Books offer a wealth of knowledge to those who are curious and are willing to dig for the information. But what happens when that information is no longer available? Ray Bradbury provides a glimpse into this world with his book, Fahrenheit 451, by following Guy Montag on his journey from indoctrinated fireman to becoming a keeper of the knowledge he once swore to destroy. In its essence, Fahrenheit 451 is a story that shows how curiosity and the thirst for knowledge can have a very powerful impact on an individual as well as have lasting effects on the world. By studying the many symbols in this story and how they relate to each other, the reader can join Montag on his journey and, perhaps, leave with his or her own great thirst for knowledge.
Books are a symbol of knowledge, power, and freedom in the novel. Through fiction and non-fiction alike, books can help teach about the way the world works. If the powers that be in the novel want to keep the masses from learning, what better way than to take the books away? According the Faber, the only way a regular person can learn is by books (Bradbury 82). An ignorant population will have no power to change things when they become problematic. The authorities allow the media to flood the people’s minds with trivial information, making them feel like they do not need to learn anything. This allows the media to tell the people what to think and how to feel about things. When Montag meets Granger and the other scholars in the woods, they are watching footage of the police searching for him on a small portable television. Granger tells Montag that the police will find somebody else to identify as Montag to “save face” (Bradbury 142). They kill an innocent man just to say that they caught him. There is no question in anyone’s mind that it is Montag. If the people are able to read and learn new information, they would be free to think for themselves. People would be able to investigate and ask questions. They would be free to make difficult decisions that affect themselves and others on a greater scale. The authorities would not have control over citizens’ minds. An informed populace is one where people can think for themselves and make their own decisions.
The authorities prevent society from being informed by burning books. The act of burning books represents the death of knowledge and free thought. The words in these books are the thoughts and ideas of people throughout history. Many of these authors risked everything to share these ideas with the world. These ideas instill emotional responses in people from joy to anger, and have inspired many to act. When the firemen come to burn the old woman’s books, the woman says, “’Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall ever be put out’” (Bradbury 33). When Montag questions Beatty about her words, he states that it was a quote by a man named Latimer as he and a man named Ridley were burned alive “for heresy” (Bradbury 37). These men were burned for their beliefs because they did not go along with the norm of the time. The woman chooses to burn herself alive with her books rather than live a thoughtless life of conformity. Montag burns Captain Beatty alive due to his desire for freedom. By burning the books, the firemen are effectively taking away the ability for a person to think for himself or herself. Captain Beatty believes that, by getting rid of books and allowing the media to fill people’s heads with trivial information, the world is a more peaceful place (Bradbury 58). Of course, the reader knows that this is not the case. With the deaths of the old woman and Captain Beatty, as well as the war that is brewing in the background, this world is far from peaceful.
The bomber jets represent fire as a symbol for the destruction of society. The people of the town know that there is an impending war on the horizon. This is alluded to by the mention of the black bombers multiple times through the novel. Mrs. Phelps mentions that her husband has been called to war and will return within two days (Bradbury 90). This situation does not seem to bother the Mrs. Phelps at all. There is also a broadcast that states explicitly, “War has been declared” (Bradbury 119). All of these allusions to war are being made, yet not one character in the novel is concerned about this looming threat. When the war comes, the bombers destroy the city. The bombs kill the people of the town destroying the society that Montag was running from, leaving he and a small group of academics and scholars to rebuild it.
Fire is also a symbol of survival in the novel when Montag burns Captain Beatty and the hound. These two characters have caused Montag a lot of problems throughout the novel. By burning them and escaping the frenzy, Montag has assured his survival (Bradbury 113). It represents hope for the survival of knowledge when Montag meets with Granger and the other academics in the woods surrounding a campfire. George Slusser states that Montag is “saved” by this fire because it does not burn anything (Slusser 1977). Up until this point, Montag only knew of the destructive nature of fire, but this fire was different in that it made him feel safe. David Mogen states in his essay, “Chapter 8: Fahrenheit 451”, that Montag’s meeting these men by the fire helps him to experience “the warmth of genuine community” (Mogan 1986). These men are following the same path that Montag, himself, is, by memorizing as much information as they can to share with the world as it is rebuilt after the war. They want to build a stronger, more knowledgeable society. Granger confirms this when he says, “We’re remembering. That’s where we’ll win out in the long run” (Bradbury 157). He implies that the only way to get better is to remember what has already happened.
