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)