The color of water 1-8

I like the way the story changes each chapter. It's like reading two different stories but in some ways they connect. I like Ruth but some of her views and parenting methods are a little too strict but I guess she has to be strict with twelve kids. Usually racial stories like this have to do with a black person in a white community but its the other way around and I think it's interesting because you see a community during the civil rights movement that doesn't accept a white person. If I were Ruth I probably would've run away from home. To say the least, I dislike her dad. It seems like Ruth spends more time with James than the rest of her children. Although her bike riding and the color of her skin are humiliating to James, he is very protective of her. He punches the child of the Black Panther member in the face out of rage and fear of his mother's safety. I love Ruth's response when James asks her what color God is. I was always curious when I was little too and I'm sure a lot of children are. She answered, "The color of water", which I think is the perfect title for the book.

The hearth and the salamander/ the sieve and the sand/ burning bright

I enjoyed this book for the most part. It did take me a while to read because I would have to go back and reread a lot of parts just to make sure I got the full message. I was completely lost in the beginning until I discovered that the firemen produced the fires instead of putting them out. Weird. Montag treated Clarrise like she was the strangest person he'd ever met but i guess that's because the way her family lived was out of date and they were suspected of reading books which was illegal. But he was hiding books of his own? I really liked her. She opened Montag's eyes to a whole knew concept of living. The idea behind the book seems very common. The idea of too much freedom could lead to a crash in society and fear of free willed people may cause the transformation into a prison like community. It's fascinating how this book that was written over fifty years ago can have such a vivid description of the fear that some people today have of the future. Although not nearly as intense, the conservative lifestyle portrayed in this book is not unheard of. Many religious groups and small communities(colts) completely detach themselves and their people from the outside world including books, movies, and music. All they know is what they are told because they're leaders fear revolt and free thinking. I was not expecting what took place in the last section of the book. I did not expect Montag to actually take action. I guess he had no other choice if he wanted to live, but it was almost as if Beatty knew what was coming. Montag was probably much happier in the wilderness with all of those books. Freedom to think and freedom to learn.