What makes a person American? How does your journey to America shape your cultural identity? How do our own stories shape who we are?

I believe what makes a person American is American citizenship.  You can not be considered American if you are not legally a citizen of America.  I believe that immigrants should be able to become Americans by gaining their citizenship.  Your journey to America can shape your identity because immigrants will most likely become accustomed to American traditions and their cultural identity will change, but not completely.  Immigrants will always keep some of their cultural identity from where they came from.  Our stories can shape who we are because they give us stories to tell and they can also make us understand what others are going through and that we are in a good situation and have a lot to be thankful for because we are citizens of America.

Dylan Esbenshade

Mrs. Soper

English 11 Honors

21 October 2019

Independent Novel Project

Fahrenheit 451

Montag’s Diary

Entry 1

My name is Guy Montag and I am a firefighter.  As I was walking home from work today, I met a girl named Clarisse.  She asked to walk home with me.  Then she told me she was not afraid of me at all.  I was very confused, and I asked her what reason she would have to be afraid of me.  She replied by saying that so many people are afraid of firemen, but that I was just a man.  Then she continued asking me questions about my job.  She asked if I ever read any of the books I burnt, but of course I said no.  She said that she heard a rumor that firemen used to put out fires when houses accidentally caught on fire.  I told her that is false and to take my word for it.

Before she went into her house, Clarisse said to me, “Are you happy?” and then she was gone.  Today was a very odd day.  I am so used to just going to work in the morning, doing my job all day, and returning home late at night.  That is what my life has been like for years, but now this girl is questioning my lifestyle.  When she asked if I was happy, at first I thought it was a silly question, but now I’m starting to think maybe I’m not happy.  There is nothing exciting in my life, just the same thing all day every day.  I’m even starting to question to myself what the point of burning all these books is, but I will try to keep it to myself and continue my life as a fireman.

Entry 2

Since I last wrote, I found out that Clarisse died.  My wife Mildred said that she was run over by a car, which is very unfortunate if it is true.  I started stealing books that I’m supposed to burn and hiding them in my house.  I know it’s against the law, but I still don’t understand what is so bad about books.  I finally told my wife about it and she became very angry at me.  She said she was worried Captain Beatty, the head fireman, would find out and burn our house.  Later when I was alone, I remembered meeting a man named Faber in the park a year ago.  He seemed like he was trying to hide something in his coat, and he seemed afraid of me, but once we began conversation, he said that he was a retired English professor.  We talked for a while and before I left, he wrote his address on a slip of paper and gave it to me.

I decided to call Faber.  He answered and I asked him how many copies of the Bible are left in the country.  He said he thought it was a trap and he couldn’t talk to just anyone on the phone.  He ended up hanging up, but later I went to his house.  When I swore that I was alone, he finally let me in.  I showed him the Bible that I had stolen, and he said he hadn’t seen one in a long time.  Together we came up with a plan to print extra books and plant them in firemen’s houses all over the country.  He then gave me a small green-metal object that he had created.  He told me to put it in my ear so I could listen to him while he stayed safe in his house and so we communicate to each other.  And so the adventure begins.

Entry 3

A lot has happened since I last wrote.  Faber and I began to carry out our plan.  Captain Beatty found out and tried to stop us.  He stole my earpiece that Faber gave me, so I could no longer ask Faber what to do.  Beatty threatened to trace it back to Faber and find him, but I could not let Faber be in danger.  I never though I would kill someone, but I had to in order to save myself and Faber and to finish carrying out our plan.  I shot Captain Beatty with a flamethrower and killed him.  I closed my eyes and shouted because it was such a horrific scene, but afterwards I didn’t have much time to think about it before I saw the hound.

I was wanted by the fire department.  They had sent their Mechanical Hound after me to kill me.  I managed to shoot the hound with a single bloom of fire, but it still managed to push me back ten feet against a tree and stab a needle into my leg before it exploded from the fire.  My leg became numb, but I knew I would only be safe for a short while and I had to get out of the city.  I eventually found my way to Faber’s house.  I knew I would have to leave.  We talked for a little bit while watching his television.  I was wanted and the whole city was being told to look for me.  I had to find a way out of the city without anybody seeing me.  I didn’t know if I would be able to do it, but it was my only hope.  I eventually found a river and just before I was caught, and I jumped into the river and floated out of the city.  I didn’t know what would happen next, but I was grateful that I was safe for the time being and I could finally relax a little bit.

What should the relationship be between the individual and society in America?

I believe that the individual and society in America should be very closely related.  I believe that a good society can not exist without individual beliefs and opinions.  Individuals have to work together to form a good society.  Society in America is made largely of individual ideas and opinions working together.  I agree with the relationship between the individual and society in America.  It is okay for individuals to have their own beliefs and people also don’t need to always conform to society, so, in conclusion, I think society and the individual should remain closely related in America and one should not be more present than the other.

