In Fahrenheit 451 water symbolizes escape from society and escape from themselves. When Montag is being chased by the Hound and the fire he had lit, the seashell in his ear starts counting up the seconds till everyone looks out their windows. At five seconds Montag thinks about the river, “He felt their hands on the doorknobs! The smell of the river was cool like solid rain. His throat was burnt rust and his eyes wept dry with running”(132). Montag is in a position where he is almost caught. He makes the metaphor that his throat is burnt rust. This metaphor comes straight from him burning his own house and committing murders. The river, on the other hand, is cool. It is a direct contrast to his burnt identity. The river lets him escape from