Literary Analysis of Fahrenheit 451
Symbolism: What Ray Bradbury Is Really
Saying
Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 is set in a futuristic world where owning and reading books is illegal, and if a citizen is caught with one, it’s burned. Throughout Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury uses the literary device of symbolism; with the symbols ranging from aspects of the firemen’s uniforms, to the fire itself, and the Phoenix at the conclusion of the story.
In Part 1, “The Hearth and the Salamander”, Bradbury describes the uniform all of the firefighters wear. The reader is introduced to Guy Montage, the protagonist of the story; Montage is a firefighter that comes from a long line of firefighters before him, including his father and grandfather. The uniform he wears everyday consists of the number 451 on the helmet, as well as a salamander patch on his arm. The number 451 is not only on the firefighter’s helmets, but it is part of the title of the novel as well, and Bradbury comes right out and tells the reader that it’s symbolic, stating that Montage wears “his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head…” (Bradbury 33). In the Introduction of Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury explains that he chose the number because, “book-paper catches fire at 451 degrees Fahrenheit” (29). The only job the firefighters have in this novel is to burn books, which shows why the number 451 on their helmets is symbolic. The salamander is the second symbol used, not only on the firefighter’s uniforms, but it’s etched on the side of the ignitors they use to start fires, and it’s what they call their firetrucks. According to R. Sydlowski’s Salamandra Salamandra in traditional folklore Salamanders were thought to be able to survive fire because they could be seen crawling out of logs tossed on to fires. Due to folklore causing people to think salamanders are fireproof and the fact that the only thing to survive fires in Fahrenheit 451 are the firefighters, making them seem fireproof as well, it’s possible that this is the reason Bradbury associates salamanders with firefighters and therefore uses salamanders as a symbol in the novel.
The most common and ever-changing symbol that appears in Fahrenheit 451 is fire itself. At the beginning of the novel, as Alan Lenhoff points out in his article, Making Fire Mean More Than Fire. How Authors Use Symbols fire stands for something that causes destruction. Fire is described with words such as venomous, blazing, burning, and ruin, all words that Bradbury uses with a negative connotation. The reader learns that Montage enjoys watching things burn, “It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 33). However, the symbolism of fire changes as the book progresses. When Montage meets Clarisse McClellan, his young neighbor, he stares into her eyes and he is struck by a memory of his mother from when he was a child. The electricity had gone out and his mother lit a candle, the two of them spent hours rediscovering life without TV walls or Seashell earphones. When fire is discussed in this passage, words such as illumination, comfortably, rediscovery, and transformed are used in a way that points to peace, not damage. Fire changes yet again when Montage is walking down a set of railroad tracks and sees a fire burning. “That small motion, the white and red color, a strange fire because it meant a different thing to him. It was not burning, it was warming” (Bradbury 171). At this point in the novel Montage is on the run and is looking for a group of men that are said to live along the railroad tracks, some of the men have Harvard degrees and are wanted for the same reason Montage was at the beginning of all the madness, possessing and reading books. The symbolism of fire at this point in the novel is for warmth, and survival, not destruction. Montage realizes that he is once again seeing fire in a different light, “He hadn’t known fire could look this way. He had never thought in his life that it could give as well as take.” (Bradbury 171)(Lenhoff).
At the end of Fahrenheit 451, the Phoenix is another symbol used. The war that has been spoken about since the beginning of the novel finally comes to fruition. After the bombing is over and the dust has settled, Granger, one of the men Montage meets along the railroad tracks, says, “Phoenix… …There was a silly damn bird called a Phoenix back before Christ” (Bradbury 188). According to Encyclopædia Britannica’s article, Phoenix | Mythological Bird, the bird itself was “widely interpreted as an allegory of resurrection and life after death.” The life cycle of the Phoenix was said to be long, and at the end of the cycle the bird built a pyre and was consumed within the flames. Out of the ashes the Phoenix was born again and the cycle continued on, with only one Phoenix living at a time. The symbolism of the Phoenix is fitting in this situation because the town has been burnt down by the bombs dropped on it; this is similar to the Phoenix setting itself on fire. However, what the towns people have that the Phoenix didn’t was the ability to realize what caused the fire that led to its destruction, and as Granger points out, “…as long as we know that and always have it around where we can see it, someday we’ll stop making the goddamn funeral pyres and jumping in the middle of them” (Bradbury 189). Not only does the Phoenix symbolize the character’s ability to start over, but the fire the bird burns itself in is related to the symbolism of fire discussed earlier. The symbolism behind the fire caused by the bombings and the burning of the Phoenix is one of purity and purging, not destruction. (Encyclopædia Britannica).
Symbolism in writing is an idea that has been used and debated in some of the best literary works of all time, not just in Fahrenheit 451. Symbols aren’t always obvious and can be ever-changing throughout a novel, as shown by Bradbury. In the end, it’s not vital for a reader to understand the symbolism used in this novel or any other novel for that matter; the novel can be enjoyed even if only taken at face value. However, by taking the time to consider the symbolism an author uses and what it could mean, we can open up a whole new meaning of the story.
Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Print.
Lenhoff, Alan. Making Fire Mean More Than Fire. How Authors Use Symbols. Writing 22.2 (1999): 14. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Mar. 2015
Singh, Shiveta. Phoenix | Mythological Bird. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Apr. 2008. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.
