Running head-FAHRENHEIT 451
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Symbolism)
Name
Affiliated Institution
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A Short Summary of the Novel
This book is about Guy Montag, who works as a fireman but burns books in a futuristic
American society. Montag's department handles starting fires rather than putting them off. Also,
people in this society do not have time to read books, enjoy the beautiful nature at their disposal,
or think independently. They also do not have meaning full conversations. They spent a huge
amount of their time watching television and listening to their favorite radio stations.
After Montag meets Clarisse, and through their conversations, Montag realizes that there
are a lot of gaps in his life that need answers especially when he understands how the girl values
her environment and people. He starts to find these answers by reading a series of books that he
had stolen and hidden them in a vent. As this goes on Montag experiences a lot of unfortunate
events. His wife nearly commits suicide by overdosing herself, a woman chooses to be burnt
alive together with her books and finally, Clarisse is knocked down by an over speeding car and
she loses her life (Bradbury, 2012).
When Montag fails to show up at work, Beatty, the fire chief pays him a visit and tries to
explain to Montag that unfortunate events can happen to anyone, but he wonders why he should
be reading such a huge amount of books because they can never offer a solution to his problems.
He even explains to him why books were banned in the first place was because they will make
people start to have conflicting opinions. He, however, allows Montag to continue reading his
books for 24 hours, and if they do not help him in any way, he should return them so that they
can be kept (Bradbury, 2012).
That night, Montag did not sleep. He kept on reading and reading. He tried to involve the
wife in reading, but the wife prefers to continue watching the TV. He decides to call on a retired
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English professor, Faber who explains to him that before he learns what is written in the books,
he needs to read the books with pleasure, in leisure and freedom and should understand the life
context as portrayed by the books he is reading. Through reading the books, Montag and Faber
are interested in overthrowing the status quo. While Faber will be active in reproducing the
books, Montag will be busy planting the books in the homes of the fellow firemen and
destroying the censorship machine (Bradbury, 2012).
With the radio piece (green bullet) they can communicate with each other. When he gets
home, his wives friends are busy watching television and talking about issues that they do not
understand. He gets a poetry book and starts reading to them, but the women claim that poetry is
one way the firemen use to say that literature is useless. The women did not like how Montag
behaved, though. When he hands a book to Beatty, Beatty argues that literature is very complex,
and it deserves to be incarcerated (Bradbury, 2012).
As they are still in conversation, the alarm rings and informs the fire department that
Montag's house is in danger. He later finds out that his wife has betrayed him, and he is forced to
burn his house. He is then arrested but escapes with yet another set of books even though he is
injured (Bradbury, 2012).
He then goes to Faber's house, but he is not safe. The authorities are after him. Faber
gives him some of his clothes which he advises that he must change into them so that his scent
cannot be smelt. Montag follows the downstream and escapes the authorities. He later on meets
the book people who welcome him. The book people are the ones who rebuild civilization after
the war.
Definition of Symbolism
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Before this paper discusses how symbolism has been used in this paper, it is important for
it to define exactly what symbolism is and how it is used in stories. According to Stein
(1995)symbolism, can be well understood when something is used to represent something else. It
is a figure of speech that authors can use when they want to create certain moods and emotions in
literature. They can use a person, an object, a situation or a word to bring about an idea so as to
keep the story going.
The same way that characterization and dialog work on the surface to keep the story
going, the symbolism works under the surface with the main intention of tying the story's
external action to the theme. Common types of symbolism include metaphor and allegory.
Symbols could include characters, figures and colors that authors can use to represent abstract
ideas and concepts.
Symbolism as used in the Novel
This novel uses high levels of symbolism. Some of the symbols used include blood, the
hearth and the salamander, the sieve and the sand, the Phoenix and mirrors. Symbolism has
mainly been used by the author to criticize the modern world in Montag's world; there is no
thinking or reasoning, no learning, or growth (Reading group guides, 2015).
People in this world live without purpose. The author takes time to describe a hound’s
life which sleeps whenever it is told to, not because it thinks it needs to sleep. The hound which
is a robot does not really live because it does not have life. It gently hums and gently vibrates
probably when it is working. The author uses such words to describe this hound that he compares
to the society he lived in which was alive but dead in the real sense. The hound is programmed
robot that cannot think by itself. It is manipulated and does everything according to the desire of
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the one manipulating it. This society was not groomed to think or be critical in issues that
surrounded them and could not do anything they were told not to do (LitCharts, 2014).
The author goes on to describe a society where instead of firemen putting out the fire,
they light them so that they can burn the available books that have been incarcerated. Montag is
one of the firemen who later start to have some reasoning capacity, something that is not known
in this society. He stars to question his kind of job, how he treats books as an enemy and the use
of fire (Stein, 1995).
Fire as Symbolism
According to Bradbury (2012), at the beginning of the novel, Montag feels very nice
whenever he is burning the books that are his duty as a fire man. He only understands that fire is
used to burn the society's most dangerous enemy that books. On page 3, it can be deducted that
Montag initially understood fire as a weapon of destruction, and he used it to feel powerful
especially when destroying fires. "It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things
blackened and changed (Bradbury, p.3). This feeling did not last long because when he meets
Clarisse things started to change. Clarisse makes Montag start to question his perception about
the fire, about his job, the meaning of his marriage to Mildred and the importance of books.
