Q2L 10 ELA discussion

The ELA Regents, which you'll take in about 14 months (in January of 2015), has a number of different kinds of questions on it. One of the questions is called a "critical lens" question.

The critical lens question asks you discuss two pieces of literature from the particular perspective of a statement that is provided to you as the "critical lens." The critical lens statement will generally be an open-ended quote from a book that can be interpreted in many different ways.

We'd like you to consider this critical lens:

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart."

Use your current independent reading book AND Fahrenheit 451 to consider the critical lens above. In your response, be sure to do three things:

1. Summarize the quote in your own words
2. Formulate a thesis that connects this quote to your independent reading book and F451
3. Provide support that explains how the critical lens quote relates to each book by including evidence from each book

Though this is not my most current book, I believe that To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is best for this lens.

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart."
In this quote the author is trying to say that normal, or common assumptions of courage are wrong. Most people think that courage is beating the bad guy, or when all the things that can: go wrong; you still fight through and win. The author is trying to say that true courage is being crushed and beaten, but still go on to the next thing.
In to kill a mockingbird this is best shown with the trial of Tom. Mr. Finch knows that no matter how hard he tries, nor how good a case he has, a white jury will not let a black man go after being accused of rape. He openly admits early in the story that he will lose, and Scout doesn't understand the idea of honor and courage at the time.
In Fahrenheit 451 Montag is defeated by Mildred when he tries to teach her the ideas in the books. She is uninterested, but Montag doesn't give up completely. He later attempts to read her and some of her friends poetry though she still doesn't care.

Thesis: Different cultures throughout history have had very different ideas on honor, heroism and courage, our time period seems to focus on the perseverance of the individual rather than, say, the strength.

The Odyssey Fahrenheit 451
I think the quote "The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart." means the most courageous people are those that are willing to face defeat, the embarrassment and shame of defeat, and not become discouraged and lose faith in themselves. Anyone can win. It takes a strong person to lose, then keep on trying. This quote stands for two books. Fahrenheit 451 and the Odyssey. It is Fahrenheit 451 by Montag believing burning books was wrong, and he took a stand for it. Even tho everyone in the city died besides montag and the book people, he still ended the war of why keep or burn books. And in the book the odyssey, Odysseus s reveals himself to the entire palace and reunites with his loving Penelope. He travels to the outskirts of Ithaca to see his aging father, Laertes. They come under attack from the vengeful family members of the dead suitors, but Laertes, reinvigorated by his son’s return, successfully kills Antinous’s father and puts a stop to the attack. Zeus dispatches Athena to restore peace. With his power secure and his family reunited, Odysseus’s long ordeal comes to an end.

Thesis:If you want something accomplished then put all your heart in it. Don't give up.

The book I am reading is Better Nate Than Ever.
1.The most courageous people are those that are willing to face defeat. The embarrassment and shame of defeat and not become discouraged and lose faith in themselves. Anyone can win, but it takes a strong person to lose then keep trying.
2. In the book I am currently reading Nate auditions for ET the musical but he gets kicked out because he had to attend the audition with an adult. He gets kicked out and yelled at in front of every person that is at the audition.But he does not quit he keeps on trying and that should how strong he is. He comes back with his aunt that he saw in the middle of the city and he begs her to take him back to the audition. He explains to her how it has been one of his dreams. He did not quit he kept fighting to win. In F451, Montag tried to show Beatty how important books were. He also has a long conversion with him and gives him many reason why books are important and that they make people happy.
3. She takes my application off the clipboard, folding it directly in half,writing a red x-suddenly she has the biggest red magic marker. She drops my form into the garbage can below the desk. The hallway is quiet, as still as that horrible elevator ride, and all fifty of these children, lined up against the wall, are gasping directly at me; all watching as this idiot who belongs in Western Pennsylvania makes a total Carrie of himself. I am so sorry. I pull my Yankee hat on,hoping that perhaps some of the magic skills of these brilliant NYC kids might have rubbed on stupid Nate Foster. That maybe if I tug this hat on hard enough, down my entire face.

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart," My interpretation of the quote is that only the most courageous have the ability to face defeat and not become intimidated and feel humiliated by their loss.
In the next paragraphs I will show you the how books Fahrenheit 451 and Bag of Bones relates to the above quote.

