Fahrenheit 451 Symbolism Essay

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a novel about a futuristic society where books are banned and firemen burn books rather than put out fires. The main character Montag is a fireman who lives with his wife Mildred. Montag ends up stealing books which is against the law especially because he is a fireman; and Mildred is against anything that has to do with books. Society wants everyone to be happy but there 's an alarming mechanical hound in this novel that kills people and is asymbol of fear. Bradbury’s novel shows how a society overcomes the eradication of books through the use of symbolism, motif, and imagery.
Bradbury first draws attention to the books as a symbol when the firemen burn the books. Books represent power; this society doesn 't want people to have power so they take it away from them. This symbol is the main focus of Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury states, ¨He carried the books into the backyard and hid them in the bushes near the alley fence¨ (Bradbury 2.364). Firemen were storming into Montag 's house because they found out he had books. Montag is censoring what he has from the rest of the world by hiding the books. Bradbury also states, ¨We’re book
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Bradbury uses imagery surrounding the hound to create fear in the society. Bradbury states, ¨The Mechanical Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live in its gently humming, gently vibrating, softly illuminated kennel back in a dark corner of the firehouse¨ (Bradbury 1.223). The Hound represents fear, this quote shows this because fear doesn 't sleep but its always present in this society because it 's not a physical thing, its a feeling. Montag doesn 't think that people in this society should be so scared. He wants to change the way people see boks. The Hound is the way Montag sees that censorship is a poor choice. The Hound was a motivating factor towards Montag when he realized that things in his society weren 't right. This motivates him to create the change that leads to overcoming