Evaluate the Thematic Uses of Fire Imagery in Fahrenheit 451 and Julius Caesar William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar was first performed in 1599 in the newly constructed ‘Globe Theatre’, in London. The plot is based on the Sir Thomas North’s ‘The lives of noble Grecians and Romanes’ this being in itself a translation of Greek bibliographer Plutarch’s ‘Parallel Lives’. The play follows the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44BC and the subsequent civic uprising and chaos. The main theme in Julius Caesar is the vicious battle for power; the play also explores ideas of responsibility, moral duty, loyalty, friendship and trust. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 was published in 1953, the novel’s key ideas were first presented in a short story called …show more content…
40). The actions of the conspirators and Brutus are also condemned; the fire imagery brings also to light the immorality and violence of conspiracy, Brutus demanding forgiveness for his murderous deed by somehow arguing that two wrongs make a right: And the pity to the general wrong of Rome, As fire drives out fire, so pity, pity, Hath done this deed on Caesar, (Act III, scene I, p. 68) However, as noted above, fire as a representation of destructive forces driving the struggle for political power also extends to elaborate on the force of persuasion, this is made evident in the inflammatory oration-speech of Mark Antony who stirs dark passions of his audience which proceeds to set the city alight, rhetorical calls for violence do not remain just words, they can become physical violent deeds (Act iii, scene ii, …show more content…
From the first line, it is revealed that Montag is not an ordinary fireman; in his professional capacity, he is required to start fires rather than put them out. The spectacle of fire gives him in fact pleasure as it destroys ‘history’, it makes him forget. The bomb explosions bringing about the demise of the totalitarian regime in the novels last pages also hint to fire as a symbol of dark, destructive both internal and external forces threatening and relishing the end of