Othello January MOR

For January’s MOR, Rachel Samson and I are reading Othello by William Shakespeare! So far Othello is really interesting to me. I was honestly expecting it to be super boring because it’s just another play, but I think the premise is actually pretty interesting. I kind of think that Iago has a right to be mad that Othello promoted Cassio since he pointed out that Cassio doesn’t really have any experience. I don’t think Iago should really be like super duper mad, but he does have a fair point. One thing that I noticed throughout the beginning portion of the play was that even though we don’t meet Othello right away, you still side with Othello even though you don’t know him. Like, right from the beginning I knew Iago and Roderigo were bad guys and that Othello was probably good, even though the only picture that we get of Othello in the beginning is the negative one painted by Iago and Roderigo. Roderigo says to Brabantio, “(As partly I find it is) that your fair daughter / At this odd-even and dull watch o' th' night… To the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor” (I.I.119-123). Roderigo and Iago speak so badly about Othello amongst themselves and to Brabantio that Othello should seem like not a nice guy, but to me it just makes Iago and Roderigo look bad. What do you think? Did you think that Othello seemed like a bad guy from Iago and Roderigo’s descriptions of him, or did you think that the way Iago and Roderigo talked about Othello just made them seem like the bad ones? Anyways, I’m excited to see how this little adventure that they’re going on overseas will play out. It seems like Iago has some sort of plan to make Othello think that Cassio will be flirting too much with Desdemona, which I’m sad about because I honestly really like Desdemona. I think Othello and Desdemona’s relationship will suffer and I am sad about that because I think Desdemona is a really strong and loving character and I want her and Othello to stay together. But it is a tragedy so I feel like things will not end with them together. 

Y'all... Fahrenheit 451...

Let's talk about Fahrenheit 451!

I honestly love this book so much so far. The writing and imagery are really drawing me in. I don’t why I was like not expecting it to be so full of descriptive language, but for some reason it just surprised me. I also think it’s interesting that Montag has these deep and analytical thoughts and he makes so many interesting comparisons and images in his head almost without realizing it. I think the way that the author wrote Montag’s thoughts is really good. I feel like I didn’t describe what I like about his thoughts very well but I like the way Montag thinks. 

So far I’ve got to say that Mildred is the absolute worst. I hate her. I guess there’s always gotta be someone who ruins the book, though. It’s so strange to me because I feel like Mildred is so opposite from Montag. He’s questioning things and thinking deeply while Mildred just sits around all day and watches TV and obviously believes all the propaganda about books and peace between people and all that. One thing that I keep wondering about this book is: what are the implications and customs of marriage in the world of Fahrenheit 451? What does it mean that Mildred is Montag’s wife? 

I’m not sure if this quote has any sort of deeper meaning to the book as a whole, but it was one that made me think. As the firemen are going through the old woman’s house, Montag thinks, “The men were making too much noise, laughing, joking, to cover her terrible accusing silence below. She made the empty rooms roar with accusation and shake down a fine dust of guilt that was sucked in their nostrils as they plunged about” (Bradbury pg 37). I thought this was interesting because to me it seems like Montag is the only one who feels guilty about his job. He thinks the men are laughing and joking to cover the silence, but I honestly think they’re laughing a joking because they don’t care about what they’re doing or why. When Montag thinks, “She made the empty rooms roar with accusation and shake down a fine dust of guilt that was sucked in their nostrils as they plunged about” I believe that he is truly the only one feeling guilty and in reality he is the only one affected by the silence of the woman. Do you agree with my view on this or do you think all the firemen truly felt guilty in this moment? Do you think Montag will eventually learn to realize that his feelings are his own and he is the only one who can feel them?

Bonus question that like you don’t really have to answer in your next post because it’s just for fun: were you surprised that Montag has been collecting books in his air vent????? Honestly it surprised me but looking back I feel like I should have expected it and I feel a bit dumb. (Mrs. Disher, check Halle's blog for the responses, as she was not able to comment on this original post!)

Love at 451 Degrees

October's monthly outside reading will be "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury! I'm reading it with Halle Aaby! We chose this book because we heard that it's interesting and like actually good! I don't know what else to say! Have a great day!