Sydlowski, R. Salamandra Salamandra. Animal Diversity Web. 1 Jan. 2000. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 is set in a futuristic world where owning and reading books is illegal, and if a citizen is caught with one, it’s burned. Throughout Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury uses the literary device of symbolism; with the symbols ranging from aspects of the firemen’s uniforms, to the fire itself, and the Phoenix at the conclusion of the story.
In Part 1, “The Hearth and the Salamander”, Bradbury describes the uniform all of the firefighters wear. The reader is introduced to Guy Montage, the protagonist of the story; Montage is a firefighter that comes from a long line of firefighters before him, including his father and grandfather. The uniform he wears everyday consists of the number 451 on the helmet, as well as a salamander patch on his arm. The number 451 is not only on the firefighter’s helmets, but it is part of the title of the novel as well, and Bradbury comes right out and tells the reader that it’s symbolic, stating that Montage wears “his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head…” (Bradbury 33). In the Introduction of Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury explains that he chose the number because, “book-paper catches fire at 451 degrees Fahrenheit” (29). The only job the firefighters have in this novel is to burn books, which shows why the number 451 on their helmets is symbolic. The salamander is the second symbol used, not only on the firefighter’s uniforms, but it’s etched on the side of the ignitors they use to start fires, and it’s what they call their firetrucks. According to R. Sydlowski’s Salamandra Salamandra in traditional folklore Salamanders were thought to be able to survive fire because they could be seen crawling out of logs tossed on to fires. Due to folklore causing people to think salamanders are fireproof and the fact that the only thing to survive fires in Fahrenheit 451 are the firefighters, making them seem fireproof as well, it’s possible that this is the reason Bradbury associates salamanders with firefighters and therefore uses salamanders as a symbol in the novel.
The most common and ever-changing symbol that appears in Fahrenheit 451 is fire itself. At the beginning of the novel, as Alan Lenhoff points out in his article, Making Fire Mean More Than Fire. How Authors Use Symbols fire stands for something that causes destruction. Fire is described with words such as venomous, blazing, burning, and ruin, all words that Bradbury uses with a negative connotation. The reader learns that Montage enjoys watching things burn, “It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 33). However, the symbolism of fire changes as the book progresses. When Montage meets Clarisse McClellan, his young neighbor, he stares into her eyes and he is struck by a memory of his mother from when he was a child. The electricity had gone out and his mother lit a candle, the two of them spent hours rediscovering life without TV walls or Seashell earphones. When fire is discussed in this passage, words such as illumination, comfortably, rediscovery, and transformed are used in a way that points to peace, not damage. Fire changes yet again when Montage is walking down a set of railroad tracks and sees a fire burning. “That small motion, the white and red color, a strange fire because it meant a different thing to him. It was not burning, it was warming” (Bradbury 171). At this point in the novel Montage is on the run and is looking for a group of men that are said to live along the railroad tracks, some of the men have Harvard degrees and are wanted for the same reason Montage was at the beginning of all the madness, possessing and reading books. The symbolism of fire at this point in the novel is for warmth, and survival, not destruction. Montage realizes that he is once again seeing fire in a different light, “He hadn’t known fire could look this way. He had never thought in his life that it could give as well as take.” (Bradbury 171)(Lenhoff).
At the end of Fahrenheit 451, the Phoenix is another symbol used. The war that has been spoken about since the beginning of the novel finally comes to fruition. After the bombing is over and the dust has settled, Granger, one of the men Montage meets along the railroad tracks, says, “Phoenix… …There was a silly damn bird called a Phoenix back before Christ” (Bradbury 188). According to Encyclopædia Britannica’s article, Phoenix | Mythological Bird, the bird itself was “widely interpreted as an allegory of resurrection and life after death.” The life cycle of the Phoenix was said to be long, and at the end of the cycle the bird built a pyre and was consumed within the flames. Out of the ashes the Phoenix was born again and the cycle continued on, with only one Phoenix living at a time. The symbolism of the Phoenix is fitting in this situation because the town has been burnt down by the bombs dropped on it; this is similar to the Phoenix setting itself on fire. However, what the towns people have that the Phoenix didn’t was the ability to realize what caused the fire that led to its destruction, and as Granger points out, “…as long as we know that and always have it around where we can see it, someday we’ll stop making the goddamn funeral pyres and jumping in the middle of them” (Bradbury 189). Not only does the Phoenix symbolize the character’s ability to start over, but the fire the bird burns itself in is related to the symbolism of fire discussed earlier. The symbolism behind the fire caused by the bombings and the burning of the Phoenix is one of purity and purging, not destruction. (Encyclopædia Britannica).
Symbolism in writing is an idea that has been used and debated in some of the best literary works of all time, not just in Fahrenheit 451. Symbols aren’t always obvious and can be ever-changing throughout a novel, as shown by Bradbury. In the end, it’s not vital for a reader to understand the symbolism used in this novel or any other novel for that matter; the novel can be enjoyed even if only taken at face value. However, by taking the time to consider the symbolism an author uses and what it could mean, we can open up a whole new meaning of the story.
Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Print.
Lenhoff, Alan. Making Fire Mean More Than Fire. How Authors Use Symbols. Writing 22.2 (1999): 14. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Mar. 2015
Singh, Shiveta. Phoenix | Mythological Bird. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Apr. 2008. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.
Sydlowski, R. Salamandra Salamandra. Animal Diversity Web. 1 Jan. 2000. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.