In Fahrenheit 451, Montag learns along the way that books have importance, and he tried to teach what he learned to others, like Mildred who is a conformist to their society and Beatty who knows enough knowledge to reason why books are abolished. Although he attempted to reason with them he was then brought down when Mildred found the books in her and Montag's house and then she alerted the authorities. When Beatty tried to arrest Montag for having books, Montag became enraged because he was tired of being pushed around by Beatty and also because he was going to kill his friend Faber. He kills Beatty showing courage and stood up for what he believed in but yet he didn't end up having a good exit because he was being chased by the authorities which led to his defeat.

In the book I am currently reading, Bag of Bones, the main protagonist, Mike Noonan is stuck in a sticky situation. He has become good friends with a young widowed mother and her daughter. The mother is going through a child custody battle with her wealthy step-father who feel as though he has lots of power, and he probably wants her daughter because she would be the next generation to take over his company; Mike Noonan wants to help the mother because he feels she deserves it. He appoints a very good lawyer for her money out of his own pocket. He is also threatened by the step-father and the step-father's bodyguards/the people who do his dirty work which creates a challenge for him and makes him feel intimidated and a little defeated but he is taking his chances and being courageous in helping this mother out.

It means that one is only truly brave and strong and courageous if he or she can take defeat and not be put down by that fact. So they don't just give up after a loss

Japanese; Aesthetics and Culture: A Reader
Fahrenheit 451

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart."

I believe that this quote is essentially a rephrasing of the old saying (and Q2L core value) that we should be "fair winners and fair losers", or, as it is sometimes said, to "win and lose with grace." When one does these, when they acknowledge that they have lost and do not get angry or upset about it, that is the true way that you can tell if someone is brave.

I am currently reading "Japanese Aesthetics and Culture", edited by Nancy G. Hume. The book is an anthology of various essays about the subject, and I will use an essay that I recently read, titled "Feminine Sensibility in the Heian Era", by Donald Keene. This essay is about how women's literature has grown and matured throughout the centuries in Japan, and, more specifically, how women in high-born positions produced a tremendous amount of literature in the Heian period, which was between 794 and 1185. Women have largely been oppressed in the East, up to such a degree that they were oft treated as merely property to be owned by the patriarchs of the society. However, in this period, women began to write much more, at least in the cases that they were literate. It must have taken tremendous courage to write poetry and prose such as they did. They were constantly beaten by men, were not allowed to learn how to read or write, and had virtually no rights. What writing does exist is flowing with deep, raw emotions that come from being so oppressed for so long. These feelings, though strong, do not seem to be directed at men per se, but at the world as a whole, for being so unfair. I believe that this symbolizes the relevant quote because these women were constantly losing. Losing their freedoms, their love, even their lives. They did not give up hope, but instead poured all their emotions into writing, to be preserved forever.

This quote can also be related, in an astoundingly similar way, to the character Montag in Ray Bradbury's master work, "Fahrenheit 451". Guy Montag is a fireman, whose job it is to burn books. He is quite content with this for a time, never questioning "why", or "what". He merely follows his orders, one of so many sheep. However, he soon realizes, due to the intervention of a friend, that this system of book burning is not right, and, indeed, is hurting the society in deep ways. Almost as soon as he realizes this, Montag gets the strong urge to fight back, to rebel against the totalitarian government. He soon puts his feelings to the test, and attempts to overthrow the firehouse in which he was working for a time. However, his dream is almost instantly drowned by the arrival of law enforcement, who force Montag to go on the run to get away from them. After a few days, he finds more people who think as he does, and is ready to start a new life, free from the influences of the society that he has grown up in. Montag's situation embodies the thoughts expressed in the quote above in the way that he has, many times, been crushed down, only to rise again, like the mythical phoenix, from the embers of his previous self. This takes tremendous courage, and it is evident that he truly believes in the cause that he is fighting for.

I believe the quote is a much more eloquent version of the common phrase, or retort: "Don't be a sore loser"; while these are the common iterations of the ideal, I often think of it as being happy for the people who defeated you, be it verbally or physically.

Many books include the idea that the "bad guys" are sore losers, often being disheartened or going into a rage, and with their last ounce of strength attempt to rise against the protagonist. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag never loses heart, even knowing that he's terribly outnumbered and outgunned by the government; he continues on his enlightened journey. In C.S. Lewis' Through the Looking Glass, Alice is insulted quite often, as she knows not the rules of the odd world she's tumbled into, but due to either being an incredibly stubborn girl, or the fact that adults often treated young children this way, she continued, seeing all the odd things on her way around Wonderland.

