Moseley 1 Reeves Moseley Mrs. Fischer English 3rd 14 November 2014 Symbols in Fahrenheit 451 Symbols are widely used in works of literature to represent an important concept that is portrayed within the text. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, symbols are used to represent the apparent despotic nature in society, and how man can correct his mistakes. Even though this society may seem like a happy one, symbols prove otherwise and depict the corrupt reality that exists within this civilization. In Fahrenheit 451, blood is predominant as a symbol that represents the empty, poisoned, and replaceable interior being of a person in the society. For example, Mildred overdoses on sleeping pills and as her infected blood is extracted by the “snake”, fresh, mechanically administered blood is injected into her body. Even though the woman’s diseased blood has been replaced, her primal self has been irretrievably lost, and although fresh blood resides in Mildred, there is a profound emptiness that can never be regained. Throughout the novel, other situations prove that blood …show more content…
Toward the end of the novel, Ray Bradbury introduces an interesting creature named a phoenix which, “built a pyre and burnt himself up…Every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again.” This Phoenix is used to symbolize the society, as in the novel when Granger states that “it looks like we’re doing the same thing, over and over, but we’ve got one damn thing the Phoenix never had. We know the damn silly thing we just did.” Similarly to the Phoenix, the society destroys itself, and then builds itself back up. This animal foreshadows a renewing of the society, and shows a sense of hope for the rebirth of intellect. The bomb that explodes in Montag’s home city cleanses the acts of burning books and depleting any sense of