Technology in the novel symbolizes the fear prevalent in this society. The mechanical hound is the exact opposite of the idea of what a firehouse dog should be. The image of a firehouse dog invites thoughts of a helpful and loyal animal. This is an image that many do not fear. The mechanical hound is depicted as a spider-like robot with a proboscis that comes out of its foot that injects poison into its victims. This mechanical hound is a cold, robotic killing machine. Wayne Johnson states that the mechanical hound represents the “relentless, heartless pursuit of the state” due to it getting closer to Montag as he becomes more curious (Johnson 1980). It is a strong reminder of what can happen if the firemen discover that a person is hiding books. This creature instills fear in Montag from the beginning of the novel when it shows aggression toward him in the firehouse (Bradbury 23). This makes him wary of the hound. One would think that the mechanical hound would be on Montag’s side, seeing as he is a fireman. Instead, this mechanical hound becomes a source of paranoia for Montag, forcing him to always be on guard.
Technology also acts as a symbol for the lack of emotional connection in the novel’s society. The constant barrage of noise and images from the televisions and sea shell ear pieces keeps people from communicating with each other. Citizens are, in a sense, brainwashed by commercials. This is apparent when Montag is on the train and the advertisement for Denham’s Dental Dentrifices begins to play. Everyone on the train, including Montag, begins to react to the tune. The narrator says that people are “pounded into submission” (Bradbury 75). By subjecting the population to mindless jingles and products, the powers that be can steer them away from more important things. They will have nothing to talk about except what they are fed.
Mildred represents the complacency and disconnection in the society that the characters of the novel live in. She has a ceaseless need for entertainment. She is constantly watching television or listening to her Seashells. She is one of the happy people who Beatty mentions when discussing the problem with books (Bradbury 58). The people in this society are very distracted. According to John Huntington, the taming of society in the novel is due to people not having access to the “traditional culture” that books contain (Huntington 1982). The people aren’t able to read books, so they are glued to the television. They are always entertained, but at what cost? The television walls almost turn the room into a colorful and noisy prison. The people’s hunger for entertainment and spectacle allows the powers that be to keep them pacified.
Mildred is unable to engage in thoughtful conversation. When Montag tries to talk with her, Mildred shows little interest in what he has to say. Mildred has more “meaningful” conversations with her interactive televisions than she does with her own husband. This is shown when Montag tries to speak to Mildred about her overdose of sleeping pills. When asked why she did this, she refuses to believe that she would have done it (Bradbury 17). She does not even remember that this event took place. The paramedics who came to revive her reveal that this type of thing is becoming a common occurrence. Montag’s reaction to this situation shows that he is beginning to feel alienated by this society. Everyone is isolated from one another. Nobody is communicating how they feel to each other. Mildred even mentions that the people on the television screen are her “family” (Bradbury 69). The people in the novel just seem to exist. They are living lives full of entertainment and excitement, yet none of it means anything. For how “full” these people’s lives are, they are not nearly as happy as they seem.
Captain Beatty is a symbol of authority in the novel. He has an advantage over a majority of the population in that he knows that, despite his resentment for them, books are useful tools for learning. He is well versed in the subject matter that he helps to destroy. He uses this knowledge when he visits Montag at his home in an attempt to deter him from thinking about why books must be burned so that he can come back to work. Beatty explains to Montag that books make people feel things. He believes that, since the characters in the books are not real and the writers are dead, books are a large waste of time. He sees them as a source of conflict (Bradbury 59). Rafeeq O. McGiveron says that Beatty “shows how intolerance for opposing ideas helps to lead to the stifling of individual expression, and hence of thought” (McGiveron). Beatty feels that people are better off when they do not have to think for themselves. If people are able to feel things from reading, they will begin to ask questions and think for themselves. If they can think for themselves, the powers that be will no longer be able to control them.
