Fahrenheit 451 is a science fiction novel written by Ray Bradbury in 1953. The book takes place in a futuristic society where books are banned and if you have one it will be burned along with your house. The novel never really stated why they are, but some statements mention two reasons. The first reason is because people lost interest and the second reason is because people disagreed with books which led to hostility. The literary significance of this book is the fact that Ray Bradbury uses symbolism. He uses symbols throughout the entire book which help to tell a story in itself. Each symbol means something but they all connect with each other to form a compelling and intriguing story.
PART1: Symbolism The symbols used in this book greatly affect the story and how it’s looked at. For example, the very first symbol shown is on the very front cover of the book. Ray Bradbury wanted to show that the burning of books was the main plot of the story. When Montag describes the uniforms that they wear, he points out that they have the three numbers on their helmets. “His symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head….” (Page 33). Another symbol in this book is the logo on the firemen's outfits, a
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The great and mighty phoenix destroys itself and then rebuilds from the ashes. His point is that society keeps becoming self destructive, and even after it still stays on the same path. “Every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of 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.” (163). But, Granger believes that humans are capable of learning from their mistakes, society will grow stronger and better with time. He believes that if men like him are able to teach mistakes from the past, then the future generation will improve