In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, countless allusions are made to numerous topics, including the Bible. Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a dystopian society where books are not only frowned upon, but if found, disintegrated. Montag, the main character, starts as a firefighter where he burns books, but later realizes the potential unknown to most of this dystopian society that books contain. Allusions are valuable to the readers of Fahrenheit 451 because it could be hard for the reader to picture a scenario so far-flung from today’s society. Allusions help paint a mental picture for the reader. Out of the abundant Biblical allusions, some of the most noteworthy allusions Ray Bradbury alludes to are Job, Matthew, Ecclesiastes, and Revelation.
One of the many allusions to the Bible in Fahrenheit 451 includes the story of Job. Job had everything he could possibly want. Satan tempted God by saying Job would not stay loyal to him if everything was taken away from him. So, God gave power to Satan and he proceeded to take everything from him and as God thought, Job stayed loyal to him. “The LORD said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.’ Then Satan went out of the presence of the LORD.”(Job 1:12) Job strongly believed that no matter what, God had the best in mind for him. In the end, Job had an even better life than he did in the first place. Montag lived a similar life to Job, he had everything he could want. Towards the end of Fahrenheit 451, Faber reads the story of Job to Montag via an earpiece, called a bullet. At this point, Montag has lost almost everything, but he must trust that Faber will get him to safety. Faber was instructing Montag from his home, not in danger, much like God, while Montag was risking his life, much like Job, because of how passionate he was about books and getting out of this dystopian society that he did not realize he was stuck in until later.
Furthermore, there is an allusion in Fahrenheit 451 to the Bible found in Matthew. Jesus is speaking to a group of people when he brings up the lilies of the field, or the flowers of the field in some versions. “‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.’” (Matthew 6:28). Jesus is using an analogy to show how everyone is not living life to their full potential. The flowers grow in the fields without much effort and are beautiful. Everyone else is essentially working too hard and in return, they are gaining nothing. Montag’s biggest struggle is that he is working too hard. “ Shut up, thought Montag. Consider the lilies of the field. ‘Denham’s Dentifrice.’” (Bradbury 74). At this point, Montag was attempting to memorize Matthew 6:28, in fear of losing his Bible, he wanted every line memorized. Montag was so stressed and was working extremely too hard, he was getting distracted by the smallest of things, such as the ads in the subway. Montag was completely missing the point of the verse he was trying to memorize because of how anxious he was.
Additionally, there is an allusion in Fahrenheit 451 to the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is simply a book about wisdom, the upsides and downsides. Wisdom can be something that can bring sorrow and sadness upon one, but also cause change for the overall better. Ecclesiastes elaborates that men are doomed to make mistakes, not just once, but over and over again. We can assume from context that the bombings on the city are happening because of the terrible state they have gotten themselves into and this isn’t the first time, because of what is stated in Ecclesiastes, men are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again.
Equally important is the allusion in Fahrenheit 451 to the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is about the end of time and what will occur at that time. The end of Fahrenheit 451 is very similar to this. Revelation 22:2 speaks of the healing of the nation. “…On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:2). Montag, and the group he is with, are attempting to correct the corrupted dystopia that is currently being bombed to rubble. The society they are currently in is “ending” but as similarly stated in Revelation 22:2, they are trying to fix it.
Out of the abundant Biblical allusions, some of the most noteworthy allusions Ray Bradbury alludes to are Job, Matthew, Ecclesiastes, and Revelation. The Biblical allusions in Fahrenheit 451 arguably have a deeper impact than some of the other allusions. Ray Bradbury includes countless allusions in Fahrenheit 451 that could go unseen to inattentive readers.
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