Beatty also represents the media in the novel. When he speaks to Montag about the books, he says that people are happy spending their leisure time watching television. They just want entertainment. They crave happiness, so the media keeps them from worrying (Bradbury 56). He explains to Montag that it is not the government that wanted to do away with books, but the people. In a way, he uses tactics of the media by giving Montag information in an attempt to misdirect him. This only seems to make Montag even more curious about the content that books provide. Beatty becomes a part of the entertainment when he is killed by Montag.
The firemen represent censorship in the media. When they find out that someone has books, they come and destroy the books. It is a job for them, and they do it without question. The firemen are almost like soldiers. Jack Zipes equates the firemen to Nazis in relation to their uniforms and their burning of books (Zipes 1983). They take pleasure in this job. At the beginning of the novel, Montag is depicted wearing a smile as he torches the books (Bradbury 2). The firemen’s role in society is reversed in the novel. The men who once protected people and put out fires are now the men who start the fires. They burn the information that the people in power do not want the masses to have access to. This keeps the population from thinking for themselves, thus allowing them to be controlled. Without any other information available, there can be no resistance. People only receive the information that the government wants them to receive.
Clarisse is a symbol of curiosity and friendship. From the beginning of the story, she stays in Montag’s mind. She asks Montag a lot of questions, like if he is happy. These questions bother Montag, because he has never really thought about the answers before. Clarrise states that Montag always appears “shocked” by her questions (Bradbury 26). She makes him think about trivial things. She mentions why advertising billboards along the side of the road are as long as they are. These sessions of questions and answers leave Montag dumbfounded, but he begins to grow attached to Clarisse. According to Peter Sisario, Montag’s attachment to Clarisse was “sincere and true in a world hostile to honesty” (Sisario 1970). Montag sees Clarrise as a friend and enjoys his meetings with her. When she disappears, Montag begins to ask questions. Mildred mentions that Clarisse may have been killed and Captain Beatty confirms this later on. Her death inspires him to think and act despite the consequences.
Clarrise also represents and ideal society in which communication and connection are welcome and essential. She and her family sit and talk instead of watching the television screens. Clarrise’s questions may bother him at first, but Montag becomes genuinely curious about Clarisse and her family. Montag shows this by looking to Clarrise’s family’s home and wondering what they would have to talk about. Clarrise’s family has something that Montag is lacking in his own. With the thoughts of Mildred’s overdose and the old woman burning herself alive, Montag needs to speak his mind. Clarisse unconsciously forces Montag to acknowledge this fact when she states, “People don’t talk about anything” (Bradbury 28).
Montag is a symbol of change in the novel. He begins as a loyal fireman who takes pride in his work. He has no problem performing the firemen’s duty of burning books. He is afraid to think for himself. When he thinks about whether or not he is happy he is very unsure if he really is (Bradbury 8). The narrator reveals that Montag has a secret stash of books hidden away in the ventilation system of his home that, if found, will get him into trouble. The deaths of Clarisse and the old woman cause Montag to become curious of what is in the books. This is shown in the woman’s house, where Montag steals a book from the scene before the woman burns it down (Bradbury 35). He may have had books hidden away at home, but this is the first time when Montag shows interest in what he is hiding. He decides to share his secret with Mildred, and shows her the books. This frightens her as she worries about the consequences of their being caught. He shows courage by reading the book aloud while the mechanical hound searches around his home. Clarisse has given Montag motivation to ask questions and to burn the firemen. He changes from a proud but cowardly fireman with a secret to a man of action who desires to think and ask questions. With the war over and the media out of the way, Montag’s journey of self-discovery ultimately becomes a quest to share information with the world. He and the other professors will work to share their knowledge in a hope to build a better world. Each person in the group has memorized at least one story or part of a story. Their efforts may help prevent history from repeating.
Curiosity and the search for knowledge can have a very large impact on the world. The sharing of knowledge helps society to grow and become better and more open to change.