Symbolism In Fahrenheit 451, By Ray Bradbury

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Everyone loves to read right? Well, not in the little town that Guy Montag lives in. This is because the idea of reading is not accepted from their government. Montag is the protagonist in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This novel provides us with a different perspective of reading, fire, and society. In the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury he uses symbolism such as fire and the phoenix to convey their town and how the government works. Fire, fire, and more fire. Throughout the entire novel Bradbury places a reference on fire, which is a major symbol. Even the title “Fahrenheit 451” that is “the temperature at which book-paper catches fire and burns.” (Bradbury 1) Guy Montag is the protagonist of this novel and he is a fireman in the town he lives in. His job as a fireman is not the usual fireman. He is to find out of By this time in the end of the novel Montag has fled the town in fear of getting killed. The town was going downhill fast. In the midst of all the commotion Bradbury places this scene and the reference to the phoenix to show that there is still hope. The phoenix is a mythical bird that after so long it will burn itself to death and a new one will arise from the ashes. At the end of the novel Montag and his new book friends are sitting on the outskirts of the town watching the destruction happen. The town had been bombed and they were watching from the shadows because they would have been killed for having knowledge of the books. They were sitting around a fire, “The men watched this ritual silently. Granger looked into the fire. ‘Phoenix’.” (Bradbury 68) By Bradbury placing this symbol in there it shows us that even though the city has just burnt up and crashed, just like the phoenix, the town still has hope for the rebuilding of a new city to better themselves. Bradbury chose to reference the phoenix in his novel to show how fire can be both destructive and have

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