Theme Of Fire In Fahrenheit 451
Lexi Wylie
Burn
In Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, in which books are illegal in society,
Guy Montag holds a career as a fireman. Unlike firemen of today who fight fires, firemen in
Fahrenheit 451 create fires in order to destroy books as well as the knowledge, individuality, and freedom they hold. Fire plays a crucial role in this novel, with Bradbury giving the story “impact and imaginative focus by means of symbolic fire” (Watt 2). As Watt puts it, fire is “Montag’s world, his reality” (Watt 2). Although Montag’s reality is fire, his perception of fire changes with each fire he sets, evolving from pleasureful, to innocent, to rebellious, to renewing, to knowledge-filled and even to regenerating. These developing perceptions …show more content…
mirror Montag’s personal development as the novel progresses.
In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Montag holds a great passion for burning books and carrying out his duties as a fireman, expressing the “pleasure” (Bradbury 1) of seeing “things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 1) through his grimace or “fiery smile...that never went away” (Bradbury 1). Montag perceives fire as merely a recreational activity that brings him a sense of gratification and satisfaction through its destruction of books and knowledge. He
“enjoys its qualities” (“Themes and Construction” 3) and “even likes the soot that it leaves behind” (“Themes and Construction” 3). Montag feels no sympathy toward the books, vital parts of society’s cultural heritage and the keys to knowledge, destroying them without a single thought or twinge of guilt. Montag also feels empowered by fire and the adrenaline rush it produces, which provides him with the idea that he plays a beneficial role in society.
Montag’s relationship with fire abruptly transforms when he is introduced to Clarisse, his wide-eyed, seventeen year old neighbor, a lover of life and nature who is extremely curious and
deeply aware of the world around her. Clarisse, literally sparking Montag’s curiosity and personal development, reminds Montag of the “strangely comfortable...light of a candle” (Bradbury 5). Montag’s new, contradictory perception of fire escorts the belief that fire, when gentle, can flicker with a nurturing form of knowledge and self-awareness. The young, ambitious Clarisse, who refuses to conform to the ways of society, awakens a new kind of burning in Montag: a burning curiosity that begins to overtake him. Soon after their first encounter, Montag and Clarisse develop a friendship, one which continues to fuel Montag’s overwhelming spirit of inquiry. When Montag is informed of Clarisse’s death, he grieves for the absence of the only source of innocence in his life and sets out to oppose society’s mindless pursuit of happiness.
After suffering the loss of the one person with individuality in his life, Montag begins to question himself and the world he lives in. When Montag witnesses the woman on Elm Street set herself ablaze alongside her books, he begins to question everything: his wife, his boss, his profession, society, books, and, most importantly, himself. Montag becomes intrigued by and determined to find out what books contain that drive one not to be able to survive without them.
Fire becomes a sense of rebellion for Montag.
Near the end of the novel, when Montag’s hidden books are exposed, he is forced to set fire to his own home. When Montag burns “the bedroom walls and the cosmetic chest because he wanted to change everything, the chairs, the tables, and in the dining room the silverware and plastic dishes, everything that showed that he had lived here in this empty house with this strange woman who would forget him tomorrow" (Bradbury 110), he utilizes fire as a method of purification. Montag allows the fire to destroy his past of conforming to the superficial people
Lexi Wylie and mindless activities of society and allows it to blaze a new path for him, one of individuality and curiosity. Montag proudly, using fire, rids his life of everything holding him back from reaching his full potential. Montag permits fire, as a symbol of renewal, to assist him in beginning a new life.
Toward the end of the novel, after he is forced to flee due to a city wide man hunt for him, Montag stumbles upon a small group of “book people” who are hidden deep in the woods, surrounded by a blazing campfire. These homeless intellectuals who are committed to prolonging the longevity of knowledge with only their minds welcome Montag with open arms. Montag soon notes that their campfire is different from the fires of his former society; “It was not burning, it was warming” (Bradbury 139), comforting, and did not destroy, but created a warmth for people to gather around. Until this moment, Montag had been oblivious to the welcoming, knowledge-filled face of fire. After speaking with Granger, the leader of the Book People,
Montag assists the men in putting out the campfire. This act is “symbolic of stopping society’s book burning” (Rafeeg 3). Rather than being used destructively, fire is finally utilized as an accommodating, constructive device.
