Essay about Fahrenheit 451
Throughout Fahrenheit 451 there are countless symbols. The book shows symbolism all the way from begging to end in every way. Firstly, I’m going to talk about the symbol blood, blood comes up in the book many times. After the blood comes to the symbol phoenix, phoenix also is the main symbol in Fahrenheit 451. I’ll also be mentioning more symbols throughout my essay.
The first symbol that is mentioned in the book is blood. Blood sounds like just the normal red stuff that is in your body, but to Montag, there is so much more meaning to it. Blood is often brought up in the book as a restrained soul of a person. Montag moreover feels his thoughts through his blood running through his body. Mildred who has lost herself from society still stays unmoved when her unhealthy blood is taken out and replaced by the Electric Eyed Snake machine with newly done blood. The Electric Eyed Snake helps crack open Mildred to find how she was in misery and had hatred for herself. Mildred’s replaces blood could not even complete her, she is lost and lifeless. More just like Mildred are all around the society that they live in.
The next symbol in Fahrenheit 451 is the Phoenix. The Phoenix is brought into the story when the city gets bombed. Granger relates the society to a Phoenix that burns itself then recreates again and again and over and over. The phoenix’s recreation refers to Montag’s spiritual resurrection from being lost like Mildred to knowing the real world and about real feelings. He feels how society is supposed to be instead of the way it is then. Granger’s group has set a task for themselves for their mistakes in their past life’s back at home.
The next important symbol is The hearth and the Salamander. The Hearth and the Salamander are symbolic of the fire in the book. The hearth is a symbol of a home and is a fireplace. The salamander is a symbol for the fireman also salamander is the name of all the fire trucks that are given by the fireman. Both of these well-known symbols have to do with Montag, a fire that heats a home, and the salamander because it is said that it doesn’t burn.
At the end of the book, mirrors are shown to show self-worth, and understanding among each other. Montag at the beginning gives mirrors as a comparison to Clarisse. Granger also says at the end that there needs to be a factory with only mirrors in it so everyone can take a long look at themselves in the mirrors.
The last symbol that I’m going to bring up about this book is The Sieve and the Sand. The second part of the book is brought up from Montag’s childhood from when he remembers trying to fill a sieve with sand on the beach to get a dime from his cousin. He compares this memory to when he tried to read the whole entire Bible as fast as he could. With hopes that the faster he read it, the easier it would stay in his memory. Sand is a symbol of how truthful Montag is throughout the story. The sieve is the human brain speaking a truth that stays hidden from the outside world, as a metaphorical suggestion. It is impossible to take in, in any possible way.
In the end, symbols are clearly used throughout the whole entire book. Whether it be the Blood or Phoenix. There are so many more symbolic things in Fahrenheit 451 that I could bring up. As shown the book did show symbols from begging to the very end, with the mirrors.
