Essay On Symbolism In Fahrenheit 451

“ ‘And you must be’ -she raised her eyes from his professional symbols ‘-the fireman.’ Her voice trailed off. ‘How oddly you say that.’ ” (Page 6). One of Ray Bradbury’s most well-known pieces, Fahrenheit 451, begins in a futuristic world where firemen aren’t fighting fires, they create them. Throughout the book, there are many symbols and events that give examples as to why firemen are how they are and how fire changes many of their lives. Fire is Montag’s job, but is also what sends him on a journey. To begin, firemen are very important in this future world because they are responsible for burning books. Beatty is the captain of the firemen and is also Montag’s employer. Montag never understood how firemen came to be until a young girl named Clarisse questioned him. According to Beatty, many years ago, society didn’t appreciate how books were fiction and that they didn’t
In the beginning, he knew it meant destruction because it destroyed so many books. However by the end, it meant renewal to him. ”To everything there is a season. Yes. A time to break down, and a time to build up.” (Page 165) Montag found this as fire leading them to a new beginning and a fresh start to change books from being banned. On page 163, Granger compares this fresh start to the “phoenix”, which is a legendary bird who destroyed himself in the fire only to be reborn from ashes. After everything that Montag goes through in the novel, because of fire, he gets a fresh start and his own renewal. All things considered, fire is of a big significance to this novel. Fire is Montag’s job, his enemy, but also what saves him. He surrounds himself with the disagreement of this element and changes as his wisdom grows. It seems that fire transforms into its own character due to its effect on others. This novel makes you realize that things in life can be beautiful or