Conclusion to Fahrenheit 451 Tying up loose ends

Montag Throughout the novel, Montag is a changing character. He changes from a determined fireman, oblivious to his unhappy life, to a rebel, a murderer but the most symbolic transformation happens when he sheds his clothes and bathes in the river.

“He wadded in and stripped in darkness to the skin, splashed his body, arms, legs and head…then he dressed in Faber’s old clothes and shoes. He tossed his own clothing into the river and watched it swept away.” This moment is significant as he is leaving the old Montag behind and embracing a new life.

Phoenix “built a pyre and burnt himself up...But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again“ The phoenix is a bird that dies in fire when it is old and then is reborn in the same fire, and many people say represents change. For the firemen it means that if they burn book a new society can be born.

The Phoenix is a symbol of rebirth, such as rising out of the ashes of a cast off life, to live again, renewed, reborn.  It is a symbol for the future of the resistance or the book people that Montag joins at the end of the story.  It foreshadows a rebirth of the society, providing a sense of hope that the current society, with its fascination for burning books and eliminating diversity of opinion, will be cleansed through the use of fire.

The Phoenix is a symbol of change and transformation and this is particularly true for Guy Montag, who experiences his own transformation in the book.  So through Guy Montag, and the rebels, the Phoenix represents the cycles in nature, meaning that out of the current society, the events of the moment, a new cycle of life will emerge, that is history, all societies go through cycles

"must have been the first cousin to Man "must have been the first cousin to Man. But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of his ashes, he got himself born all over again"

The mechanical hound and foreshadowing There are hints that the hound will play an important role in trying to capture Montag from the onset of the novel. “the hound growled" "saw the silver needle extend upon the air an inch...the growl simmered in the beast and it looked at him."

Then it is outside Montag’s house, tracking him on orders from Beatty. He kills the first one outside of this house and then another one tracks him until he is in the river.

The Mechanical Hound represents the fear of government that the state has instilled upon the people of their futuristic society. The hound has no emotions and its purpose in being is to make one afraid or to kill someone. The Mechanical Hound is Bradbury’s chief image of technology

Fire Fire has multiple meanings and can stand for destruction, cleansing, and change. Fire can be used to symbolise these things for both good and evil.

Fire as cleansing Montag and the other fireman use fire as a way of cleansing society of unwanted goods-books. They think they are doing a good thing but getting rid of books which complicate things. Cleanse the world of knowledge, which is an evil thing. Use fire to erase people’s memories and problems. “Forget them. Burn all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean"

When Montag sets Beatty on fire, he thinks he is cleansing the world from something evil. He believes that Beatty symbolises this evil as he is the one who endorses book burning. He also burns Beatty because he thinks he is cleansing himself of his wrong doings- book burning and if he doesn’t kill Beatty, Beatty will kill him.

Fire as destruction "It was a pleasure to burn. It was a pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed" The firemen get pleasure out of destroying books. They know that it is not enough to simply burn the books, they have to burn the houses too. This is destroying the lives of the people who harboured the books.

Fire as change Fire allows Montag to change his life. He burns Beatty and his own house and it because of this that he is able to escape a life which makes him unhappy. Without fire, he wouldn’t be able to escape. "real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences. A problem gets too burdensome, then into the furnace with it. Now, Montag, you're a burden. And fire will lift you off my shoulders, clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later"