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Stylistic Devices in Fahrenheit 451

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Stylistic Devices in Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury 's 1953 Fahrenheit 451 contains a number of interesting stylistic devices. Robert Reilly praises Bradbury for having a style "like a great organ. ..." (73). David Mogen comments on the novel 's "vivid style" (110). Peter Sisario applauds the "subtle depth" of Bradbury 's allusions (201), and Donald Watt pursues Bradbury 's bipolar "symbolic fire" (197) imagery. In recent articles I discussed Bradbury 's use of mirror imagery and nature imagery.
In addition, throughout Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury uses imagery of hands, making them significant reflectors of conscience. The hands of the misguided are deceptively calm, reflecting the complacency of self-righteousness. At the same time, the …show more content…

Bradbury employs such ironic imagery to show that Beatty is still able to possess the kind of clear (or blank) conscience which the nervous Montag fortunately no longer has. Beatty unwittingly may be the novel 's best spokesperson against the stifling anti-intellectualism of his society, but he refuses to let any doubts interfere with his work; unlike Montag 's, his hands never waver.
Bare minutes after the tense firehouse scene, Beatty forces Montag to burn down his own house. As Beatty berates him and threatens to track down Faber, Montag finds himself "twitch[ing] the safety catch on the flame thrower" (119). Again, Bradbury has the conscience drive the hands onward even before the conscious mind has reasoned out the situation: "Montag ... himself glanced to his hands to see what new thing they had done. Thinking back later he could never decide whether the hands or Beauty 's reaction to the hands gave him the final push toward murder" (119).
Even when Montag finally kills the taunting Beatty, Bradbury displaces him syntactically from the center of the action. Describing Beatty, Bradbury writes, "And then he was a shrieking blaze, a jumping, sprawling, gibbering mannikin, no longer human or known, all writhing flame on the lawn as Montag shot one continuous pulse of liquid fire on him" (119). While Bradbury does identify the actor as Montag rather than as his disembodied hands, the abrupt transformation of Beatty and the

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