Imagine, Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a dystopian world where books are banned. Montag is a fireman, and his job is to burn books to prevent the city from seeing the imperfections in the world. The book follows him as he changes his mind and rebels against society. Through his use of symbols, Ray Bradbury foreshadows events and presents a deeper meaning for character development. Moths are a prominent example; As Montag is forced to burn his own home and books it is stated, “The brush of a death’s-head moth against a cold black screen” (Bradbury 108). The symbol is having the Death’s-head Hawk Moth appear, an omen of death, appear, showing how Montag is about to kill Beatty out of rage for that reason. In addition, Faber gives advice to Montag as he contemplates whether he should go through with fighting for books and Bradbury writes, “Faber was a grey moth asleep in his ear” (Bradbury 101). The gray moth symbolizes change and intuition. Faber is convincing him to continue fighting for books, resulting in …show more content…
The salamander is shown to be in Montag’s uniform for his job as a fireman. The salamander represents an immunity to fire along with passion and rebirth, similar to the phoenix. This is used to symbolize how the firemen are changing society and giving it a “rebirth” by ridding the city of books as well as having a high tolerance against fire. Moreover, “He pulled out his igniter, felt the salamander etched on its silver disc, gave it a flick.” (Bradbury 10). Similarly, this instance of the salamander represents how Montag is changing, or rebirthing. In this scene, he is contemplating what Clarisse had asked him about, if he is happy or not, while he sits in