Certainly, fire stops being a weapon to Montag, and he largely starts to embrace the books that
he once destroyed.
The Hearth and the Salamander
The hearth and the salamander are the headings given to part one of this novel, and it can
be grouped as symbolism. This is because this title suggests two things that are highly associated
with fire. The hearth is understood as a source of warmth and good tidings, meaning it shows the
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positivity and the benefits of fire. The salamander, however, is a small sized amphibian that
looks like a lizard. There is a myth that sees that salamanders have an ability to withstand fire
without getting burnt by it. This paper can, therefore, conclude that the salamander represents
Montag, who works in a fire department but has never gotten burnt with it. He believes that he
can use fire as his power to destroy books something that he enjoyed doing and can always
survive through fires (Sparknotes, 2013).
The Symbol of Phoenix
Phoenix as a symbol has been used throughout this novel. According to Bookcaps (2012)
the whole of this quote describes Phoenix in this novel. A phoenix is a mythical kind of a bird in
Arabian lands. It is multi colored that has existed over five hundred years and has largely been
used in arts and literary symbolism. When it rests on its nest, it sings until sunlight ignites the
masses. In the novel, after the body of the phoenix is reduced to ashes by the ravaging flames, a
worm emerges that gives rise to another phoenix. Granger compares the man to a phoenix that
rises from the ashes after he bombs the city.
This symbol indicates that man has an ability to understand the mistakes he has
committed in the past, be sure to learn from them, become better individuals and never to repeat
them again. Granger and his group have embarked to remember the mistakes of the past and they
understand the importance of history and culture. By the author using the symbol of the
Phoenix's rebirth, he was trying to educate his audience on the cyclical nature of history and the
collective rebirth of the people in this society. I also symbolize Montag's spiritual rebirth.
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The Mirror
At the end of this novel, Montag mentions that he would have loved if they could have
built a mirror so that they could take a long look at themselves (Bradbury, 2012). The symbol of
a mirror represents Clarisse whereby as they critically look at themselves, do they match up to
what Clarisse said that opened his eyes to the truth? As they look at themselves in the mirror,
they can understand who they are and see themselves through clearly.
Blood
According to LitCharts (2014) the author uses blood throughout this novel that acts as a
symbol of human beings' dissatisfied soul and instinctive self. Blood has been used to show
Mildred's loss of primal self as her blood is replaced with fresh mechanically administered blood
using an electric eyed snake machine. Blood and the snake machine is intensely given a
relationship. This symbol has been used by the author to reveal how Mildred is corrupt in the
inside where she is delusional, miserable and does not love herself. Whatever blood the snake
machine put inside her, it could not rejuvenate her soul. The poisoned replaceable blood that she
was given through the snake machine signifies the emptiness and lifelessness of Mildred and
many others in the society whose lifestyle was not different in any way.
The sieve and the sand
The sieve and the sand take up the title of the second part in this novel. Montag goes way
back in his memory when he was still a young man. At his tender age, he could use the sieve to
sieve sand on the shores of the beach so as to get a dime from his cousin. This could make him
cry in the process, especially when it failed. He compares this memory with his efforts to read a
whole Bible in a single night and hopes that as he reads it in a hurry some information will still
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be preserved in his memory. The sand has been used by the author to show the tangible truth that
Montag seeks to understand while the sieve has been used symbolically to represent the truth that
human beings seek to understand even though it remains elusive (LitCharts, 2014).
Conclusion
Fahrenheit 451, a masterpiece done by Bradbury is a futuristic novel that takes its
audience to a society where books and using reason were forbidden and if anyone was spotted in
indulging in these "vices" was punished. It is a time when books and ideas were burnt. Using
literary devices like symbolism, the author of this book effectively conveys his message to the
targeted audience. He succeeds to warn his audience on the dangers of not expressing their ideas.
Through symbolism like fire, sieve and sand, blood, the mirror and hearth and the
salamander, he can sensor some real life events. Such events that happened in real life include
the book burning in Germany, and McCarthyism, which took place in The USA and condemn
such actions. With the use of symbolism, he can keep the story intriguing, moving, and powerful
and he can reinforce his ideas (Mr. Manser's website; School district of Cheltenham Township,
2015).
A society that does not read merely has no impressive ideas and can rarely criticize what
they are told. They are like robots which are manipulated at the owner’s desire. Books are a
source of knowledge and should be embraced and treasured like the woman who offered to be
burned together with her books.
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References
Bookcaps. (2012). Fahrenheit 451: (A BookCaps Study Guide) . NewYork: CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform.
Bradbury, R. (2012). Fahrenheit 451. Newyork: Simon & Schuster.
LitCharts. (2014). Retrieved July 31, 2015, from http://www.litcharts.com/lit/fahrenheit451/part-1.
Mr. Manser's website;school district of cheltenham township. (2015). Retrieved July 31, 2015,
from http://www.cheltenham.org/webpages/cmanser/english.cfm?subpage=660567.
Reading group guides . (2015, April 12). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from
www.readinggroupguides.com/printpdf/reviews/fahrenheit-451.
FAHRENHEIT 451
Sparknotes . (2013). Retrieved July 31, 2015, from
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/summary.html.
Stein, M. (1995). Jungian Analysis. Virginia: Open Court Publishing Company.
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