Theme Of Fire In Fahrenheit 451
Lexi Wylie
Burn
In Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, in which books are illegal in society,
Guy Montag holds a career as a fireman. Unlike firemen of today who fight fires, firemen in
Fahrenheit 451 create fires in order to destroy books as well as the knowledge, individuality, and freedom they hold. Fire plays a crucial role in this novel, with Bradbury giving the story “impact and imaginative focus by means of symbolic fire” (Watt 2). As Watt puts it, fire is “Montag’s world, his reality” (Watt 2). Although Montag’s reality is fire, his perception of fire changes with each fire he sets, evolving from pleasureful, to innocent, to rebellious, to renewing, to knowledge-filled and even to regenerating. These developing perceptions …show more content…
Not long after Montag is welcomed by the book people, the group witnesses the bombing and ultimately the destruction of their city. Observing the fire and destruction, Granger mutters
“Phoenix” (156). Granger then goes on to explain that every time this mythological bird “burnt himself up, he sprang out of the ashes” (156) and was “born all over again” (156). When mankind is compared to the phoenix, one who burns itself up and rises out of its ashes over and over again, “fire becomes a symbol of renewal" (“Themes and Construction” 3). This symbol of renewal suggests that, like the phoenix, a new society will be born from the ashes of the old one.
This new perception of fire provides Montag with a sense of hope. Despite all that he has lost: his home, his wife, his neighbor, his books, and practically his entire society, Montag is able to hold on to the idea that one day his society will rise out of its ashes and bring about a new, more efficient way of life, one filled with individuality, knowledge, and freedom.
All in all, in Fahrenheit 451, in which books are illegal in society, Guy Montag, who holds a position as a fireman, faces a transfiguring perception of fire. Fire plays a crucial role
Burn
In Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, in which books are illegal in society,
Guy Montag holds a career as a fireman. Unlike firemen of today who fight fires, firemen in
Fahrenheit 451 create fires in order to destroy books as well as the knowledge, individuality, and freedom they hold. Fire plays a crucial role in this novel, with Bradbury giving the story “impact and imaginative focus by means of symbolic fire” (Watt 2). As Watt puts it, fire is “Montag’s world, his reality” (Watt 2). Although Montag’s reality is fire, his perception of fire changes with each fire he sets, evolving from pleasureful, to innocent, to rebellious, to renewing, to knowledge-filled and even to regenerating. These developing perceptions …show more content…
Not long after Montag is welcomed by the book people, the group witnesses the bombing and ultimately the destruction of their city. Observing the fire and destruction, Granger mutters
“Phoenix” (156). Granger then goes on to explain that every time this mythological bird “burnt himself up, he sprang out of the ashes” (156) and was “born all over again” (156). When mankind is compared to the phoenix, one who burns itself up and rises out of its ashes over and over again, “fire becomes a symbol of renewal" (“Themes and Construction” 3). This symbol of renewal suggests that, like the phoenix, a new society will be born from the ashes of the old one.
This new perception of fire provides Montag with a sense of hope. Despite all that he has lost: his home, his wife, his neighbor, his books, and practically his entire society, Montag is able to hold on to the idea that one day his society will rise out of its ashes and bring about a new, more efficient way of life, one filled with individuality, knowledge, and freedom.
All in all, in Fahrenheit 451, in which books are illegal in society, Guy Montag, who holds a position as a fireman, faces a transfiguring perception of fire. Fire plays a crucial role