Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

1. Symbolism

   • Fire
     • destruction
       • book burning
       • "it was a pleasure to burn"
     • refinement
       • the pheonix
       • society being blown up
     • passion
       • "burning bright"
       • new found passion for books and real happiness
     • "guiding light"
       • Clarisse
       • "the strangely comfortable and rare light of the candle"
   • water/river
     • cleansing
       • cleansing himself of his old life after burning it
     • baptism
       • recognised his mistakes in his past and wanted to be made anew
     • new life
       • burnt his old life and then perused a new one
   • animal imagery
     • ironic lack of nature
       • no real animals until Montag sees the deer in the river
     • how society had changed nature to be beneficial to them
       • the hound

2. Guy Montag

   • The Hearth and the Salamander
     • Montag had thought he was happy in his society
       • "It was a pleasure to burn"
     • He meets Clarisse and has his anagnoris
       • "he wore his happiness like a mask"
     • Realises that no one is happy and tries to find what can help him
       • "We have everything we need to happy. But we aren't. something's missing.... I thought books would help"
   • The Sieve and the sand
     • In persual of books, we meet Faber
       • Faber: Character foil to Beatty
         • Faber: "Those who don't build must burn"
         • Beatty: "A book is a loaded gun"
     • He tries to share his knowledge with society but they refuse to believe it
       • Plato's allegory of the cave
   • Burning Bright
     • Burns his old life after being prosecuted by society for trying to share knowledge
       • Quite literally: burns house and even Beatty
         • One of "Burning Bright" possible meanings/symbol
     • Reborn in the river
       • Symbolises new life
     • Joins scholars who await to rebuild society
       • like a Phoenix rising up from the ashes