Rudy Giuliani comparing impeachment to the Salem witch trials is a little right and a lot wrong, expert says

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/10/09/rudy-giuliani-comparing-impeachment-salem-witch-trials-is-little-right-lot-wrong-expert-says/

The article starts off by saying that when Giles Corey was accused of witchcraft, he knew he didn’t stand a chance at trial.  Then it says that Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani said the Salem Witch Trial were fairer than the case for Trump to be impeached.  He said that “even Salem witch trials didn’t use anonymous testimony.”  He continued to say, “The accused had to be confronted by a witness willing to put their name and reputation behind the charges and then had to be available for cross examination.”  Giuliani also said in an interview that the witches “had more rights.”  The author of the article says Giuliani’s comparison to the Salem witch trials is inaccurate because the impeachment inquiry is not a trial.  The author goes on to explain everything else that is wrong with this comparison.

I agree with the author because I believe that the comparison is inaccurate.

Why are the witch trials still being mentioned today?

Why did Giuliani choose to use the witch trials to defend Trump?

What makes an American hero? Are heroes important to society?

There have been many heroes in the history of the United States of America.  I believe that an American hero is somebody who did something to change America in a good way.  Some examples of American heroes are people serving in the military and people who helped to fight racial injustice.  I believe that heroes are very important to American society because they make America a better place to live.  Many people have helped to make America a better place to live and are therefore American heroes, such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., and many more.  There are also American heroes today and there will be more in the future who will continue to make America a better place.

The book I am reading for the independent novel project is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  I have almost read the whole book and I think it is a good book so far.  At the beginning, it was kind of slow, but now there is a lot of action.  It is about a guy named Guy Montag who is a fireman, but the book takes place in the future when firemen burn houses with books in them instead of putting out fires.  In the book, Montag starts to question what is so bad about books and he rebels against authority.  The plot is good and there are many unexpected twists.  It is a fun book to read and it is not that long, so you should read it. The end.

Who should make the important decisions that affect an entire society in America? How should we choose and follow those people?

I believe that the government as a whole should work together to make decisions that affect America.  I agree with the current system that America uses to pass laws.  I agree because there are three branches and there is not one branch that has too much power.  There are checks and balances set in place so that all laws that are passed are agreed on for the most part and so no unconstitutional laws are put in place.

I also agree with how the government elects people to make decisions.  I think that the people making the decisions should be chosen by the citizens of America.  I like how America allows people to vote on who gets put into authority.

I believe that citizens of America should follow the laws that these people put in place because all laws put in place in America are constitutional and we have many rights in America.  As you can see, I believe that the government as a whole should make the important decisions that affect an entire society in America, that these people should be chosen by the citizens of America, and that we should follow the laws the government puts in place.

Article: U.S. government wants to screen immigrants’ social media before granting citizenship

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article235022202.html

The article states that immigrants who are applying for certain benefits could soon have to give links to their social media activity as part of the application process.  They U.S. government wants to be able to review information immigrants have posted on social media over the past five years when they apply for nine types of benefits including “changes on permanent residence through marriage”.  If this is approved, questions about social networks will be added to several forms used to apply for U.S. residence.

My opinion is that they should not be asking to access immigrants’ information about their social life because it is not really important.

Why does the government need information about immigrants’ social life?

What is the probability that this will be approved?

Write a POST:

“When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble. So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts.”

Title: Uprising

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Genre: Historical Fiction

Star Rating: 5/5 stars *****

Book report by: Dylan

Main Characters:

Bella – A poor teenage girl who works at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory to send money back to her family so they can survive.

Yetta – A teenage girl who works at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York so she can earn money so her whole family can come to New York.

Jane – A rich teenage girl who runs away from home and works as Max Blanck’s family’s mistress to earn money.

Plot:

Bella is a poor teenage girl who moved to New York to work at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory so she could send the money back to her poor family.  Yetta is a teenage girl who moved to New York to work at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory so she can use the money to send her family over to New York, too.  Jane is a rich teenage girl until she runs away from home because of some things that her dad has done (you’ll have to read the book to find out what they are) that she found out about.  Jane meets Bella and Yetta who encourage her to get a job so she works as Max Blanck’s (one of the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory) mistress.  Then, on one “normal” day at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a spark ignites some cloth and a huge fire starts on the 8th floor and rises to the 9th and 10th floor.  You’ll have to read the book to find out if each girl survives!

My Opinion:

This book deserves 5 out of 5 stars because it includes a lot of irony and you can’t stop reading it because there are many questions that you will have that will eventually be answered sometime, lots of them near the end.