Symbolism is a distinct literary device that helps people have a greater understanding of a book through symbols that often have a deeper meaning. A symbol is used to enhance the meaning of something in a different way, primarily using images, and objects (Symbolism 1). As you search for a profound meaning in a work of literature, it can help you understand the intentions of the author and the immersed significance of a piece of work. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, symbols help bolster the major themes of the book.
One of the major symbols portrayed by Bradbury in Fahrenheit is, fire. This was the first symbol mentioned as it was on the very first page of the novel. The exposition of the novel began with “it was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 1). It was then that the readers were exposed to a guy named “Montag” who had the self-pleasure of being a book burning fireman. Montag lived untouched while realizing how burning books had ruined his society. Symbolized by a variety of things, fire is a representation of Montag. Although he was a fireman, rather than putting fires out, he made and executed them. While doing some research on the title of the book, I learned that paper and books burn at four hundred – fifty one degrees Fahrenheit. This is when the reader can infer that fire symbolized destruction and darkness. Along with the fire symbolizing destruction, it also represents the demolishing of knowledge as the books of knowledge and wisdom are being burned. He was around fires all the time, whether it was around a campfire or burning down a house. Montag and fire were very close and almost part of each other. In the beginning of the book Montag is shown to love fire, burning was a luxury this realization was conceived when Bradbury spoke on how to Montag “It was a…pleasure to see things eaten, blackened and changed” (Bradbury 1). It was a special pleasure to see things destroyed, to see chaos. “One drop of rain. Clarisse. Another drop. Mildred. A third. The uncle. A fourth. The fire tonight. One, Clarisse. Two, Mildred. Three, uncle. Four, fire” (Bradbury 17). After this thought, he kept repeating “fire” in his head. Nonstop. Fire was the main thing that was on Montag’s mind. He was so brainwashed into thinking that it wasn’t bad and that it was okay to indulge in it. This is what sparked his curiousity. Another way that Montag identified fire was with warmth and spirit. Towards the end of the book Montag had gone through a tremendous change. His perception of the world and life quickly flipped upside down. During the latter part of Fahrenheit, Montag escaped the mindset and world of burning books. This happened when he discovered the people sitting around the campfire, where fire came be represented as a tool, who ultimately fell in love with books. As this scenario went on, Montag walked toward the fire where five old men sat with their the dark-blue shirts on. His mind went blank. “Sit down,” said the man who seemed to be the leader of the small group. (Bradbury 147) This is where the campfire represents warmth, but at the same time represents the spirit and strength that Montag acquired to start his new life as a book lover. In a sense, the beginning of Fahrenheit made fire symbolize destruction while the ending symbolized fire as “rebirth”. This inference was made because of the negative connotation that the fire held in the beginning of the novel whereas in the end it was positive.
The Hearth and The Salamander, the beginning chapter, is another symbol. The salamander is described in the book as a mythical lizard that is an elemental animal of fire meaning that it can survive in fire which resembles how the firemen weren’t fazed by fire at all (Weebly 1). Additionally, the hearth is commonly known as a fireplace and it primarily represents the fire that the firemen caused. The salamander represents Montag’s life as a firefighter, showing that he can tolerate and put up with fire and come out just fine. Additionally, the salamander represents all of the firemen together because “the salamander devours his tail”, (Bradbury 86). This can be interpreted as a description for how the firemen will destroy themselves if books are found in the homes. The hearth, which also provides a symbol of warmth, peace, and comfort, and the salamander which is believed to live in fire and resist being burned contradict each other heavily. The salamander is also a sign of decay, maturing, and transformation. Decaying is another way of saying “destruction” which comes into play when talking about the firemen’s primary job of destroying books. The maturing aspect of the salamander symbolism takes place with two parts of the novel. With Montag, it’s a hint for his self development. The salamander symbolizes the bad side of fire whereas the hearth symbolizes and shows the good side. As one of the official symbols of the firemen, the salamander was also a symbol on Montag’s firefighter badge which is inferred when Bradbury mentions how ”he stood in the hall of his house putting on his badge with the orange salamander burning across it.” (Bradbury 19) Nevertheless, the salamander could be found on the fire trucks that Montag used to make the fires. The firemen sat there looking out the front of the great Salamander as they turned a corner and went on (Bradbury 40). These inferences that can be made by the reader shows that the firemen are ecstatic about what the salamander represents and symbolizes, whether it means the same thing or something different, it was important to them. Both the salamander and the hearth have to do with fire which is the prevailing image of Montag’s life (Weebly 1). The hearth deals with fire considering it contains the fire that heats a home, and the salamander deals with fire because of beliefs stating that it lives in fire and is unaffected by it. This opening chapter actually hones in on Montag’s job as a firefighter.
