Fire is one of the many symbols represented in Fahrenheit 451. Fire can be observed as both renewal and destruction. The biggest reference to fire is at the end of the novel when Granger explains to Montag the meaning and existence of the Phoenix. Granger explains that every few hundred years, a Phoenix will appear and burn himself to ashes. The Phoenix would then spring out from the ashes to be born again. Granger compares this reference to mankind and how it destroys himself, only to be rebuilt. The Phoenix is a symbol of renewal.…
Josh Renville, an 18 year old student attending Fargo North High School has petitioned against the school in question for violating his first amendment right to freedom of speech. The school prohibited Renville from using a photograph in which he his holding his favorite rifle for his senior portrait in the yearbook. Renville claims that by prohibiting the photograph, the school is infringing on his rights to freedom of symbolic speech. Despite Renville’s claims, the actions taken by the administrators at Fargo North High were completely constitutional. Fargo North was acting well within their constitutional limits to promote the ideals of public education, to properly monitor any media that would have been associated with the school, and to limit any action that inherently interfered with the school’s disciplinary…
In the novel, Forgotten Fire, written by Adam Bagdasarian, the main culture presented to the reader is the oppressive Turkish culture. The idea of this culture being dominant can be identified through the distinctly negative behavior towards Armenians.…
In his article "Douse the Online Flamers" published in the LA Times in 2008, Andrew Keen discusses 3 major court cases in an effort to show just how backwards the legal system is when dealing with the anonymous people of the internet. People on the internet can ruin anyone's reputation or even their life without the fear of prosecution.…
Marvin Pickering was a high school science teacher from Will County, Illinois who was fired by the Board of Education for writing a letter to the editor. The letter was published in a local newspaper and contained many negative and inflammatory statements toward the school board regarding their use of taxpayer’s money. Specifically, Pickering was upset about the use of bond money to athletic programs, instead of fixing facilities and paying teachers. The Board of Education concluded that Pickering’s letter was “detrimental to the efficient operation and administration of the schools of the district” (Essex, 2012). Pickering argued that being fired for writing a letter as a private citizen violated both his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to Free Speech and Due Process under the U.S. Constitution.…
An enthralling short story by Sherman Alexie, "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" is rich in symbolism. Much of its appeal lies in its enigmatic usage of symbols. Sherman's tale of death and renewal relies on three key symbols: the Phoenix (a type of mythical bird which is found in the title), the number seven, and in the name of the protagonist's story-telling friend, Thomas Builds-the-Fire.…
The novel, A World Lit Only by Fire by William Manchester delves into the history of Europe’s dark ages through the early Renaissance. Three key figures constantly referred to within the novel include Erasmus, Martin Luther, and Ferdinand Magellan. All three men are responsible for Europe’s entrance into a modern era of reformation, knowledge, and discovery, and are widely considered to responsible for the development of the humanist philosophy. When Manchester begins weaving his historical tale of the middle ages, he details how the dark ages witnessed very few inventive ideas and was dominated by the Catholic Church and its papacy. As each of the three men are introduced and their accomplishments explained, the story takes a turn and leads towards a modernized era. Erasmus, Martin Luther, and Ferdinand Magellan all share a devotion to their religion which connects to their exploits, however, their overall contributions seem to somewhat differ.…
Silvergate notes that limiting free speech would fall to the responsibility of college administrators who will undoubtedly over censor due to the broad harassment regulations the proposed bill contains. He supports this point by adding that the Individual Rights Foundation, FIRE already claims harassment as “the most abused tool to limit free speech.”…
Fire aids humans and helps them survive by providing important benefits. By producing heat and light, fire offers protection and the ability to prepare safe food and water. The gift from Prometheus, fire symbolizes raw power and offers proof of the human ability to shape the world. Although fire has no subconscious, it has a will of its own, and can therefore be considered human. In Lord of the Flies, Golding personifies fire as a figure of authority in order to demonstrate how power can be used to create chaos or achieve order. Fire transforms from a tool and emerges as a character with the authority to restore the boys to civility as well as the destructive capability to force the boys to regress to a savage state.…
I have chosen this particular website because it is relevant to me. TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) is a non-profit organization that specializes in support for those who have lost loved ones in the military. I have not lost anyone in the military, but I am a part of the U.S. Air Force. The website would be useful for my family, god forbid if anything was to happen to me during deployment. I have been serving for less than a year and so far have made the best decision ever in my life.…
What started as a small spark , possibly in a barn, ignited one of the most destructive and largest catastrophes, in Chicago’s history. The Great Chicago fire of 1871 is still a mystery. MAny have speculated, pointed fingers, and taken blame for the devastating fire that destroyed hundreds of acres, took many lives, and charred the Windy City to ashes. The truths to what really happened on that late night on the eighth of October may never be unravelled. Many do however feel that the evidence suggests that it was an accidental or a freak of nature and environmental conditions fueled the fire into rage letting it get out of control. The raging fire of almost 145 years ago still has scientists baffled, and remains a mystery today.…
Individual rights and liberties that each person has, for example the freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. This is demonstrated in our constitution amendment 1, which talks about how the government can not create laws or make decisions that limit or take away individual rights. An example of this is in the case of Tinker vs Des Moines, which is used in Document H stating, “ It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate” (10). This is a statement made by Justice Fortas talking about the rights that students and teachers, and how they should be able to keep and use these rights in and out of school. The principle of individual rights prevents tyranny from happening by allowing all citizens to be able to voice their opinion without…
In 1984 a case before the Supreme Court limited the scope of Title IX (King, n.d.). Grove City College (GCC), in Grove City, Pennsylvania, took pride in being a private, coeducational liberal arts school that refused state and federal financial assistance (Ware, 2007). This gave them independence from federal regulation (Ware, 2007). GCC did have a large number of students that received Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOG’s) issued through a Department of Education (DOE)-run program (Grove City, n.d). The DOE concluded these grants made GCC subject to Title IX (Grove City, n.d). When GCC refused to comply with the requirements of Title IX, the DOE attempted to terminate the student financial aid program (Grove City, n.d). GCC challenged the DOE’s actions all the way to the Supreme…
Baldwin convinces blacks to ‘unmask’ themselves and develop their own individual consciousness rather than conforming to white society and the views that whites hold. Baldwin does this several ways in his essays in The Fire Next Time, most specifically being Letter from a Region in my Mind, by the promotion of black dignity and celebrating the minds of blacks. Especially in his essay, my dungeon shook, Baldwin emphasizes the idea that blacks become brought down when they begin to conform to white ideas and believe only in what the whites tell them. This ‘unmasking’ is one of the many driving forces Baldwin speaks about that is essential for social transformation in America. The promotion of blacks developing their own consciousness aside from…
At first, I was in favor of protecting the First Amendment rights of the students who had written the articles. They have the right to express their opinions and speech in a public forum. Then I had to think of how it could affect those that the article was written about. While I still favor the protection of students’ rights, the more I read the details of case of all involved, it became a more loosely interpreted opinion. For some, the article is not seen as a public forum because it is only intended for the students who attend the school. However, it does make its way off campus and into private homes because the students are…