Emily Santerre
Mrs. Narcisi Stewart
Honors Sophomore English
8 February 2023
Burning Bright Do I do it? Do I take the book? Is it worth it? I mean it’s just a book right? It can’t do any harm. I’ll just read it and put it back. No one will know. Except everyone will know. Because in this society it is normalized to report suspicious activity and turn in your neighbors. It is against the law to read books. The punishment for this offense includes death and the burning of their belongings. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses Mildred, the symbol of the salamander and the hearth, along with man vs society conflict to develop the theme of a society that is strictly conformed leads to rebellion.
Mildred Montag is a narcissistic, self absorbed,
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The “Salamander” also known as firetrucks always have kerosene in them, meaning that at any given moment they could blow up. And where it says fire throwers that means the guns that shoot the kerosene. Hence, Guy is afraid of it because they have the power to end his life with one shot.
“The salamander devours his tail! Ho, God!”(82).
Faber and Guy are planning to burn down the firehouses. Which would mean they would be doing the exact thing that the firefighters do to everyone else to them. So where it says he devours his tale it’s like saying they get karma. The Salamander and the Hearth show how the government has such a strong hold on its citizens to the point they are killing people, and it’s normal. No one even turns their head while people are burning down in their own houses.
Bradbury creates a man vs society conflict within Guy. He follows the government's rules and roles to a tee, until he meets Clarisse. Clarisse McClellan is one of the few people in the book to contest the idea that life hasn’t always been this way. She uses her radical thinking to persuade Guy to question if he’s really happy and if this is really how he wants to live his