Fire. The phoenix. The hearth and the salamander. These items are all symbols in the Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 451. Fahrenheit 451, written in the year 1953, it is set 100 years after 1953 in a futuristic utopian society, and in this society, books are banned as well as burned. People who think for themselves are hunted down and arrested. Fahrenheit 451 follows a fireman, named Montag who started to think for himself. In his journey, various symbols are often found in the novel, and all of the symbols posses very different meanings. Fire, the phoenix, and the hearth and the salamander are the main three symbols in Fahrenheit 451. All of these symbols are associated with Montag. The aforementioned symbols will be analyzed to discover
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This is the title Bradbury gave the first section, of three, in the novel. Fire is associated with both hearths and salamanders but in different ways. Hearths are also known as fireplaces. These are typically the center of a home. Homes represent love and warmth, which is similar to what hearths symbolize. In the first section of the novel, a lot of the action takes place at homes. Salamanders are also in the title of the first section. However, not related to hearths at all. Later in section two on page 110, the Salamander is said to be the fire trucks that firemen use. The reason why firemen call the fire trucks Salamanders is not stated in the novel. Regardless, salamanders survive in very hot climates. Symbolizing how the firemen work with with a very hot substance, fire. Both the hearth and the salamander are key symbols that represent ideas in Fahrenheit 451. The argument can be made that the sieve and sand represent ideas in the novel. The sieve and sand is the title of the second section in the novel. The sand represents knowledge that Guy Montag is trying to retain in this symbol. While the sieve represents Montag’s brain trying to retain the knowledge given to it. This is played out in Fahrenheit 451 when Montag is on a subway trying to remember some parts of a book. However, this does not play that important of a role in understanding the novel as compared to the other main three symbols. Therefore, the sieve and sand are not that great of
This is the title Bradbury gave the first section, of three, in the novel. Fire is associated with both hearths and salamanders but in different ways. Hearths are also known as fireplaces. These are typically the center of a home. Homes represent love and warmth, which is similar to what hearths symbolize. In the first section of the novel, a lot of the action takes place at homes. Salamanders are also in the title of the first section. However, not related to hearths at all. Later in section two on page 110, the Salamander is said to be the fire trucks that firemen use. The reason why firemen call the fire trucks Salamanders is not stated in the novel. Regardless, salamanders survive in very hot climates. Symbolizing how the firemen work with with a very hot substance, fire. Both the hearth and the salamander are key symbols that represent ideas in Fahrenheit 451. The argument can be made that the sieve and sand represent ideas in the novel. The sieve and sand is the title of the second section in the novel. The sand represents knowledge that Guy Montag is trying to retain in this symbol. While the sieve represents Montag’s brain trying to retain the knowledge given to it. This is played out in Fahrenheit 451 when Montag is on a subway trying to remember some parts of a book. However, this does not play that important of a role in understanding the novel as compared to the other main three symbols. Therefore, the sieve and sand are not that great of