Fahrenheit 451 Quotes Fire Analysis

Montag changed his view of fire from entertainment and destruction into cleansing and renewal when an alarm, called by his wife and her friends, brings the firemen to his own home. Montag wanted to burn his house because “He wanted to change everything, the chairs, the tables, and in the dining room the silverware and plastic dishes, everything that showed that he had lived here…” (Bradbury 110). He wanted to get rid of his old life and all memories of it. Montag had even said “If there was no solution, well then there was no problem, either. Fire was best for everything” (Bradbury 110). In this aspect, fire is used for cleansing, just burn anything that is a problem. Ironically, Beatty is one Montag’s problem, so Montag follows his advice and burns Beatty alive. With the use of fire, Montag successfully gets rid of his previous life and Beatty.

Throughout the novel, Montag tries to bring realization to the people around him and waits for the day that the civilization experiences a rebirth. This corresponds to the symbol of fire. It mirrors the transformation of Montag's choices from killing his boss to burning his house down. The fire was the solution to set Montag free from the bondage of his culture, and without it, a change would not have ensued (1). Once Montag escapes from the city, he discovers a group of men sitting around a fire. It is in this scene that the fire portrays comfort. The metamorphosis that occurs in Montag is symbolized by the fire due to the fact that he is surrounded by a group of men who share his same beliefs. The comfort Montag feels in the fire is similar to the way God is a constant comfort in a Christian's life. In John 14:16, it says "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever" (NIV). God sets the rules for his people, but He will never leave their side and will always love them unconditionally. A critical altercation becomes obvious when Montag views the fire for the first time in his life as

Writing this novel Bradbury has let other readers feel close to him allowing them to feel like they can relate to him through his stories as well as Montag. Bradbury and Montag relate because they know what is expected of them to succeed and satisfy themselves. Montag holds the responsibility as being a fireman and burning books instead he keeps them other characters in the story can relate who have escaped the society and they will also help him to do the same. They both feel they need to catch up on their past and make the most of their life while they have it. “ Montag opines on several occasions throughout the novel that he needs to catch up with the memories of the past.” They both love books and would

In the start of Fahrenheit 451, Montag’s thoughts are that fire is good for society. He burns books for a living, and never thought twice about doing his job. That is until he meets characters such as Clarisse, Beatty, and the academics. Montag’s understanding of the nature of fire changes as he becomes enlightened through his relationships.

Fire represents change in the novel because fire allows Montag to undergo a symbolic change in which he stops using fire to burn knowledge but instead help him find it. Guy uses fire to

In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, fire is a recurring idea. Bradbury used the main character, Guy Montag, to present the fire motif throughout the story. Montag, a fireman, had doubts about his career and society. He sought answers and enlightenment to cure his curiosity about the truth in books. He did not have faith in his society, nor did he understand why intellect was so terrible. In his search Montag realized that fire (and books) were not so evil after all. Montag began to see fire in a different light. Therefore, fire, in Fahrenheit 451, represented rejuvenation through cleansing and renewal.

Bradbury uses irony within the climax. Not only was it a turning point in the story itself, but it also began to have new meanings. The fire was changing its representation from destruction and now is symbolized as a cleansing tool and other things too later on in the novel. Montag cleansed away his now past life, Mildred, and even himself. He then became a new person. “If there was no solution, well then now there was no problem, either. The fire was best for everything” (110). The protagonist overthrows the perception of the dystopian society. Montag was an enforcer, and because he did what he did, his antagonist attempted to shame him by making him burn up his own belongings, and later he was on the hunt for a wanted man. In today’s world, if anyone is to go against what is “supposed” to be the normal structure of society, they are likely to be ridiculed or shamed.

Bradbury uses the symbol of fire to describe much of what is happening to Montag. Like the phoenix that appears often in the novel, Montag's life is finally purified and reborn by the very fire he has been spewing for years. During the course of the plot, Montag

In Fahrenheit 451, instead of putting out fires,the firemen start the fires to destroy books. The reason they destroy the books is to keep the people from reading them, to keep the people from learning what the books have to say. People who disobey the law end up being punished, but some just want to sacrifice everything they have for the knowledge of what the books gave them. One woman was caught with books in her home and was set on fire because she refused to leave, she wanted to stay with the books because she loved them that much that she was willing to give up her life. Even with a woman being set on fire with her books, the firemen still had to do their job and burn them, even if it means murder.