Mirrors reflect an image of something in front of it back to a viewer, kind of like seeing oneself clearly. In Fahrenheit 451, mirrors are symbols of knowing your identity and examining yourself. In the beginning of the novel, Montag didn’t really see himself as he should have. He saw a reflected image of himself on a piece of shiny glass, and he knew that when he went back to the firehouse, that he might wink at himself, a bard man, burnt-corked, in the mirror (Bradbury 4). While Montag found fire to be a luxury, negative connotation in the beginning, he was very proud and arrogant. By the end of the novel things flipped “right side up”. Montag examined himself and found his identity, who he really is, and he came to believe that he will see himself clearly eventually. Towards the latter part of Fahrenheit, Granger mentioned that “they must build a mirror factory to take a long look at themselves” (Weebly 1). After his first encounter with his brand new neighbor, Clarisse McClellan, Montag described her face as being “like a mirror”. In the novel, Clarisse finds such elegance in nature and communication between others whereas Montag condoned a lack of knowledge by not wanting the citizens to have books which led to a promotion of chaos. Clarisse helps Montag to see himself in his own mirror as he is, she encouraged him to embrace himself, and his beliefs. Throughout this time as Clarisse helped Montag reflect on his life, she was teaching him that just being alive and living are like night and day (Shmoop 5) Montag began to have a different perception of her and the rest of the people in the society. Thanks to Clarisse, he began to take initiative to look in the mirror, and reflect on his thoughts, actions, and decisions that took place throughout his life. This illustrates the importance of understanding one’s self, as Montag’s self-understanding is the cause of many of his actions later on, including his happiness and contentment. Within the ending of the novel, Granger, a guy that Montag met on the railroad tracks, suggests that they should build a mirror-factory and “take a long look in them”. At this point, Granger is creating a remark on the need for self-reflection. In other words, in order for the society to rise above and from the ashes to rebuild itself, then the people must first examine look at themselves.
Many stories within the Mediterranean culture include the story of the phoenix which is a bird that regenerates or is born again after burning itself up and rises from the ashes, and is associated with the sun (Plato 7). Many people also say that it is consumed by flames but then rises from the ashes. The phoenix is a symbol for renewal, for life that follows death in a cleansing fire. Reincarnation. This intertwines with the city being bombed. After the city was bombed, destroyed, and reduced to ashes by the bombers, Granger made a direct comparison between mankind and the story of the phoenix. Both the phoenix and the humans burn up and destroy themselves in the fire and start again amid the ashes which goes along with the renewal. The firemen also wears the phoenix on their uniforms. In fact, the captain drives a Phoenix car. If the books were allowed to be kept, we would preserve the past and allow people to learn the lessons of prior tragedies. Granger hopes that humanity will remember the suffering caused by destruction, and will avoid destroying itself in the future. Ultimately, the phoenix is used to symbolize rebirth. Once something is created, it has to fall. Bradbury made sure to portray the fact that the city had been completely ruined, but it was a new start rather than an end. It was the beginning of change. The symbol of the phoenix isn’t just limited to mankind, but it’s also referring to Montag’s spiritual resurrection.
The second title of the second section of Fahrenheit 451 is the “Sieve and the Sand”. In the novel, the sand is a symbol of the truth that Montag is determined to reveal and hopes to capture while reading the bible. This section of the book refers to Montag’s early childhood memory of trying to fill a sieve which is a device that meshes tiny particles like sand, or flour. The childhood memory of Montag with the sieve occurred when he tried to fill a sieve on the beach with sand to get a dime from a relative. As the sand is poured in, it drains out. This occurred no matter how fast Montag put the sand into the sieve, he just couldn’t contain it. In a sense, this actually did symbolize his many attempts to memorize the bible. He tried to read the bible as fast as he could on the subway hoping that if he read fast enough, then some of the material would stay in his memory. Unfortunately, the more he read, the more he forgot. The sieve represented the inability of the human mind to grasp, contain, and remember any important information in a permanent way.
Ray Bradbury’s novel, “Fahrenheit 451” incorporates a bountiful amount of symbols, each very essential to understanding the in depth meanings of the story. Using symbols throughout literature is this author’s way of conveying certain messages. With the use of various symbols, Bradbury address major themes and makes them widely known. The most common symbol in this novel are the books themselves because the main role of the firemen is to destroy every single book and the properties that contain them. I didn’t elaborate on this in particular symbol because it is the most common and will most likely be shared in all of the research papers. Fire was the second most common symbol used by Bradbury. It was a tool of destruction and darkness. Montag also contained part of the fire’s representation as he thought it was a luxurious thing to burn and destroy books. Fire was also viewed as a tool when Montag came across the men that were warming themselves by the fire. The hearth and the salamander were two conjoined symbols as the first section of the novel. The mythical salamander is known for surviving in fire which in return acknowledges how the firemen aren’t fazed by the fire at all. As the hearth provides a symbol of warmth, peace, and comfort, the salamander which is believed to live in fire and resist being burned, contradict each other heavily. The salamander is also a sign of decay, maturing, and transformation. Decaying is another way of saying “destruction” which comes into play when talking about the firemen’s primary job of destroying books. Both of these symbols have everything to do with Montag’s life as the image of him is fire. In the beginning of the novel, Montag wasn’t aware of his identity which is when mirrors came into play. Bradbury conveys a message of knowing your identity and examining yourself between Montag and the society. After Montag met his neighbor Clarisse, he began to embrace his thoughts. After mentioning fire and examining one’s self, it’s time to talk about rebirth. Bradbury mentions a phoenix which is a bird that is born again after it burns and rises up from its ashes. This symbolizes renewal, rebirth, and change. The bombing of the city is what connects with this symbol. Granger immediately made a comparison between the society and the phoenix. They both destroy themselves in the fire and then they regroup. The sieve and the sand correlates to when Montag was a child on the beach and he tried to mesh sand, and in the latter part of life after that, he was determined to read books fast. He thought that the more he read meant the more he remembered, but instead just like sand in a sieve, the more he read, the more he forgot. Ultimately, Ray Bradbury does a phenomenal job conveying the message and many themes of Fahrenheit 451 to the readers. After all, “451” is the amount of degrees it takes for the pages of a book to burn.
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