Over hundreds of thousands of books were burned by the Nazis. The books
were burned because they were filled with knowledge and ideas that would spread to
people causing the Nazis to lose their perfect society. In the novel, the government
burned books because reading creates independent thinking and they wanted the
citizens to be ignored, so they could control them without fear of a rebellion. In
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury symbolism is used to evoke strong meaning
throughout the novel. Objects such as the phoenix, salamander, and fire are powerful
symbols that occur throughout the novel.
To begin with, Bradbury uses the phoenix as a symbol of rebirth of society .
Granger, looking at the flame burning said to Montag “every
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The salamander devour his tail.”(Bradbury 86). “salamander devour
his tail” means that society will change by destroying the reputation of the firemen
reputation.The firemen will be fighting against themselves cause them to “devour” each
other. The salamander made a minor appearance in the story ,but it works together with
the most important symbol fire.
The last but most important symbol, fire, was used throughout the whole story to
symbolize passion At the beginning of the novel, Montag thinks “It was a pleasure to
burn.”(Bradbury 3). Montag’s profession gives him joy and pride in doing his job.
Fire is used to get eradicate book to make sure that society will not get the knowledge
and ideas books carry. It’s used purely out of the sake of “purifying” the “unneeded.”
Bradbury shows Montag's desire to learn by naming the chapter “Burning
bright”(Bradbury 111). “Burning bright” is used as a way of showing Montag’s thirst for
knowledge of the unknown. His knowledge of books and education is the fire, he was
willing to break away from society to read and learn more. Fire starts as a powerful,
destructive weapon ,but slowly turns into a warm, calm, passion to break away from