Fahrenheit 451 Symbolism Analysis

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The novel, Fahrenheit 451, is focused around a dystopian society, in which the author uses symbolism to present abstract thoughts. Books are banned in order to destroy creative and critical thinking. Rather, the government replaces books with technology in order to create a highly-stimulated lifestyle that prevents fun and family. Throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451, the author Ray Bradbury uses thought-provoking symbolism in his book to represent intellectual ideas and show the depressing and bleak life of the main protagonist, Guy Montag. To start with, Bradbury creates symbolism by making salamanders represent firemen. To demonstrate, Clarisse is described as, “hypnotized by the salamander on his arm” (Bradbury 4). This quote is referring to Montag’s tattoo, a symbol of his fireman status. Not only is the salamander a symbol of his profession, but it also symbolizes his ability to withstand fire. With that said, the symbol is later found ironic as the life he knows is destroyed by fire.…show more content…
To illustrate, Montag describes, “the faster he poured, the faster it sifted through with a hot whispering” (Bradbury 74). This sentence is referring to Montag’s childhood memory of pouring hot sand through a sieve, hoping that the sieve would fill up so that he could win a dime from his cousin's dare. Montag compares this to reading and memorizing the bible, as the words go out of his mind faster than they come in, just like how the sand went through the sieve. This symbolism could also be referring to the amount of useless information the government gives the people, as it serves no purpose when it comes to being

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