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Analysis of the symbolism of fire in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Fire, the symbol of warmth, destruction, and renewal, is a dominant image in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Guy Montag, the protagonist, lives in a grim, futuristic United States where people have given up books and knowledge in general for entertainment and instant gratification. The standard use of fire to warm and heat has been replaced to be used for destruction and entertainment. Montag’s job as a fireman clearly shows this, as he is required to burn books and houses while other citizens watch with interest. Montag’s understanding of fire and burning as destruction is completely reversed by the end of the book when he regards it as a symbol of warmth and renewal.
            Montag’s enjoyment of fire and burning is changed through his interactions with the old woman and Faber. The first few sentences of the book showed the way he looks at fire and his joy from burning by saying “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (3). Obviously, Montag considered fire to be a symbol of destruction, but he believed that fire is good, and is the solution to all of the world’s problems, when in reality, it destroyed homes, books, people, and in the end, it destroyed his city as well. This thought was discarded after his encounter with the old woman who burned herself and her books in her own house. It troubled him and he had been “trying to put [the fire] out, in [his] mind, all night” (51). He became disgusted with burning and he even vomited at the smell of kerosene, which he described as “perfume” before. Because of this, he quit his job turns to Professor Faber for guidance. Faber told him that it’s not the books themselves that can help people be happy, but the meaning they contain. The professor showed him that books have details and meaning – they are valuable. Through his encounters with the old woman and Faber, he realizes that all the time he spent burning books was wrong. This motivated him to try to change his life.

Montag turns his view of fire as entertainment and destruction into cleansing and renewal when an alarm brings the firemen to his own home. We can tell that he wanted to burn his house because “he wanted to change everything, the chairs, the tables, and in the dining room the silverware and plastic dishes, everything that showed that he had lived here…” (116). He wanted to get rid of his old life and all memories of it. Beatty had said “Burn all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean” (60). Beatty told Montag that fire can be used for cleasing – just burn anything that is a problem. Ironically, Beatty is Montag’s problem, so he follows his advice and burns him. With the use of fire, Montag successfully gets rid of his previous life and Beatty, the person who controlled him before. He is having a rebirth in life.

After Montag barely escapes the city, the true meaning of fire is shown to him. When he first see the group of hobos with Harvard and Cambridge degrees, they were warming themselves next to a fire talking and sharing ideas, making it a symbol of warmth. The Phoenix, a bird of fire, appears in the end as a symbol of renewal and rebirth. Granger compares mankind to a phoenix when he said, “But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again. And it looks like we’re doing the same thing…” (163). He thinks that humankind has one advantageous trait compared to this bird, and that is learning from its mistakes. Granger wants his group to remember past mistakes to change them. They go on towards the city to help the survivors rebuild it. He hopes this society will realize its mistakes and give rise to a new one where knowledge and reading would be valued.

In Fahrenheit 451, fire can symbolize destruction or renewal, and sometimes both. Montag’s interactions with the free thinking individuals such as the old woman, Faber, Granger led him to consider fire a different way. He used it to completely destroy his old life, which led to his spiritual resurrection that is represented by the phoenix. Because of this, fire is a very important and powerful symbol in the novel. We need to see this novel as a warning for our future. We must not end up destroying knowledge with fire; instead, we have to make ourselves and the world better with knowledge, as “there is no knowledge that is not power” (Jermey Taylor).