Meaning Of Fire In Fahrenheit 451

Words: 1476
Pages: 6
Open Document
In writing many authors use symbolism to display a deep meaning and or convey the theme in their story in a slightly discreet way. Ray Bradbury utilizes the same technique in the novel Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury tells the story of a fireman named Guy Montag who lives in a defective society during the twenty-first century. Montag starts to question his job and life itself as he goes through various obstacles trying to find a true meaning in life after encountering two characters, Clarisse and Faber. As the protagonist progresses through the story, we see the motif of fire transition from meaning destruction to meaning warmth and rebirth. In the beginning of the novel, fire is depicted as destruction. For instance, on the very first page of the …show more content…
After his magnificent escape from the destructive society, Montag realizes the new meaning of fire and now feels relieved and free. For instance, while arriving to a new town Montag spots a fire. At first he is very cautious to approach the fire due to his past experiences with it. However, he quickly gets rid of his fear and becomes aware of the change in meaning. “It was not burning, it was warming… he hadn’t known fire could look this way, he had never though in his life that it could give as well to take” (145). This quote is vital to the novel as it shows that Montag has finally come to a realization and knowledge of the new meaning of fire. This is also the moment where the readers and Montag realizes that he has gone through an epiphany. After living in a dysfunctional society where everyone uses fire to destroy and burn things that they deem dreadful, he is surprised and shocked to see that fire can give off warmth and optimism to people. Shortly afterwards, Montag meets a gentleman named Granger who had also escaped from the city. Granger helps the transition the motif of fire meaning destruction to meaning rebirth by explaining and comparing humans to the Phoenix. “There was a silly damn bird called a phoenix back before Christ, every few hundred years he built a pyre and burnt himself up….But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again and it looks like we’re doing the same thing” says Granger (163). This quote is arguably the most important one in the novel. By comparing the past destructive city along with the phoenix, Granger helps Montag gain more knowledge about life and his society. Granger explains that the destruction of their past city and society is actually a convenient and good incident. Later on Granger makes it clear that they should learn from their society’s recent mistakes, which was to block
Show More

Related Documents: Meaning Of Fire In Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 Title Analysis

The meaning behind the title of Fahrenheit 451 is that in the opening of his science fiction story of a dystopian society in which books are banned because of the knowledge they contain -- knowledge that could pose a threat to the stability of this repressive society -- Ray Bradbury notes: "FAHRENHEIT 451: The temperature at which book-paper catches fire and burns".In Fahrenheit 451, firemen are not employed to extinguish fires; they are employed for the purpose of carrying out the government's edict…

Words 103 - Pages 1

Fahrenheit 451 Symbolism Essay

but as I have “requested” to list the symbolism in Fahrenheit 451, I shall list three major types used in the aforementioned book. In my humble opinion, The most important usage of symbolism in Fahrenheit 451 has to be the usage of fire to symbolize a change, followed closely by the plethora of colours and their usage to show the mood of a certain individual or even, and the meaning of the Salamander that is the symbol for the Firemen. Fire Fire is a dangerous and deadly substance, but it is also…

Words 658 - Pages 3

What Is The Role Of Technology In Fahrenheit 451

In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, advanced technology can be destructive to a society because this means no one reads books, which is why no one has meaning and everyone is the same. In Fahrenheit 451 fireman start fires instead of stopping them and they burn books that have meaning. Montag changes and starts to like books, while Mildred is the same as everyone else and hates books and only wants to be in the parlor. Parlors are rooms with a TVs on all the walls, this is the advanced technology…

Words 253 - Pages 2

Fahrenheit 451 Be Banned Essay

read by young teens, some believe that the language should be blacked out. Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is in the center of one of these debates. This book tells the tale of a fireman Guy Montag who lives in the 24th century, a world where literature is illegal. Instead of putting out fires, the firemen ignite them and burn all books (Sparknote Editors). Bradbury revealed in 2007 that his reasoning for Fahrenheit 451 was to show how television drives us away from reading. He said, “Television…

Words 860 - Pages 4

Symbols In Fahrenheit 451

life can be very important. In many novels the author shows this through the symbols of the book. Ray Bradbury in his novel Fahrenheit 451 uses symbols to talk about the themes that are related to importance of everyday things. The themes are learning from your mistakes, censorship, and communication with other people; which are all important in everyday life. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury wants to tell his readers that people make mistakes. Two symbols he does this through are the phoenix and the parlor…

Words 1054 - Pages 5

Fahrenheit 451 Quote Analysis

The meaning of Fahrenheit 451 is the temp that the books burn. When a book burns a society burns with the book. In Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian novel, written by Ray Bradbury a society is destroying itself. It destroys itself by burning books so there for the is no knowledge. Bradbury uses Montag’s unhappiness to show that without knowledge, a society dies or kills itself. People are burning books and burning the people with them. “There must be something in books.. you don’t say for nothing”…

Words 403 - Pages 2

pig is a beast Essays

Fire: Good and Evil When I was a kid, I was really fascinated with fire and the pow er that came with it. I would find insects in my yard and experiment in lighting them on fire but I also used fire for lighting the wood in the fireplace and keeping my family warm . In Fahrenheit 451, fire has multiple meanings and can stand for destruction, cleansing, and change. Fire can be used to symbolize these things for both good and evil and so it plays a very important and complicated role in the…

Words 902 - Pages 4

Examples Of Censorship In Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 showcases the ideas of censorship and the way society can be forced to conform. It tells the story of a society that has enforced censorship upon itself, beginning with the suppression of books. With this suppression, violence emerges within the society, particularly violence aimed at knowledge. Those found with the possession of books are treated as criminals, for possessing books is illegal. Society’s goal is to eliminate those who acquire more knowledge than the common…

Words 1158 - Pages 5

Fahrenheit 451 and Main Character Montag Essay

FIRE In The Story Fahrenheit 451 the main character Montag is a fireman in a futuristic time period as seen by our author from the 1950’s. Throughout Ray Bradbury’s book we come across a continuous motif, fire. Fire in Fahrenheit 451 symbolizes destructive and constructive perspectives. In the novel our main character Montag is a fireman who burns books so that this conforming society can stay in control. No one’s allowed to think in this future, and without having any thoughts both the beauty…

Words 1479 - Pages 6

Essay about Them. Clarisse Mcclellan

Thanadabouth 1 Branden Thanadabouth Jarrett Black Eng 10 XL/ Per.4 19 November 2014 Fahrenheit 451: Theme Analysis Essay Fahrenheit 451, a novel by Ray Bradbury, is about a dystopian future that burns books for the sake of destroying someone’s individual thought so no one can receive the knowledge the books contain. Guy Montag, the main protagonist in this story, lives in a world where firefighters start the fire instead of extinguishing them, Montag being one of them. Clarisse McClellan, Mon…

Words 527 - Pages 3