In Through the Looking Glass, this ideal's bad side is shown when the Red Queen doesn't get what she wants; she often throws a tantrum, or requests a member of her court to be beheaded, whether or not they were responsible for the issue she saw. In Fahrenheit 451, many of the oblivious, uneducated citizens believed that the book readers were the "stupid" ones, reading material that "[said] nothing",their "victory" of that battle in question caused most of the uneducated to believe that they were the betters. This is showcased when Beatty allows himself to be killed by Montag, he knows he's already won, he knows that Montag, and the people like him, were greatly outnumbered by Beatty's superiors, and the common citizen of Bradbury's future North America.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X
i think the quote means that a true coragos person is some who even with defeat keeps their head up.
this quote can be conected to my book The Autobiography of Malcolm X because as a chilled malcomx's family was targeted multiple times by the kkk. despite that he stil became one of the most infuenchal people in the civle rites movement. this quote can be aplide to 451 because i feel that montag embodies the trait explaned in the quotebecause even after his failed atempt to take down the firehouse his rebelion did not end their

I will be comparing Fahrenheit 451 to A Clash of Kings under this critical lense.

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart."

Life is full of it's ups and downs, and sometimes you may feel ready to give up. However, this quote is saying that true bravery lies in persistency and determination; that once you have failed terribly, the easy thing to do is to give up and never try again. However, the brave thing to do is to get right back up and begin the struggle anew with more confidence than before.

In Fahrenheit 451, Montag exhibits this when Beatty visits him at his house and makes it obvious that he knows about Montag's books. The easier thing to do would have been burning all of his books and then resuming work the next day. However, instead, Montag defies Beatty, and reads those books.
Similarly, in A Clash of Kings, Tyrion exhibits this definition of bravery. Since he was born, he has always been a laughing stock on accounts of him being a dwarf. Even his own father and sister ridicule him. However, instead of accepting this and despairing, he becomes a great and just ruler, and grows far greater in cleverness than other men.

I am comparing Fahrenheit 451 to If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart."
I think this means if you face an obstable in life that you cant get over, you keep living and dont stress if you didnt get over the obstacle. Thats a true couragous person, a person that can be challanged without giving up.

In my story this quote applies when one of the main characters Kristen's parents are always fighting, shes never heard in her house and she tries to make her parents get along, but she feels defeated. Kristen never gives up that her parents will stop fighting long enough to hear her.

In Fahrenheit 451, this happens when Beatty keeps visiting Montags house when Monag knows that Beatty is aware of his stash of books. The best thing to do is burn the books but instead Montag doesnt listen to Beatty and keeps reading the books.

The thesis is if you want something done then you have to be full committed to it, you can never give up.

I am currently reading The Sea of Monsters

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart." To me this quote means that the truly hard part is not to try something or to think of new possibilities but to attempt many different things and be able to handle failing half of them. To have a dream, go after it, have it shattered and still have the will to have a new dream, still have the strength to go for it again - thats what true courage is.

In my book The Sea of Monsters Percy faces so many difficult situations, moments where he fails but never gives up. In this book Percy sets out on a quest that wasn't even authorized to him because he finds his camp a disaster with monsters everywhere, disaster and bad luck follows him and his friends all throughout this book so far but he never stops fighting, just when he is about to accept defeat he pulls himself back up.

In Fahrenheit 451 the ending of the book completely represents this quote. Montag when meeting the group of professors accepts defeat, they realize that its not a fight they can win and decide to bear defeat and yet they never lose hope. They find a way to give society an option, they continue to learn books so that one day maybe things can be better.

Thesis: Any story with a beginning and end has obstacles, certain things we can not fight against, situations we can't win but when the story ends well it's because that person chose not to let those situations define their life.

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart." Hmm, I'm pretty sure this means that you're strong willed if you can loose, and not loose your cool over it. In the current book I'm reading Necromancing the Stone, one of the protagonist's traits is that he knows when someones stronger than him, as most of the people he meets are stronger than him, so he takes it in stride. However, in relation to Fahrenheit 451, I believe that Montag has already realized he is defeated, and that is why he's willing to do dangerous missions while Faber sits at home. I believe Montag said, "That's the part of dying; when you've nothing to loose, you run any risk you want."

I would like to compare farenhiet 451 to the 39 clues.

