Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury is a futuristic novel, taking

the reader to a time where books and thinking are outlawed.

In a time so dreadful where those who want to better

themselves by thinking, and by reading are outlaws as well.

Books and ideas are burned, books are burned physically,

where as ideas are burned from the mind. Bradbury uses

literary devices, such as symbolism, but it is the idea he

wants to convey that makes this novel so devastating.

Bradbury warns us of what may happen if we stop

expressing our ideas, and we let people take away our

books, and thoughts. Bradbury notices what has been going

on in the world, with regards to censorship, and book

burning in Germany, and McCarthyism in America. That is

what he is speaking out against. Bradbury is also a very

symbolic writer, he incorporates symbolism into his book.

Bradbury's use of symbolism throughout the novel makes the

book moving and powerful by using symbolism to reinforce

the ideas of anti-censorship. The Hearth and the

Salamander, the title of part one, is the first example of

symbolism. The title suggests two things having to do with

fire, the hearth is a source of warmth and goodness, showing

the positive, non-destructive side of fire. Whereas a

salamander is a small lizard-like amphibian, and also in

mythology, is known to endure fire without getting burnt by

it. Perhaps the salamander is symbolic of Guy Montag, who

is being described as a salamander because he works with

fire, and endures it, but believes that he can escape the fire

and survive, much like a salamander does. On the other

hand, it is ironic that Guy, and the other firemen believe

themselves to be salamanders because both Capt. Beatty's

and Montag's destruction comes from the all mighty flame,

from which they thought they were invincible. The symbol of

a Phoenix is used throughout the novel. This quote

accurately describes the Phoenix, "It is known to be a

mythical multi-colored bird of Arabia, with a long history of

artistic and literary symbolism, the Phoenix is one of a kind.

At the end of its five-hundred-year existence, it perches on

its nest of spices and sings until sunlight ignites the masses.

After the body is consumed in flames, a worm emerges and

develops into the next Phoenix."(24, Cliffs' Notes on

Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451) The Phoenix symbolizes the

rebirth after destruction by fire, only to get burnt, and be

destroyed again. Firemen wear the Phoenix on their

uniforms, and Capt. Beatty symbolically drives a Phoenix

car. Montag, after reaching the realization that fire and

destruction has indeed destroyed him, wishes to be "reborn".

As part of his "rebirth", he goes to Faber with ideas to save

the books, and he hides books in his house. Montag even

goes as far as stealing books from houses that he is

supposed to be destroying. But a Phoenix is "reborn" only to

get burnt and destroyed, again. Guy's life is a cycle of getting

burnt, then coming alive once again, then being burnt, until

one time the Phoenix survives and flies away (where Montag

goes to the "escapee" camp), or the Phoenix dies in the

flames, never to be reborn again(where Montag kills Capt.

Beatty by igniting him with the liquid fire). At the end of the

book, Granger makes reference to the Phoenix once more

by talking about the city going up in flames in the bomb

blast."There was a silly damn bird called a Phoenix back

before Christ, every few hundred years he built a pyre and

burnt himself up. He must have been first cousin to Man. 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, over and over, but we've got one

damn thing the Phoenix never had. We know the damn silly

thing we just did. We know all the damn silly things we've

done for a thousand years and as long as we know that and

always have it around where we can see it, some day we'll

stop making goddamn funeral pyres and jumping in the

middle of them. We pick up a few more people that

remember every generation." (163) Fire is another great

example of symbolism. Each of us has our own image of fire

burning within us, and depending on experiences, it could be

positive or negative. Fire has a dual image in the book, a

symbol of destruction, and a symbol of warmth. For

Montag, fire has been good to serve the purpose of being a

fireman. Fire has become a symbol of good in Montag's

mind, and a solution to all problems. Capt. Beatty has taught

Guy that fire is the solution to everything, it destroys books,

andus, and depending on experiences, it could be positive or

negative. Fire has a dual image in the book, a symbol of

destruction, and a symbol of warmth. For Montag, fire has

been good to serve the purpose of being a fireman. Fire has

become a image of destruction in the eyes of Montag. Guy

believes that fire is good, and that fire symbolizes the

solution, the ultimate solution to all of the world's problems.

When in reality, fire destroyed books, it destroyed homes, it

destroyed people, it destroyed Capt. Beatty, it destroyed

Montag's house, and in the end, it destroyed the city from

which Montag barely escaped. "If you can't solve it... burn

it!" Is the single statement that can be made about Guy's

thoughts of fire, before his "rebirth". However, fire also

symbolizes something else, warmth, goodness. It is not until

the very end that Guy realizes that fire does not have to be

destructive, it can be good, and provide you with warmth,

and security. He associates fire with good when he meets

the rest of the escapees, in the secret camp, because they

are all sitting around a campfire sharing ideas, and reading.

The campfire is no longer destruction, it is providing warmth

for them, but they are still burning books. They are

memorizing the books, and passing them along by word of

mouth, and then they are placing the books in the campfire,

and letting their power be released. By burning the books,

they are remembering them, and protecting them from the

destructive fire of the firemen. Symbolism added to the

power and overall affect behind this book. The symbols

were usually descriptive of something or somebody, such as

the Phoenix, and the salamander. Whereas destruction and

fire came to be a symbol in the eyes of the reader throughout

the novel. Perhaps this novel, written in the early 1950's,

spoke out against the future, and spoke out against

censorship, but one thing is for sure, we must always attempt

to better ourselves with knowledge, and always form our

own ideas. If we do, then we will have gotten the message

of Ray Bradbury. As always I have included a quote for this

report that has to do with knowledge. "There is no

knowledge that is not power... And all our lives we must

search for power, and in that search, we gain

knowledge."(Anonymous)