What Does The Mechanical Hound Symbolize In Fahrenheit 451

From the blazing, scorching feathers of the mythical Phoenix to the disturbing, terrifying image of a mechanical horror, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is littered with symbols that told other stories in their short meanings. Throughout the story, they represented the world and life that the main protagonist Guy Montag lived in. The Mechanical Hound represented death and darkness, the Sieve and the Sand symbolised the knowledge sought for by Montag and his mind trying to grasp it, and the mighty Phoenix represented the human race rising out of the ashes of failure and starting over again. Though there are numerous examples of symbols from the story, these three are the most meaningful of them all. The mechanical nightmare known as the Hound was clearly shown throughout Fahrenheit 451 as the physical image of death and darkness. Bradbury even wrote, “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 fire house. The dim light of one in the morning, the moonlight from the open sky framed through the great window, touched here and there on the brass

Ever since Montag and Clarisse McClellan met, Montag has been trying to acquire knowledge that has been forbidden in the society of Fahrenheit 451 for years. In the book, when Montag was on the subway, he was trying to gain memories from the bible, but his mind kept going off and hearing “Denham’s Dentifrice” and “Denham’s Dental Detergent.” Montag eventually accomplished his goal and had the book of Ecclesiastes captured in his memories. This was found out when he found Granger and the other book people. Granger asked Montag what he has to offer and Montag said, “I had part of the Book of Ecclesiastes and maybe a bit of Revelation.” (Bradbury, 150) He may have forgotten it, but he still has it in his