How Does Bradbury Use Animal Symbolism In Fahrenheit 451

In many works of literature motifs are utilized to enrich detail and meaning into the writing. The dystopian bestseller, Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury is filled with various symbols, imagery, and themes. Montag, the fireman, lives in a futuristic society where wildlife is disguised as medical instruments, robotic machines, and representations. Throughout the novel, the idea of animals is a recurring symbol that illustrates the theme of perversion of nature.
Animal motifs add significance to the narrative when Mildred is treated with a snake-like mechanism. Bradbury’s intent to use an animal metaphor is to enlighten the reader of how wildlife is misrepresented during the work of literature. Within the world of destruction he created,

Bradbury contrasts the future and present day depicting the difference in society and fauna. Missing the building blocks of civilization and government Bradbury shows that the world cannot thrive and maintain control. Through his fascinating storyline and characters the motifs emphasize the message of the novel; notably, Montag visualizes, “…the great shadowing, motioned silence of the Hound leaping out like a moth in the raw light, finding, holding its victim, inserting needle and going back to its kennel to die as if a switch had been turned…He was trembling and his face was green-white” (Bradbury 23). This animal imagery expresses the prominence of nature in life; moreover, the manipulation of nature, like the development of the Mechanical Hound cases death and damage. The irony of Montag “trembling” and his face being “green-white” from the menacing Mechanical Hound suggests the opposite of the maxim, a dog is a man’s best friend. Henceforth, these contrary qualities of creatures influence the destruction of living creatures and highlight the differences between the potential and current worlds. The Mechanical Hound’s “great shadowing motioned silence” foreshadows its demise and the end of hunting down Montag. Additionally, the line from the text implies the extinction of nature. The world is silent

Bradbury designs the novel’s wildlife obliteration to teach readers to preserve the real world. The negative effects of ignoring the living organisms sends messages of stabilizing the ecosystem in the future. Connecting the phoenix to humankind changes the community’s interpretation of demolition of the environment; in particular, Granger states, “ ‘but every time he burnt himself up he sprang from the ashes, he got himself born all over again. And 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’ ” (Bradbury 156). In contrast to the figure of creatures causing harm in the order of nature, the phoenix shapes the resurrection of a new environment, which fixes the balance. The symbol of the phoenix’s rebirth refers to the cycle of history and the combined rebirth of humanity. Civilizations fall and develop “every time he [the phoenix] burnt himself up” and is resurrected. The phoenix burning suggests a new beginning instead of an ending. As the phoenix “sprang from the ashes” it signifies the city growing from their mistakes. Because society is human they can learn and understand the faults to improve the new world. The animal motif, the phoenix, expresses the meaning of fauna and