Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

Being able to be reborn every 1000 years and start a new life is something the phoenix had the ability to do. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag shares characteristics with the phoenix. Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian fiction book written by Ray Bradbury. The protagonist in Fahrenheit 451 is Guy Montag and he is a fireman. He burns books for a living and eventually gets curious and questions why no one is allowed to read them. This causes him to question the normalities of his society and leads him to trouble. The phoenix symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings. In all types of mythology, the phoenix is said to have been a bird that dies every 1000 years and then rises up from its own ashes. The phoenix can be compared to Montag, our everyday lives, the

Granger first introduces the phoenix by explaining how the society that Montag lives in is exactly like the phoenix. Granger explains to a group of people what the phoenix is and how it relates to the society: There was a silly damn bird called a phoenix back before Christ, every few hundred years he built a pyre and burnt himself up….he got himself born all over again. And it looks like we’re doing the same thing...but we’ve got one damn thing the phoenix never had. We know the damn silly thing we just did (Bradbury 156).
This shows that Granger is aware of the mistakes the society has made and how they are foolish in the sense that they can not fix their mistakes. This is relevant because it is a major part of the book where the phoenix allusion becomes very

Life as the citizens knew it came to a stop and was destroyed by war. Montag has a split second when he realizes the city is falling “and in that instance saw the city instead of the bombs…. and then the city rolled over and fell down dead” (Bradbury 153). Before modern society in Fahrenheit 451, books were allowed, and people were not as cut off from the surrounding world. During the time Fahrenheit 451 takes place, books are not allowed, and people are brainwashed with the idea that the media is the only thing that matters and their only source of entertainment. They are oblivious to the outside world and different ideas that could potentially cause anyone to think differently. The society had gone on for a while and had lasting effects and is now coming to a stop and potentially having a chance to restart. This is just like the phoenix in the sense of dying and rising up again, getting a fresh start.
When Montag runs off into the forest, this can be seen as him rising up from the ashes of his old life and starting a new one. He meets new people who promote a different lifestyle than his previous one and it gives him a fresh start. Also, he leaves his old life behind. He doesn’t think about being a fireman, Mildred, or anything in his past life. This represents a clean slate for Montag. It is just as if he had risen up from the ashes of his old life. This shows how Montag can be related to the phoenix in another