Before we started to read Fahrenheit 451, I wanted us to revisit the theme of this course and the concepts that are helping to shape our discussions and our focus. At the beginning of the year, we read our class syllabus, which states that we would spend the year focusing on censorship. That is, all of the texts and contexts we read will have either been censored at some point in time or will deal with the issue of censorship. Additionally, we have been reading texts using three conceptual lenses: power, government, and control. Each of the three texts we've read can be connected using these lenses and the overarching theme for the year.
To illustrate this connection, you all worked in groups to form lists of words related to each of the novels we've read thus far. After you established your initial lists, I asked you to highlight words that related to both Fahrenheit 451 and the Crucible. Then I asked you to circle words that related to both Animal Farm and The Crucible. Later, we starred words that related to all three texts.
The result of this activity is a chart, of which I've included pictures in this blog entry. I was pleasantly surprised that all of the four words: censorship, power, government, and control ended up in the center circle, meaning that you saw these words as relating to all three texts.
After this activity, we continued reading in Fahrenheit 451. Next class is a half day, so I won't see all of you. We will resume Fahrenheit 451 activities and readings next class.
