Fahrenheit 451 Symbolism Essay

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel that was written by Ray Bradbury and was published in 1953. It is considered to be one of the best pieces Bradbury wrote and it received many awards. Bradbury uses a lot of the “symbolic dystopia” method to create images and characters (Reid). The novel portrays a futuristic society where people are not allowed to own or read books, and the fireman burn any book or novel they find. It also consists of a society where the people are forbidden to think for themselves and are also forbidden to be creative or have new ideas. Commonly people read Fahrenheit 451 and develop conclusions about the symbolism he uses. Ray Bradbury uses several items of symbolism throughout the book beginning with the title. Four hundred and fifty one degrees fahrenheit is the temperature that paper begins to burn and in the novel paper is burning each time a book is burned. That is an example of the more common symbolism in the book that most readers pick up on immediately. Several readers do not go into complete depth and they mainly focus on the common symbolism of the blood, “The Heart and the Salamander”, “The Sieve and the Sand”, “Burning Bright”, the Phoenix, and the mirror. Although these are great examples of symbolism, Bradbury also buried deeper symbolic ideas into this novel. Ray Bradbury’s use of symbolism in Fahrenheit 451 is significant in calling attention to the problems of the government and economies, discovering the problems of unity and conformity, and discussing futurism along with the enhancement of the technology of Bradbury’s current world.

Guy Montag, the main character in Fahrenheit 451, symbolizes a change. His thoughts and emotions are used to help the reader understand the ...

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...t in calling attention to the problems of the government and economies, discovering the problems of unity and conformity, and discussing futurism along with the enhancement of the technology of Bradbury’s current world. Bradbury told the Associated Press in 2002.” Americans stripped offensive material out of all books and the degradation of all books cause the society to grow so diverse with grievances. (“Ray Bradbury”) Bradbury symbolized several things to help a reader recognize the futuristic problems starting with the inhalation of books. A corrupt economy began with people thinking were bland and ending with explosive bombings and fire starting. The people began something that the Government never stopped. Bradbury never gives a specific date in the novel but a reader can infer that it occurred during the late twentieth or early twenty-first century (Smolla).