The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Fahrenheit...

We as humans tend to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. We look for knowledge about everybody and everything that surrounds us from our day-to-day life. Sadly though, we must accept that in the grand scheme of life we (as a society) tend to put pleasure above our quest for knowledge. The pursuit of knowledge tends to take time and energy, two things we call invaluable, and it also shows us things that might depress us. Contrastingly, ignorance takes no time and energy. Also, (as the common saying goes) ignorance is bliss. It keeps ugly truths away from us. But that is no reason to forsake knowledge for ignorance. In the early 1900’s, two books were published that would eventually be referred to the pinnacle of classical literature.†¦show more content†¦It seems as though everyone came to Gatsby’s parties, but few actually knew him. As Carraway observes, â€Å"†¦ I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited.† (Fitzgerald 41) The fact that most of the guests seek pleasure even though they have no idea about the host shows that Fitzgerald uses the lavish parties as a symbol for the pleasure without knowledge. It also shows how pleasure without knowledge leads to the degrading of the society. The author uses symbolism to portray the theme. â€Å"It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.† (Bradbury 1) Fahrenheit 451 is another astonishing work that has a similar theme. It is about a man named Guy Montag. Montag is a fireman which (in the setting of the book) means a person who burns books. Bradbury uses fire as a symbol. Though fire is beautiful, it destroys everything. Similarly, while ignorance seems so blissful yet it destroys human creativity and thought. Mildred has accepted ignorance as a way of life but still feels a sense of self-hatred inside. That is why she had a drug overdose and had to have her blood replaced. Even with the blood replaced, Mildred still feels self-hatred which is apparent in her attitude throughout the book. This suggests that the feeling is not physical but is a symptom of ignorance deteriorating the human mind’s ability to create new ideas. It is unnatural for a human mind to be kept away from attaining knowledge andShow MoreRelatedA ll The Light We Can Not See By Anthony Doerr Essay1493 Words   |  6 Pagestwo. I think this would be a good book for me because I like the European setting and era of this time period, also I think the plot would make for a very interesting storyline. 4) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – Modern Library Top 100 -Narrated by Nick Carrway, it follows the infamous Jay Gatsby and his want to be with his long lost love, Daisy Buchanan. This love for her takes him from being very poor to wealth, eventfully to Daisy, and then sadly to death. I think this wouldRead MoreCensorship Is Monitoring Or Withholding Information Essay1694 Words   |  7 PagesAsher, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, and To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fahrenheit 451, and many other classics. In a book known for being commonly banned or challenged, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, he created a world ruled by censorship and fear in the novel, Fahrenheit 451. Censorship is a common theme in literature. Genres from sci-fi to classic romantic literature explore the damage that can appearRead MoreIntroduction : How ve He Do That?10829 Words   |  44 Pagesstated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there. â€Å"The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge.† (Foster pg. 3) Essentially this is a formula that many great writers utilize in their books to help them with their characters just like great mathematicians do to help them solve their complex calculations. As expected this â€Å"QUEST† formula is followed in most, if not all, of the literary works around today. Of course it may be more obvious in certain