Fareinhet 451 was very different from the 39 clues because 39 clues is about finding clues to go on to the next mission. 451 was about burning books and keeping books like example people that had many books in their house would get burned down. IF you wanted to keep books you would aviod from burning nooks.*ill contine later*

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart." how does this compare to Fahrenheit 451 and Iraqi Girl: Diary of a Teenage Girl in Iraq?

Iraqi Girl: Diary of a Teenage Girl in Iraq, it during a time of war between america. So the biggest threat in her own backyard,around the corner. in her entente talks about afraid to go outside because of people rigging bombs, and stealing cars near there neighborhood. But still she goes outside to go to school to experience life the best she can, while avoiding flying bullets.

Fahrenheit 451 Montage has to avoiding cops,dog, for speaking his mind,thinking. Like how Montage had the courage to take out Beatty with his own flamethrower,to protect his friend. throwing himself into the hole.

"The test of courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart." This quote simply means that true courage is the ability to be beaten and still continue the fight. In my book N.E.R.D.S the main characters all louse their superpower and are humiliated by someone they should have easily beaten. However they man up (or at least most of them) and continue the fight agents evil. It's not easy but they do it because it's the right thing. That is true courage. In Fahrenheit 451 Montage is completely out matched in his fight for knowledge. He has the government, his coworkers, and his wife all working agents him. However he continues the good fight and keeps calm and crays on.

It means that one is only truly brave, strong and courageous if (s)he can take defeat and will not give up. My thesis wold be If you want something, put all your effort into it. Don't give up and keep pushing and fighting for what you want.

"The test of courageous person is the ability to beat defeat without losing heart." This quote means to me that if you lose in something you should not give up. You have to learn from your failure and keep on trying until you win or achieve that goal. I can't relate this quote to the Book that I'm reading The Way of Shadows. When it comes to the book Fahrenheit 451 it goes well with the main character Montag. In the book Montag know the true value of a book and tries to fight in what he believes in. He does get knock down either by both his wife and Captain Beatty, but he fights on through the problems and wins.

The quote to me means that people who give up and admit defeat aren't always the quitters. They are making the right decision and know their own limits. Anyway the book that I'm reading is ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' and I think it shares similarities between ''Fahrenheit 451''. I think this because both books share a theme. And that theme is that people can overcome what their brain tells them to do. Also just because a mass idea is spread out across the globe, dosen't mean that you should just blindly believe it.

Fahrenheit 451: In Fahrenheit 451 Montag's courage is tested because he reads books and others don't accept this. He is chased by the government and the fire department and the city he lived in even blows up. Throughout all this Montag does not lose heart.

Hitchhiker's Guide: In this book Arthur's courage is tested when Earth blows up. This would be a traumatic blow to any person and yet he doesn't lose heart either.

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart."

I think that this quote means, that a true hero (protagonist) has only shown his true personality when he is faced with adversity.

In my book, Percy Jackson is tested by the Gods because they constantly hares him because of the titans curse. A half-blood will kill all of the gods, and the titans will have power again.

In Fahrenheit 451, Montag was tested throughout the book. Captain Beatty gave him a test to return the book that he took, and he lost his wife at the end of the book.

In my opinion this quote is almost like, "We lost the battle but not the war". As long as you don't give up and don't get mad you can always win the next one. In my book Enders Game the protaganist Ender ends up losing one of his battles but he eventually wins the war because he does not get mad or lose his cool

I will be comparing Catching fire with Fahrenheit 451. The quote means to show all that you have. My character is always pushed to her limit she always has to be a "hero" and fight for her life.
Montag also had to fight for his life and escape the government.

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing This quote means that a strong person can be defeated in battle but still look for the bright side in things. Or rather another famous cliche of “we may have lost the battle but we won the war”.
In Fahrenheit 451, guy Montag is trying to get people of his community back into involvement with books. However, books have been banned and are all subsequently burned if found. To make a long story short, he can't save every book, but he ultimately he saves the most important Holy Bible.
In my book Pecola faces all of her demons and eventually conquers them, though she is still full of pain.

"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart." This quote means that you are not courageous unless you can accept defeat, even if it means death. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag was a very brave man, going against all odds, and one of the biggest laws of all. Everyday he was paranoid that someone was going to suspect something from him, but that never shook him up to the point of fear. In my current book, The house of Hades, Percy and Annabeth are traveling through Tartarus, where failure is around nearly every corner, and they both know it. they push forward, because they know that if they fail, they put up a good fight before they did.