Not long after Montag is welcomed by the book people, the group witnesses the bombing and ultimately the destruction of their city. Observing the fire and destruction, Granger mutters
“Phoenix” (156). Granger then goes on to explain that every time this mythological bird “burnt himself up, he sprang out of the ashes” (156) and was “born all over again” (156). When mankind is compared to the phoenix, one who burns itself up and rises out of its ashes over and over again, “fire becomes a symbol of renewal" (“Themes and Construction” 3). This symbol of renewal suggests that, like the phoenix, a new society will be born from the ashes of the old one.
This new perception of fire provides Montag with a sense of hope. Despite all that he has lost: his home, his wife, his neighbor, his books, and practically his entire society, Montag is able to hold on to the idea that one day his society will rise out of its ashes and bring about a new, more efficient way of life, one filled with individuality, knowledge, and freedom.
All in all, in Fahrenheit 451, in which books are illegal in society, Guy Montag, who holds a position as a fireman, faces a transfiguring perception of fire. Fire plays a crucial role
in the novel, providing both a reality for Montag and a visual for readers, one that mirrors Montag’s inner self and personal development throughout the course of the novel. Various experiences, including destroying books, encountering Clarisse, witnessing a woman be set aflame alongside her books, and observing his society be blown to pieces, alter Montag’s perception of fire. This perception transforms with each fire Montag sets, evolving from pleasureful, to innocent, to rebellious, to renewing, to knowledge-filled and even to regenerating. While fire is at first a destructive force used to wrongfully deny citizens their right to individuality, Montag later realizes that fire can also be an innocent, constructive force used to bring about a new beginning for both him and society.
Lexi Wylie
Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012. Print. 11 March 2014.
Rafeeq, McGiveron O. "Bradburys Fahrenheit 451." DISCovering Authors (2003): Online
Detroit: Gale. Web. 10 March 2014.
“Themes and Construction: Fahrenheit 451.” EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale, 2003.
Discovering Collection. Gale. Web. 10 March 2014.
Watt, Donald. “Burning Bright: Fahrenheit 451 as Symbolic Dystopia.” Ray Bradbury. Writers of the 21st Century Series. Ed. Martin Harry Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander. New York:
Taplinger, 1980. 195-213. Web. 10 March 2014.
Burn
In Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, in which books are illegal in society,
Guy Montag holds a career as a fireman. Unlike firemen of today who fight fires, firemen in
Fahrenheit 451 create fires in order to destroy books as well as the knowledge, individuality, and freedom they hold. Fire plays a crucial role in this novel, with Bradbury giving the story “impact and imaginative focus by means of symbolic fire” (Watt 2). As Watt puts it, fire is “Montag’s world, his reality” (Watt 2). Although Montag’s reality is fire, his perception of fire changes with each fire he sets, evolving from pleasureful, to innocent, to rebellious, to renewing, to knowledge-filled and even to regenerating. These developing perceptions …show more content…
mirror Montag’s personal development as the novel progresses.
In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Montag holds a great passion for burning books and carrying out his duties as a fireman, expressing the “pleasure” (Bradbury 1) of seeing “things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 1) through his grimace or “fiery smile...that never went away” (Bradbury 1). Montag perceives fire as merely a recreational activity that brings him a sense of gratification and satisfaction through its destruction of books and knowledge. He
“enjoys its qualities” (“Themes and Construction” 3) and “even likes the soot that it leaves behind” (“Themes and Construction” 3). Montag feels no sympathy toward the books, vital parts of society’s cultural heritage and the keys to knowledge, destroying them without a single thought or twinge of guilt. Montag also feels empowered by fire and the adrenaline rush it produces, which provides him with the idea that he plays a beneficial role in society.
Montag’s relationship with fire abruptly transforms when he is introduced to Clarisse, his wide-eyed, seventeen year old neighbor, a lover of life and nature who is extremely curious and
deeply aware of the world around her. Clarisse, literally sparking Montag’s curiosity and personal development, reminds Montag of the “strangely comfortable...light of a candle” (Bradbury 5). Montag’s new, contradictory perception of fire escorts the belief that fire, when gentle, can flicker with a nurturing form of knowledge and self-awareness. The young, ambitious Clarisse, who refuses to conform to the ways of society, awakens a new kind of burning in Montag: a burning curiosity that begins to overtake him. Soon after their first encounter, Montag and Clarisse develop a friendship, one which continues to fuel Montag’s overwhelming spirit of inquiry. When Montag is informed of Clarisse’s death, he grieves for the absence of the only source of innocence in his life and sets out to oppose society’s mindless pursuit of happiness.
