Fahrenheit 451 Prose Essay Prompts

1.    Analyze Captain Beatty. Is he truly an idealogue in support of censorship or is he hiding an allegiance to freedom of expression? Use 3 specific literary elements examples from the text in your argument.

2.     Fahrenheit 451 is about burning books, why is this book then known as a Classic in English classes? What is the significance? Use 3 literary elements to help your reasoning.
3. Faber discusses three things that are missing from the Fahrenheit 451 society.  These missing things are the reasons why the people in this society don’t want or need books.  Identify and explain the three reasons Faber gives and then analyze our own society to see if we suffer from the same maladies that infect the Fahrenheit 451 society.

 

Notes Act V

SCENE I:

• a doctor and "waiting-gentlewoman" (I suppose Lady Macbeth's lady-in-waiting) are watching Lady Macbeth, who apparently has been asleep since Macbeth went "into the field" (he has gone to suppress the revolt of the Scotch nobles)
• Lady Macbeth has been sleepwalking, and even writing letters in her sleep

• the gentlewoman doesn't want to tell the doctor what she has heard Lady Macbeth say in her sleep, for she is afraid of getting in trouble 
• Lady Macbeth appears, still seemingly asleep (though her eyes are open)
• "she has light by her continually; 'tis her command." --Lady Macbeth is afraid of the dark now
• she keeps rubbing her hands; she thinks she sees a bloodstain that she cannot remove
• here, the famous lines come in: " Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why, then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?--Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him."
•  "The thane of Fife had a wife" though she had nothing to do with the murder of Lady Macduff, it weighs on the queen's conscience
• the doctor tells the lady to keep an eye on Lady Macbeth, and to make sure she doesn't hurt herself

SCENE II:

•  "He cannot buckle his distemper'd cause Within the belt of rule." Macbeth cannot control the discontented nobles
• Menteith, Caithness, Angus, Lennox, and soldiers begin their march
• I don't really know what to say about their conversation. Hm.

SCENE III:

•  "The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon!" What a lovely insult
• a servant comes to tell Macbeth that the English soldiers are approaching
• Macbeth is...well, he's not a happy camper at the moment. Rude.
• Macbeth calls for Seyton, and asks for his armor 
• is 'Seyton' really pronounced like 'Satan'? What an unfortunate name
• he wants the doctor to cure his wife of what "weighs upon [her] heart"
• the doctor says that the power to cure herself lies only Lady Macbeth; Macbeth doesn't like this, so he ridicules medicine
•  "I will not be afraid of death and bane, Till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane."

SCENE IV:

•  the soldiers arrive at Birnam forest
• Malcolm orders the soldiers to take branches from the trees to conceal their numbers

SCENE V:

• Macbeth is confident that he will be safe in his castle, and that he will be victorious 
• "What is that noise?"/ "It is the cry of women, my good lord"
• Lady Macbeth is dead
• a messenger tells Macbeth that as the soldiers approached, he thought he saw the forest move (for they were camouflaged )
• Macbeth threatens to hang the messenger if he is lying (he obviously doesn't believe him)

SCENE VI:

• uh, well, this is the shortest scene in here
• I'm not sure what to say about this except that they are preparing to attack

SCENE VII:

• Macbeth compares himself with baited bear (in reference to the popular sport of the time, bear-baiting)
• Young Siward asks Macbeth his name
• Macbeth fancies himself pretty scary; Siward just hates him
• they fight, and Macbeth kills Young Siward

SCENE VIII:

• Macbeth has avoided fighting with Macduff, for he knows that he is already guilty of killing his family
• Macduff provokes him; they fight
•  we should talk about Macbeth and Macduff's conversation; I feel I'm missing something important 
• Ross tells Siward that his son (Young Siward) is dead
• Macduff enters, holding Macbeth's head
• I suppose...this is the end. Aw. 

Notes Act IV

SCENE I:

• enter the witches 
• here comes that famous "Double, double, toil and trouble" line

• enter Hecate ('witch boss'), next Macbeth (another famous line: "...Something wicked this way comes")
• Macbeth is seeing things again (three apparitions; think A Christmas Carol)
• an armed head ("Beware Macduff")
• a bloody child
• a crowned child holding a tree

• next, eight kings, the last king with a glass in his hand; ghost of Banquo follows
• exit witches, enter Lennox
• Macduff has fled to England

SCENE II:

• Ross and Lady Macduff discussing why Macduff would leave his family
• Lady Macduff speaking to her son: How will you go on without a father?
• She assumes her husband is a guilty man (murder), because he has fled and she is not suspicious of Macbeth like the others
• enter the three murderers, who call Macduff a traitor (to his son; this makes the boy angry)
• one of the murders stabs the boy, and kills him (stab-die!)

SCENE III:

• Macduff speaking to Malcolm
• Malcolm says he can understand bloodlust, but Macduff disagrees with him
• Enter a Doctor
• "what's this disease he means?"/"'Tis called the evil" (in reference to Macbeth)

• Scotland is suffering
• Ross gives Macduff the news about his castle being "surprised" and his family, servants being killed
• "not for their own demerits, but mine": Macduff feels guilty, as they were killed because of him

•  "Be this the whetstone of your sword: let grief Convert to anger; blunt not the heart, enrage it."

Act II

Scene V
Messenger announces Macbeth's arrival to Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth seems to be want to be full of cruelty and evil?
   "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The effect and it!"
Macbeth returns
They discuss Banquo's coming
"Your face, my thane, is a book where men may read stranger matters" What does that mean?

Scene VI
Setting: outside of the castle
Lady Macbeth joins the men outside, greets each other
The men ask of Macbeth, where he is and say they will be their guests tonight
Lady Macbeth denies?/accepts? them
They exit

Scene VII

Macbeth speaks of murdering and assassinating (Duncan?)
He does not bear the knife himself?
Lady Macbeth enters
They talk of someone eating, and Macbeth has asked if he has asked for him (Duncan?)
Lady Macbeth seems to be berating Macbeth, to get the deed done
They ARE talking of killing Duncan, Lady Macbeth is trying to persuade her love that he is not going to fail
They talk of using daggers

 

Practice Test

1. e
 2. a
 3.e
 4. c
5. a
6.b
7.d
8.a
9.d
10.b
11.b
12.e
13. e
14.d
15.c
16.c
17.b
18.e
19.d
20.c
21.b
22.b
23.b
24.c
25.c
26.d
27.a
28.c
29.e
30.c
31.d
32.a
33.b
34.d
35c
36.d
37.e
38.c
39.d
40.c
41.a
42.c
43.a
44.c
45.c
46.d
47.b
48.d
49.a
50.d
51.b
52.a
53.a
54.e

test prep 101

1. More than 6hrs of sleep
2. Eat healthy
3. Exercise

AP Resources

1.     http://www.webenglishteacher.com/ap.html

2.     http://www.appracticeexams.com/ap-english-literature

3.     http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listaplitma.html

4.     http://www.mymaxscore.com/images/stories/docs/MMS_EnglishLit_PracTest.pdf

5.     http://www.totalregistration.net/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=sections&Itemid=227