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.