Maya Kazam Gower English 8 2 March 2023 The Power Symbolism in Fahrenheit 451 Knowledge empowers people to make good decisions. When knowledge is taken away, people have no alternative but to believe everything they hear. This concept is prominent in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Fahrenheit 451 is about the dark future of a dystopian society where books are banned and, therefore, the “firemen” must burn all books. The book’s name comes from the fact that 451° F is the temperature at which paper burns. The development of symbolism in Fahrenheit 451 is used to relay Bradbury’s message of his fears for the future. Bradbury warns readers that knowledge will fade over time, with one of the earliest symbols being that books are getting burned into ashes. Capturing the negative …show more content…
The Hound is used by the government to instill fear within people, “the Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live, in its gently humming, gently vibrating, softly illuminated kennel back in a dark corner of the firehouse” (Bradbury 21). This shows that the hound is a symbol of constant fear. It doesn’t think or function on its own, it does what it’s told much like the way the government expects people to behave. The Hound is programmed to spot people, like Montag, breaking society’s rules. Therefore, Montag feels victimized by it and says “it doesn’t like me’... ‘What is the hound?’ Captain studied his cards. ‘It doesn’t like or dislike. It just functions'’” (Bradbury 24). Captain Beatty implies that the only reason for the hound to dislike Montag would be that he’s hiding something. In fact, Montag is hiding books, although Beatty has yet to know. However, with new technology like the mechanical hound, there is no escape from the laws. Many people, including the government, will rapidly find out who is breaking rules, no matter if what’s being done is right or