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Fire symbolism fahrenheit 451 research paper
Use of symbolism in lord of the flies
What does fire mean in lord of the flies
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The novel, Fahrenheit 451, presents a future society where books are prohibited and the firemen burn any that are. The title is the temperature at which books burn. It was written by Ray Bradbury and first published in October 1953. In this novel, protagonist Montag changes his understanding in various aspects such as love or his human relationship throughout the book. However, among all of these, fire – the main theme of this novel – has the most significance as it also changes his understanding of knowledge from books.
In the book, Fahrenheit 451 the author uses fire as a allusion and compares it a lot with the personalities of the main characters. I think the role of fire slightly changes from the beginning to the end of the novel. In the beginning, it was shown as a way of pleasure towards the mindless destruction they caused to people and the books that meant nothing to them. Which later changed to be seen as a possibility of a new beginning, like the old saying, “When a door closes, a window opens,” but in this case, the characters open that ‘window’ by burning their past. For instance, in the beginning of the novel the main character, Montag, clearly states, “It was a pleasure to burn.
Often in our society we tend to form hierarchies and rules which dictate the way we run things, and in Lord of the Flies it’s no different. Although, the author uses the characters and other symbols in the book to portray society in many differing ways. For example, the Conch is probably the most obvious symbol, it could be seen as representing power or order. William Golding uses symbolization like this to shake our perception on how we see things. Another example, could be Ralph.
All things are capable of change in our world, and the symbolism of fire in Lord of the Flies is no different. In the book a group of boys land on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere. They try to build a society built on the ideas of the adult society they came from. At first the boys seemed to be structured and ordered, but soon their primal instincts of savagery came out changing their system into a horrifying nightmare. Throughout Lord of the Flies, the strength and purpose of the fire created by the boys seems to be a meter of the boys connection to civilization, where towards the beginning it is strong and valiant, and then slowly loses its importance and burns out and finally it encircles the whole island due to its savage purposes
Throughout the course of humanity, fire has always been an essential source of survival. Due to its impact on human history, over the years, it has been interpreted by a variety of cultures in many different ways. In literature, since fire is considered a tangible object, it is often used to embody an intricate concept or idea. Ray Bradbury incorporates the literary technique of symbolism in the novel, Fahrenheit 451, in order to illustrate the significance of fire in a dark and empty dystopia where ignorance is a societal norm. In this corrupt society, the presence of fire is crucial because it represents the concepts of destruction and authority, enlightenment and reformation, and warmth and relief.
If you have ever made a fire this will sound silly because Golding makes it seem like the wood catches quickly on fire. Fire gives different meanings to different people but it will soon have a giant impact on the boys and the
Moreover, this shows that the boys recognize and believe in civilization. The boys know that building a fire is a priority and they said, “A fire! Make a fire!” , when they were thinking of ways to escape off the island (Golding 38). While thinking of a fire, the boys started displaying their savage side.
There is a group of boys whose whole contribution is to keep the fire going as piggy states “The fire is the most important thing. Without the fire, we can’t be rescued” (Golding). For the boys the fire symbolizes the desire to be back in the world they remember giving them hope to survive. Golding's use of symbolism helps the reader to connect with the fire as a sort of hero for the boys protecting them, more importantly protecting their minds from reflecting and worrying more about the beast. In order for Golding's presentation of the boy's primal instinct to come across to the reader as the savergary that lives within all humans, how due to the standards of the world no mind should reach that point of corruption.
A symbol is a representation of an idea, concept, or object used to communicate a more profound meaning within a piece of literature or a work of art. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbolism to advance the novel's themes further. The book, published in 1954, follows a group of choir boys stranded on a deserted island. The boys establish rules and a system of organization. Still, it all turns to flames because without adults to serve as a civilizing impulse, the children turn to violence and brutality.
In Lord of the Flies, the signal fire symbolizes the boys’ desire to be rescued, their humanity, and their resistance of savagery. At first, all the boys agree the fire is important and pitch in to help. But in time, the fire dwindles, and the boys lose their desire to be rescued and stay civilized succumb to becoming completely savage. Things start to go south on the island, and the boys start to become savage the first time they neglect the fire. The first time they neglect the fire is when Jack and most of the other biguns go hunting and let the fire go out.
Outline: I. Introduction Hook Lead in to the text Summary of the text based on fire Some indication of fire Throughout the text, fire symbolizes hope for rescure but also dangerous destruction II. The symbol in the beginning of the story Quote about the boys excitedly gathering wood The concept of fire, something that has the power to lead the boys to being rescued, is strongly inspiring and results in many people pitching in to help.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a story about a group of English boys that are stranded on an island by a plane crash. These boys attempt to maintain the society they knew before the crash by electing a leader in place of the grown up and maintain certain social rules. A group of hunters break away from the group and set up their own tribe. During one of the feasts after a wild boar is killed the boys also kill the “beast.” This beast turns out to be another boy on the island.
The boys who ought to look after the fire, follows Jack to go hunt. He made a commitment to allow some of his choir boys to watch the fire, but he fails to keep to his commitment. “They let the bloody fire out.” (Golding, 68). The boys let their Golden chance to wash down the drain like a flowing river.
Government organizations often use symbols to portray their power or military strength. Writers also use symbols to convey a message to the reader. In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbols to help readers track the loss of civility of the boys. The fire is both a symbol of hope and the reckless behavior of the boys.
The fire was also a symbol of civilization, that the boys would survive and get rescued. Fire is quite profound in what it reveals about humans. The fire was the object that the hunters didn’t have, it was desirable because it was limited. The fire brought out the innate greed that humans possess. The hunters weren’t content with asking for fire from Ralph, they were too prideful and savage to be civil in any manner, so they stole it.
