Symbolism Of Birds In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

In the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, he shows the readers a symbolic meaning between birds and books. Birds are very simple and intriguing creatures that have different meanings that can be taken both symbolically and literally. Much like birds, books have unique voices and ideas that are present throughout a piece of literature. Both books and birds are unique and diverse in every way possible. Bradbury uses birds to symbolize books being burned. An example of this is when Montag says, “while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house” (1). By saying this Montag is describing the death of the books and also the death of birds because they are one of the same. A birds feathers, voice, and beauty are all diverse in the same way books are unique, different, and meaningful. When you burn a book you are killing all these qualities that are within it. For example, in Text B it states, “the calls of crows fall into a dozen different categories—rallying, scolding, assembling, begging, announcing, duetting...” The calls a simple crow can make, shows you the diverse qualities within them just like a book can show.

A book lit, almost obediently, like a white pigeon, in his hands, wings fluttering” (34). This passage can be interpreted in many ways. One being that a dove can symbolize peace and freedom. Perhaps by burning books your killing these things in their society. Much like books, birds “call to warn of predators and to identify family, friends, and foes.” This can be related to books because books have many different voices usually from the author. Some authors can write about freedom and peace like a dove or they can write about weakness and limitation like a caged