At the beginning of the novel, Montag, the protagonist, is a direct reflection of the society that the world has then become. The first symbol is seen, fire, and Bradbury portrays this element as destructive and negative. Montag, a fireman of an

Mankind has been utilizing fire for millennia; it has been used to make food safe, to provide warmth, to illuminate the dark and unknown, and to protect from savage beasts. It is also practical for torturing, killing, intimidating, and destroying. It only takes one glance for someone to see how fire -- as it dances, spearing the sky for but a moment before it is gone, only to be replaced by another flame -- is far too chaotic to be controlled. In the world of Fahrenheit 451, it seems, superficially, that man has conquered fire at last; the home, man’s refuge from everything undesirable in the world, is fireproof. Why, then, are things still burning in this gilded utopia? In this futuristic society where there is no such thing as an uncontrolled fire, fire has been reduced to a mere tool to be wielded by mankind. As such, fire, in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, is a reflection of the true nature of each character in the novel. In the hands of the society and especially the fireman, fire is a tool wielded for fractious and destructive intent. For Clarisse, who is compared to a candle, fire is friendly and inspiring of thought. And for Montag and the other literates hiding outside of the city, fire is a warm gathering place that fosters kinship and the proper ideals to feed a revolution.

In Fahrenheit 451 ,written by Ray Bradbury, the motif of fire, sparks an interest in the reader which pulls them into the life of Guy Montag. In the daily life of Montag, Bradbury portrays the importance of fire in the censored society. From Montag's standpoint the reader gains a clear perspective of the symbolism and importance of fire. Throughout the story fire is used to represent a different emotion or characteristic. At the start of the book fire symbolizes destruction; towards the middle of the book fire is used to represent change and discovering ones identity; and finally at the conclusion of the story fire symbolizes renewal and rebirth.

In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Montag, the main character, is a normal man living a life as a Firemen. He thinks he loves the job, but there is one difference between the firemen today and the firemen in the book that makes him question his happiness. The firemen in the book create fires to burn books instead of a traditional firemen role, to put out fires. Montag begins to realize the something is amiss when Clarisse makes him understand that he is not truly happy and he tries to find the underlying root of his unhappiness. While still conforming on the outside, Montag secretly changes his views on the mindless

Montag is aggressive, irritated, and stubborn; he stumbles into the “Enlightenment” without a sense of direction. After Montag reads out loud “Dover Beach”, Mrs. Phelps begins sobbing and he “felt himself turn and walk to the wall slot and drop the book in through the brass notch to the waiting flames,” (Bradbury 101). The incinerator symbolizes Montag’s frustration and discontent in being alone in his metamorphosis. Burning to find the truth, Montag is driven to the verge of insanity because all of his destructive ideals disintegrates by his realization that he doesn’t want to destroy anymore. He wakes up from the “slumber of obliviousness”, completely left in the dark to process the contradictions of human nature. Society puts him in the position of not being able to understand that a person isn’t solely a man of creation or a man of destruction, but is both at the same time, “fire plus water,” (Bradbury 103). This results in his chaotic and intense identity

Throughout Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Guy Montag’s relation with fire reflects his own feelings about himself and society. In the beginning, Montag wears his happiness like a mask alike and is native to the rest of the world alike everyone else in his city. In this dystopia they believe that everyone should be the exact same, no individual is different from the next. This gives the idea that everyone is replaceable. A person shouldn’t have to worry about their family when they barely know them. Montag believes that as his job a firefighter he protects the world from books and their confusing words by burning them to ashes. He enjoys the beauty and even goes on to joke about cooking a marshmallow over the fire. He also enjoys the smell and even goes as far to call kerosene, what they use to burn houses, his perfume. After burning a house full of forbidden stories, “Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back from flame” (2). He goes on to mention that after burning a house down his smile will stay on his face. Burning books to ashes gives a thrill and gives him a purpose in his life. Montag is naive, believing that burning books is beautiful and gives a feeling he mistakes as happiness. Also seeing fire as entertainment, Montag reflects his own belief that all of society is for entertainment; everything in the world is for amusement such as driving really fast, smashing or even burning buildings to ashes.