The Symbolism of the Firemen Fahrenheit 451

Main Characters in Fahrenheit 451 Guy Montag Clarisse McClelland Mildred (Millie) Montag Captain Beatty Granger

The Legend of the Phoenix A supernatural, beautiful bird Yellow, orange, gold, red feathers (fire) Builds funeral pyre, throws self into flames Reborn into ashes, rises to live again Symbol of immortality, life after death, resurrection

The Salamander Greek, meaning “fire animal” Small lizard, Born of fire & flame Fire-proof skin, can endure flame without damage colors of red, orange & gold = fire, flames Symbol of faith & courage

The Python Powerful snake Biblical reference to Adam & Eve Symbolic of sin

The Hearth Fireplace Contained fire, controlled Symbolic of the home

Symbolic Colors In Fahrenheit 451 Red – fire, blood, war, danger, power & passion Orange – determination & enthusiasm, aggression, thirst for action Gold- wisdom, wealth Yellow – energy Black- devil, evil, power, death

Guy Montag “It was a pleasure to burn” Futuristic fireman - caretakers of society - keepers of peace of mind 30 years old Married to Millie - thinks they have good marriage - can’t remember how they met Appears to love job, “forced smile”

Clarisse McClelland Montag meets her on his way home “I’m seventeen & crazy” She doesn’t fear Montag Questions & talks with him “Do you ever read any of the books you burn?” She is odd, enjoys walks, talking “Are you happy?”

Mildred (Millie) Montag Montag’s wife Representative of Society - Escapes - drugs, ear seashells, TV parlor walls - Overdosing - Selfish - Violent (Clarisse points this out)

Montag & his Meetings with Clarisse These encounters set up Montag’s future and his battle against censorship & banned books They start his quest for knowledge

Impact of Clarisse Opposite of society and its norms The catalyst – gets Montag thinking Discovery of Violence of Teens - teens smash windows, beat each other - drive recklessly - “Afraid of others her own” - They kill each other” - foreshadows her death “goodbye”

The Mechanical Hound A programmable, robotic dog, has 8 legs Made of rubber & metal Armed with needles to inject victims with Morphine or procaine Programmed by DNA, to find victims Montag fears the dog, “It doesn’t like me” Devil dogs are guardians of Satan, Hades

The History of the Firemen Beatty informs Montag of the Firemen People long for a simpler life – Classics cut, short, people lost interest in reading – English, grammar, spelling neglected – Languages dropped Money & pleasure only important Minority groups did not like books People became too politically correct

The Sieve & the Sand Montag remembers a story about a SIEVE as a child Sieve – Sifter, sand falls through the cracks Trying to fill a sieve with sand is impossible How is this like Montag?

Montag’s Trip To Faber’s House Montag’s moment of self-discovery Realizes the “old, burnt-in smile” is gone Sieve & the Sand = helplessness Tries to memorize a Bible passage on the subway Dentham’s Dentifrice - toothpaste commercial distracts him

Faber’s House: Three Missing Things Quality of information -Books have quality, texture, pores - Provide details of life Leisure – time to think, digest – Time to develop own conclusions Right to carry out actions based on the first 2

View of Families & Marriage Relationships & Husbands - husband off at war, not worried - replaceable - no love Children & Childbirth - have no kids at all, no desire - births by cesarean - don’t want to raise kids, drop them off at schools - turn the TV on & leave them alone - laundry, “ruinous”

Beatty & Montag Beatty wants Montag to torch his own house Beatty confesses to sending the Mechanical hound Beatty doesn’t realize Montag ENJOYS buring his house – SYMBOLIC of a life he hated Montag burned Beatty – who wanted to die

The Legend of Icarus Beatty compares Montag to Icarus (more proof that he is well-read A young man who wanted to fly - made wax wings that worked - flew too close to the sun/melted & his died

Human Books Granger takes Montag to their group people memorize books to carry the info Montag would become the backup, if anything happens to that person Montag takes over They were all in hiding, hoping to come back one day and get people reading & thinking again

War A bomb strikes the city. Everything is destroyedThey started walking down the river to return to the city Hope, of the future Represent the phoenix/city reborn from the ashes

Themes Disobeying Authority/Government Control Technology Knowledge vs Ignorance

Allusions (see handout) The book contains many, many allusions to other books from history. Fitting for a book about books.