Ray Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451

Guy Montag wears a uniform with a salamander patch on the arm and a Phoenix disc on his chest. The salamander represents the descendant of a dragon that breathes fire. The salamander and fireman both destroy things with fire and represent destruction.

It is only once in a while a book comes along so great in its message, so frightening in its inferred meaning’s of fire as in Fahrenheit 451. Fire which is used as a symbol of chaos, destruction, and death can also lead to knowledge. Fire has 3 different meanings. Fire represents change which is shown through Montag’s symbolic change from using fire to burn knowledge into using fire to help him find knowledge; fire can represent knowledge as demonstrated through Faber, and fire can represent rebirth of knowledge as shown through the phoenix.

The society is controlled and the citizens are banned from reading books. If someone is caught with a book, they’re home will be set on fire by the firemen. Bradbury used allusions in his stories to enhance the themes. The phoenix was one of the many allusions used in the book.

Symbolism is a major literary device that helps people see a book through symbols that often have a deeper meaning. A symbol is used to explain something in a different way, using images, objects, etc. instead of just saying it in words. As you search for a deeper meaning in a work of art or literature it can help you understand the author’s intentions and the deeper significance of a work. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, symbols help reinforce the major themes of the book.

The scarecrow that Phoenix spots The purpose of the scarecrow is to scare away black bird which symbolizes death and all of the slaves that were in her life. As she approaches the scarecrow she thinks it’s a black man dancing. Phoenix realizes it is a scarecrow and laughs about the mistake she ,made and starts to dance with the scarecrow. This represents her with slaves that have gone and slavery in general.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, is a prime example of social criticism. The story sets in the 24th century where people race jet cars; the author’s idea of the future. It shows a flawed social structure, controlled by the media and government with banning and burning of books, and suppressing society’s minds from history. Their logical thought was that it would keep society from thinking too much, which in turn would prevent bad thoughts, and to keep them “happy all the time”. The book tells a story of Guy Montag, the protagonist, and his life as a book burner. He was an “instrument” of the government, a firefighter that was used to suppress information from people by burning all books. The characters live in a world where the past is hidden from them. The government has brain washed society and they are forced to contemplate on what is true and what is not. Montag plays a round character that undergoes change throughout the story. He starts as a narrow-minded character that does what he is told, no questions asked. He has lived his life thinking he was happy. As a reader, you will begin to sense a character change in Montag as this paper will analyze certain events that occur in his life representing an individual fighting against conformity. It begins with control of the masses by censorship as society is censored from history by book burning and oppressive technology. The rise of Montag’s character development starts to socially rebel from societies norms causing him

Matthew Xu Miriam Riggs English 001A 3 November 2017 Summarizer: The Hearth And The Salamander Guy Montag is a fireman, who instead of putting out fires like the present-day firemen, sets things such as houses on fire. One night going home, he has the feeling of being followed. He finds out that he is being followed by his new neighbor, Clarisse Mcclellan, a pale brown eyed girl of the age of 17. She is intrigued by the salamander on his uniform and the 451 number on his head.

The soft wind gently caressed Black’s face as the Salamander drove to the neighborhood of the next house in question. He sat quietly replaying the events of the night through his mind as Stoneman drove the Salamander, lost in his own thoughts. It had all started, Black realized, at the martyr’s house. That was where Montag had finally lost it. Black had heard stories of firemen who had buckled under the stress and went mad. As he thought this the small radio in the Salamander announced the capture of the fugitive, Guy Montag. Black, who had silently been rooting for Montag to escape sighed and turned to look out of the window. As the world rushed by at an amazing ninety miles per hour he thought of how much he had lost in the past few hours,

Laura Freedman can be described as a believer and follower of God whom resides to religion when trying to find the holy meaning of life. One way this can be concluded is based on her use of a religious symbol, the phoenix bird. According to an article at Catholic-Saints website, the phoenix is a bird that burns itself and later rises again, and will never die "because it did not eat the forbidden fruit". It is a Christian symbol that represents resurrection (Phoenix Christian Symbol 1). The phoenix bird is initially mentioned by Ms. Freedman in the first story called "When Mystical Creatures Attack!”. When given a prompt that read "what is your favorite mystical creature?" and "what is the greatest sociopolitical problem of our time?" to her class, Ms. Freedman answered her own question with a story titled "How the Phoenix Got Ms. Freedman out of Texas". In

Many connections can be made between the unwavering Phoenix Jackson and the Son of God. Phoenix's cane being described as "limber as a buggy whip" (3) symbolizes the whip used on Christ during His crucifixion. The "chains about her feet" (5) symbolizes the burden of the cross and the thorns or thorny bush (8) represents Christ's crown of thorns. But evidence can be found relating Phoenix's status as a biblical character as well. "The old woman waited, silent, erect, and motionless just as if she were in armor" (84) is reminiscent of the armor of God that Christians must adorn to "be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11) and the "parting her way" (28) brings the awesome sight of Moses parting the Red Sea to mind. Another example would be Phoenix's comment to the nurse that she and her grandson are "the only two people left in the world" (93) is suggestive of Adam and Eve being the only two people in the world after Creation.

Bradbury reveals the influence nature has on Guy Montag’s metamorphosis as an individual by connecting him to his true self. The people that Guy Montag chose to surround himself with helped him realize that society was not right. Clarisse McKellen in particular got him to this mindset that his society brainwashed people. Clarisse’s approach to nature opened Montag’s eyes to the real world and showed him how life should be lived. Bradbury uses many different literary techniques to develop Montag’s individuality.

1. In many cultures the Phoenix is a symbol for rebirth or renewal after death. In most stories, the bird purposefully engulfs itself in flames and is reborn from its ashes.

a society or group, is to be the best individual in it that we can be.” In Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Montag is an individual who wants to change his world. His main goal is to gain knowledge for himself and his society. Although his society believes that knowledge can lead to unhappiness, Montag wishes to change the viewpoint of his society because people need information from books to be independent and to make their own decisions in life. Society will constantly attempt to keep knowledge away from its people. Although knowledge is emitted by fire, Montag strives for the knowledge that he feels will soon be lost. Ray Bradbury uses the symbols such as the phoenix, fire, and hands to represent Montag’s struggles with his society and his craving for knowledge.

The presence of a phoenix reinforces the underlying theme of conquering death by embracing life, just like Harry and Jesus did.

Phoenix, the bird who could live for centuries along with being reborn after death. It had the ability to be reborn arising from ashes and obtaining a new life. This bird was linked to the Phoenicia who were famous for producing a purple dye from conch shells. Some sources claim that when the Phoenix dies, it dies through a show of flames and combustions. The Phoenix typically symbolizes rebirth. The bird itself is brightly colored surrounded by warm colors as it is associated with the sun and fire.