Fire in the novel represents destruction. A job in their society is a fireman. Fireman are the people who start the fires. Throughout the novel fire destroys books, the fireman destroy books because the society wants to be equal and if there are no books than no one will be able to learn. Fire also represents a destruction for humans. When there was a call for the woman at eleventh Elm, before she would get into trouble for owning books she ends up burning herself. Not only are books and life's a destruction by fire in the novel but, …show more content…
Montag begins as a fireman who viewed fire as a danger, which makes him proud. Montag slowly changes his view on fire after he meets a girl named Clarisse. Once Clarisse stated, “Are you happy?” (10). The question makes Montag realize that burning books is not something to be proud of. In fact, when Montag had a fire call one night it made him feel sick. The fire call makes him sick because he realizes that burning books and homes and people are not the answers. He also realizes that he did not know why he is burning the books. Later on, Montag realizes another meaning of fire. “It was not burning it was warming” (139). Montag figures out that fire can be peaceful when it comes to a camp fire and it is not always used as a destroying tool.
Throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451, the destruction of fire and knowledge has made an impact on Montag’s view of fire. The fire representing destruction caused the society to be unable to fix any issues. The fire also represents the lack of knowledge that the community has. Fire has also proven how Montag has changed his thoughts on fire. No matter what it may be, an object or a symbol can have more than one