After suffering the loss of the one person with individuality in his life, Montag begins to question himself and the world he lives in. When Montag witnesses the woman on Elm Street set herself ablaze alongside her books, he begins to question everything: his wife, his boss, his profession, society, books, and, most importantly, himself. Montag becomes intrigued by and determined to find out what books contain that drive one not to be able to survive without them.
Fire becomes a sense of rebellion for Montag.
Near the end of the novel, when Montag’s hidden books are exposed, he is forced to set fire to his own home. When Montag burns “the bedroom walls and the cosmetic chest because he wanted to change everything, the chairs, the tables, and in the dining room the silverware and plastic dishes, everything that showed that he had lived here in this empty house with this strange woman who would forget him tomorrow" (Bradbury 110), he utilizes fire as a method of purification. Montag allows the fire to destroy his past of conforming to the superficial people
Lexi Wylie and mindless activities of society and allows it to blaze a new path for him, one of individuality and curiosity. Montag proudly, using fire, rids his life of everything holding him back from reaching his full potential. Montag permits fire, as a symbol of renewal, to assist him in beginning a new life.
Toward the end of the novel, after he is forced to flee due to a city wide man hunt for him, Montag stumbles upon a small group of “book people” who are hidden deep in the woods, surrounded by a blazing campfire. These homeless intellectuals who are committed to prolonging the longevity of knowledge with only their minds welcome Montag with open arms. Montag soon notes that their campfire is different from the fires of his former society; “It was not burning, it was warming” (Bradbury 139), comforting, and did not destroy, but created a warmth for people to gather around. Until this moment, Montag had been oblivious to the welcoming, knowledge-filled face of fire. After speaking with Granger, the leader of the Book People,
Montag assists the men in putting out the campfire. This act is “symbolic of stopping society’s book burning” (Rafeeg 3). Rather than being used destructively, fire is finally utilized as an accommodating, constructive device.
Not long after Montag is welcomed by the book people, the group witnesses the bombing and ultimately the destruction of their city. Observing the fire and destruction, Granger mutters
“Phoenix” (156). Granger then goes on to explain that every time this mythological bird “burnt himself up, he sprang out of the ashes” (156) and was “born all over again” (156). When mankind is compared to the phoenix, one who burns itself up and rises out of its ashes over and over again, “fire becomes a symbol of renewal" (“Themes and Construction” 3). This symbol of renewal suggests that, like the phoenix, a new society will be born from the ashes of the old one.
This new perception of fire provides Montag with a sense of hope. Despite all that he has lost: his home, his wife, his neighbor, his books, and practically his entire society, Montag is able to hold on to the idea that one day his society will rise out of its ashes and bring about a new, more efficient way of life, one filled with individuality, knowledge, and freedom.
All in all, in Fahrenheit 451, in which books are illegal in society, Guy Montag, who holds a position as a fireman, faces a transfiguring perception of fire. Fire plays a crucial role
in the novel, providing both a reality for Montag and a visual for readers, one that mirrors Montag’s inner self and personal development throughout the course of the novel. Various experiences, including destroying books, encountering Clarisse, witnessing a woman be set aflame alongside her books, and observing his society be blown to pieces, alter Montag’s perception of fire. This perception transforms with each fire Montag sets, evolving from pleasureful, to innocent, to rebellious, to renewing, to knowledge-filled and even to regenerating. While fire is at first a destructive force used to wrongfully deny citizens their right to individuality, Montag later realizes that fire can also be an innocent, constructive force used to bring about a new beginning for both him and society.
Lexi Wylie
Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012. Print. 11 March 2014.
Rafeeq, McGiveron O. "Bradburys Fahrenheit 451." DISCovering Authors (2003): Online
Detroit: Gale. Web. 10 March 2014.
“Themes and Construction: Fahrenheit 451.” EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale, 2003.
Discovering Collection. Gale. Web. 10 March 2014.
Watt, Donald. “Burning Bright: Fahrenheit 451 as Symbolic Dystopia.” Ray Bradbury. Writers of the 21st Century Series. Ed. Martin Harry Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander. New York:
Taplinger, 1980. 195-213. Web. 10 March 2014.