Symbolism in Ferenheight 451

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“It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed”(1). And in this story it happens all too often. So much so in fact, that after a while the flames do not satisfy the reader and there needs to be symbolism hidden in the blaze or it burns out. Fahrenheit 451 is a novel by the great author Ray Bradbury, and in this synopsis of such, I will explore the elements of symbolism present in the simple inanimate objects existing throughout this story. An important symbol in Fahrenheit 451 is “the Hearth and the Salamander” Bradbury uses this conjunction of images as the title of the first part of Fahrenheit 451, which shows its significance. The hearth, or fireplace, is a traditional symbol of the home; the salamander is one of the official symbols of the firemen, as well as the name they give to their fire trucks. Both of these symbols have to do with fire, the dominant image of Montag’s life—the hearth because it contains the fire that heats a home; and the salamander because of ancient beliefs that it lives in fire and is unaffected by flames; this is likely why it is the name of the fire trucks, As they exist to create flames. The hearth and the salamander may also have been used to show the juxtaposition present in the nature of fire, the heart represents fire as it can be; a tool used for its utility and warmth, the hearth is controlled. The salamander represents fire as it is in the novel, a destructive force, burning beyond control. As Beatty says in the novel, “Burn all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean" (60). Heinrich page 2 Another example of an object given significance can be found in a similar place as the Hearth and the Salamander the title of Fahrenheit 451 part two, the Sieve and the Sand. The Sieve and the Sand refers to two incidents: one from Montag's

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