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Theme Of Fire In Fahrenheit 451

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The world of Fahrenheit 451 is not a place that one may want to live. It is a dystopian world. With authoritative control and absolutely no individual freedom, the author Ray Bradbury really set out to emphasize not only the need for literature/knowledge but also the power technology holds in his envisioned future. The novel being titled Fahrenheit 451 one might have thoughts of heat or burning or fire. Whether fire is being used as a weapon of destruction or a way to cleanse the impurity in the world, fire seems to be a recurring theme in this futuristic setting. Fire or the symbolism of fire carries the story throughout the novel. The whole story is revolved around not only the burning of books, but also knowledge, history, and …show more content…

Thrusting himself into an identity crisis because he realizes his own identity is being puppeteered by others. During the first parts of the novel the audience only saw Montag as a shell of a person with no real depth but when he finally starts to process the people and events around him, he really begins to shine as a character. Montag starts to fear fire and its corrupt uses. In this dystopian world, society passes judgement through fire that Montag himself carries out and he begins to have inner conflict throughout the novel. During the end of Fahrenheit 451 Montag comes across “book people”, scholars led by Granger. Montag sees their bonfire of sorts warming them in the cold. “The small motion, the white and red color, a strange fire because it meant a different thing to him. It was not burning, it was warming,” (pg. 139). He sees the fire not hurt these men—as he has grown accustomed to—but helping them acting as a hearth that the come close to for comfort and protection. He starts to realize that fire has a duality and the way it is handled is for the person to decide. Similarly, Montag understands that as long as he is willing he has the power to control his identity, both the destructive and creative sides to it. In a similar fashion Montag, in still forming his individuality, both destructive and creative aspects

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