Hidden Meanings: Archetypes and Symbols
Objectives
• To define the terms archetypal imagery and symbolism
• To identify archetypal images and symbols in context
• To analyze the effect of archetypes and symbols
Explanation of Archetypes and Symbols
Explaining the purpose and effect of symbolism as it relates to discerning a theme is often
difficult. A symbol is something concrete that represents an abstract idea.
For example, the flag of the United States of America is a red, white, and blue piece of cloth that
includes stripes and stars; it represents patriotism and freedom to most U.S. citizens.
Open symbols are universal and well-known; for example, a set of scales represents justice.
There are also constructed or closed symbols, which are given meaning by the author. The
salamander in Fahrenheit 451 is an example. When symbols are deeply embedded in the psyche
or intuitive level of response, they are often described as archetypes.
An archetype is an original pattern or model from which other things of the same type are copied
or on which they are based. An archetype is a first form or a prototype. In Jungian psychology, it
is an inherited, unconscious idea, part of the collective unconscious. According to Jung,
archetypes are universally present in all individual psyches. Considering archetypes explains how
so many descriptions about a great flood exist in ancient texts. The similarity of the stories about
restoration of the peoples of the earth in these various creation myths cannot have arisen from
commerce between these civilizations.
Fahrenheit 451 is filled with powerful symbols and archetypal images, all of which relate directly
to the theme. In the first part of this lesson, we discover the symbolic meaning in the title of each
part of the novel. We also use the Afterword to determine the meaning of certain tag names such
as Faber, Montag, and Granger. Next, we locate and respond to various archetypal images and
symbols in the novel. Finally, for an optional activity, we choose symbols to use in creating a new
book cover for the novel.