Fahrenheit 451 symbolism paper
American Literature 11
11 November 2013
Symbolism in Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury, the author of the well-known science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, was alarmed by how much time he felt the public devoted to watching television in the 1950’s. “If this [trend of television watching] goes on…” he wrote, “nobody will read books anymore” (XIII). This thought of a television-obsessed future public frightened Bradbury. He was particularly fearful of how technology might prevent people from forming relationships with each other and connecting with the world around them, which would make them unable to develop human consciousness. He used the format of literature to describe his fears in the futuristic science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, Bradbury uses symbols to illustrate his concerns about future generations living in a technological society without books. Bradbury uses the symbol of hands to represent human conscience, the symbol of the phoenix to mark rebirth, and the symbol of the mechanical hound to stand for the cold inhumanity of technology. The first symbol, the symbol of hands, demonstrates human conscience. Bradbury’s descriptions of the hands of his various characters represent that character’s current state of human consciousness. Guy Montag, the novel’s main character, develops a human conscience throughout the course of the novel. Montag is a firefighter in Fahrenheit 451’s futuristic world of technology. Montag’s job is to burn books, which destroys the wisdom and insight that the books contained. At first, Montag does not feel any moral conflict with this task. Indeed, he finds it “a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 3). Montag’s displays his true lack of conscience in how he describes his actions (McGiveron 1). Montag glorifies his actions as a firefighter by describing how “his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters in charcoal ruins of history”
11 November 2013
Symbolism in Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury, the author of the well-known science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, was alarmed by how much time he felt the public devoted to watching television in the 1950’s. “If this [trend of television watching] goes on…” he wrote, “nobody will read books anymore” (XIII). This thought of a television-obsessed future public frightened Bradbury. He was particularly fearful of how technology might prevent people from forming relationships with each other and connecting with the world around them, which would make them unable to develop human consciousness. He used the format of literature to describe his fears in the futuristic science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, Bradbury uses symbols to illustrate his concerns about future generations living in a technological society without books. Bradbury uses the symbol of hands to represent human conscience, the symbol of the phoenix to mark rebirth, and the symbol of the mechanical hound to stand for the cold inhumanity of technology. The first symbol, the symbol of hands, demonstrates human conscience. Bradbury’s descriptions of the hands of his various characters represent that character’s current state of human consciousness. Guy Montag, the novel’s main character, develops a human conscience throughout the course of the novel. Montag is a firefighter in Fahrenheit 451’s futuristic world of technology. Montag’s job is to burn books, which destroys the wisdom and insight that the books contained. At first, Montag does not feel any moral conflict with this task. Indeed, he finds it “a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 3). Montag’s displays his true lack of conscience in how he describes his actions (McGiveron 1). Montag glorifies his actions as a firefighter by describing how “his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters in charcoal ruins of history”
Cited: "Fahrenheit 451." Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 138-157. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. McGiveron, Rafeeq O. "Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451." Explicator 54.3 (Spring 1996): 177-180. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 235. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Literature Resource Center. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. Sisario, Peter. "A Study of the Allusions in Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451." English Journal 59.2 (Feb. 1970): 201-205. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Deborah A. Stanley. Vol. 98. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.