

Lenses of Revisionism

• Economic– Writing history to promote

one system over another (e.g. capitalism v communism)

• Political– Writing history in order to

affect perceptions of foreign policy, political structure, and nationalism.

• Racial– Writing history to

promote one ethnic group over another

• Sexual– Writing history to

include or promote a particular gender

When done for the right reasons, revising history can offer a clearer picture of past events. However, it is easy to abuse the process and create a “history” that is more fiction than fact.

Life blur

Ray Bradbury would probably not be surprised at the speed of 2012. Drivers on cell phones speed past pedestrians who have the right of way-and then curse the walkers. Family sit down dinners are more often than not purchased at a drive through window and eaten in the car. Advertisements rely on size and titillation to capture attention. Amusement parks seek to draw in visitors by promising greater thrills, faster rides, and more terrifying drops. Eight teenagers die every day from motor vehicle injuries.

And around the US, bookstores close.

Consider the lilies of the field

• Who is Faber and what is his role in Montag’s life (and the book)?

Consider the lilies of the field

• Who is Faber and what is his role in Montag’s life (and the book)?

• “I don’t talk things, sir…I talk the meaning of things….” (75) What does he mean?

Consider the lilies of the field

• Who is Faber and what is his role in Montag’s life (and the book)?

• “I don’t talk things, sir…I talk the meaning of things….” (75) What does he mean?

• “Be still and know that I am God”

Psalm 46:10

How does this relate to the speed of society

and Faber’s talking the meaning of things?

Can you focus?pp 78-80

New Direction

The Definition Paper

Your essay will be a definition paper

• Cite different meanings of X– Clarify uses

• Contrast X with what it is not• Trace the history of X

– Origin– Etymology– Context

• Restore the original meaning of X• Formal meaning of X

– Term,– Class– purpose

• Compose a new definition of X– Establish need– Explain new purpose

• Explain a social definition of X– New uses for old words (sick, phat…)

• Combine any of the previous

The prompt will come next time.

In the meantime,

WRITE THIS DOWN!!!

Homework•Re-read “The Sieve and the Sand”•Research how to write a definition

paper and compile a list of questions.