Fahrenheit 451 Symbolism Analysis

Fire is often associated with devastation and chaos within history and mythology. Beatty is closely associated with fire after the books he reads do not satisfy his dark side; meaning he consciously chooses to "cleanse" the books in fire, knowing the repercussions of his actions. Fire, in this book symbolizes the sinister side of human nature within this novel. When fire burns, all that is left is ashes. Much like the people's mentality, those who lived within this society after years of government conditioning were left with a vacant mind. When Montag chooses to quit his profession as a fireman, it reflects that his mind has transformed himself into an intellectual thinking person. Fire is no longer the nucleus of his existence.

Beatty was making Montag realize, “The incredible books that looked so silly and really not worth bothering with, for these were nothing but black type and yellow paper and raveled binding” (Bradbury 109). After Beatty had brought Montag and the rest of the station to Montag's house to ruin Montag’s plan and burn the books he had hidden. Montag has to decide what to do before Beatty burns his house down and arrest him. Beatty was making Montag realize what he had really done by burning his house down with all of the books that Montag had concealed. Fire gives Beatty the power to make him feel like he can make people do what he wants and helps him have better control over situations.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a futuristic novel bursting with symbolism and imagery. One of the most prominent symbols perceived throughout the story, is the Mechanical Hound. It plays an important role in the novel, not only by symbolism, but also throughout the plot of the story. The Mechanical Hound is “not machine, not animal, not dead, not alive” (Bradbury, 128), yet portrays and reveals different aspects of Guy Montag’s society and world. Throughout Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the Mechanical Hound plays a key role in symbolizing multiple concepts observed in the novel, such as the dehumanized nature of society, the totalitarian government, and the abuse of technology.

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.

In the beginning of the book Ray Bradbury shows how Montog reacts to fire when he is ignorant. Montag did not think about what he was doing while he burned books because he had not began reading books himself. “Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame. He knew that when he returned to the firehouse, he might wink at himself, a minstrel man, burnt corked, in the mirror.(4)” This quote shows Montag's outlook on fire before he began reading books himself. Montag was a complex character in Fahrenheit 451. His views constantly change as the story progresses. In the end of the book, Bradbury showed him and his reactions to fire where, after his ignorance had been lifted. He had realized that it could do more than cause destruction and take away pieces of art away, but that it could help bring people together. Bradbury shows this when montag finds people come together around fire rather than be pulled apart because of it: “It was not only the fire that was different. It was the silence that was concerned with all of the world.(146)” Montag looked at the fire at the end of the book and felt happy and at peace with the world. He did not feel anger or a resistance to the fire, but he was one with it and was no longer ignorant to how special books

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.

In the novel, Fahrenheit 451, author, Ray Bradbury, uses symbolism to feed the reader with a deeper more insightful meaning of the story by guiding his protagonist and the mindset of the society in which he lives, from a brainwashed technology driven society lacking independent thought, to a human-focused society through the use of the symbols fire and mirrors.

Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 presents readers with multiple themes. In the fictional society of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, books are banned and firemen create fires instead of putting them out. Bradbury portrays the society as dystopian. Bradbury crafted the novel to be interpreted intellectually. The characters claim to be happy. However, the reader can conclude otherwise. Bradbury creates a question for the reader to answer: Is ignorance bliss or does the ability to think for oneself create happiness? Bradbury shows the importance of self-reflection, happiness and the ability to think for oneself as well as isolation due to technology, and the importance of nature and animals. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury conveys the stories’ themes through characterization and symbols.

Ray Bradbury once stated, “I never consciously place symbolism in my writing. That would be a self-conscious exercise and self-consciousness is defeating to any creative act … During a lifetime, one saves up information which collects itself around centers in the mind; these automatically become symbols on a subliminal level and need only be summoned in the heat of writing.” (The Paris Review). Bradbury’s may not have consciously placed symbolism in Fahrenheit 451, but his use of symbolism throughout the story allows the reader to relate back to their most basic instincts, all while seeing a deeper meaning to what they are really looking at.

Fahrenheit 451 is a novel based on a character amed Montag and the life he lives. Throughout the novel his belief will be challenged and he will begin to see the world he and the other characters live in differently. Overtime the man who he was will not be the man he becomes. His beliefs, the characters who have influenced him, and the ways that Montag changes will all be discussed in this essay.

In Fahrenheit 451 Guy Montag is seen as the main character and the reason for this whole story because without him there would not be a story at all. However, while Montag is the central character his path is laid out for him by the other characters in the novel. These characters play the most important role in creating the feel of the story. Bradbury comments on humanity's urge to suppress what they do not understand. Clarisse McClellan appearance, actions, ideas, and relationships give important insight to the story. In this paper, I will be discussing the evolution of Clarisse's impact on Montag’s eyes and how she acted as the domino that set Montag on this life-altering story where he grows from a non-questioning consumer to a self-aware individual that betrays his dystopian society. I will also be using Jerome Bruner “The Narrative Creation Of Self” to support my thesis. “A self-making narrative is something of a balancing act. It must, on the one hand, create a conviction of autonomy, that one has a will of one’s own, a certain freedom of choice, a degree of possibility. However, it must also relate one to a world of others—to friends and family, to institutions, to the past, to reference groups. But there is an implicit commitment to others in relating oneself to others that, of course, limits our autonomy. We seem virtually unable to live without both, autonomy and commitment, and our lives strive to balance the two. So do the self-narratives we tell

Ray Bradbury is a master of characterization techniques. He uses his expertise, such as indirect characterization, in the creation of Fahrenheit 451. In addition to learning about the explicit qualities of Bradbury’s characters, readers receive deeper insight as we carefully read his stories. In Fahrenheit 451, we learn more indirect information about the protagonist, Guy Montag, through the words used to introduce this character. We have a clear view of Montag’s thoughts and feelings that lead him into his own transformation.

Most people take for granted the right to be able to think for themselves, the right to be able to educate one another with experiences and stories, the right to pick up a book and read cover to cover. Imagine a world where none of these rights exist and instead people are manipulated and told what to think and do. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury these rights are taken from society due to the absurd idea that books cause people to have different opinions that can lead to wars. As the novel develops, symbolism appears significantly in the novel; Bradbury makes symbols like fire, the mechanical hound, water and the phoenix understandable, with fire being the

In Terry Heller’s essay, “Fahrenheit 451” he analyzes Ray Bradbury’s 1953 book, Fahrenheit 451. Heller discusses and examines the three major parts of the book separately and then he connects them. He also discusses the culture in which the story is based in and how that affects the protagonist, Montag, and the other characters. He discusses Faber, Clarisse, Mildred, and Beatty and how they affect Montag. Heller analyzes how Clarisse opened Montag’s mind to the wisdom in books and how Montag unconsciously began hiding books inside his house.

Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is a unique book that takes place in a dystopian future in which Guy Montag’s life has turned utterly upside down. His peculiar neighbor named Clarisse, who narrated his stories about the peaceful past which opened his eyes to a twisted present where people pay more attention to TV Families and not their actual families. Where people continue their senseless, ignorant lives blind to the fact that men like Montag who burn history to ashes, jail readers and destroy their houses all in effort to make everyone “equal” and “happy”. When Montag abandons a life changing mess by his house through burning Captain Beatty and the mechanical hound, he escapes by taking advice from Faber, an old man who was