Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 is science fiction book written by Ray Bradbury. The novel begins with Montag a " fireman " of a futuristic society in which he and his coworkers set fires rather than turning them off .Books are banned , they are burned as soon as they are discovered.
The author uses many stylistic devices in order to explain society and the story. Here are some stylist devices found on part three of the book.
MOTIF:
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Paradox:
Is a statement or proposition that is self-contradictory or absurd but it expresses a possible truth.
In the beginning of “The Hearth and the Salamander,” Montag’s bedroom is described first as “not empty” and then as “indeed empty,” because Montag's wife Mildred is physically there but her thoughts are somewhere else. The author often uses paradoxes in order to describe Mildred´s empty, half-alive condition. He also uses them in order to talk about the reality of the beings that are apparently alive but spiritually dead. The culture of Fahrenheit 451 is a culture of insubstantiality and unreality, and Montag desperately seeks more substantial truths in the books he hoards.
Animal and nature imagery:
Natura in the novel is shown as the force of innocence and truth, for example Clarisse´s love for nature. She manages to convince Montag to taste the rain and that changes him. His escape from his “ordinary” life s a revelation to him showing him the power of nature.
The novel's animal imagery is ironic. Many mechanical devices are modeled or named after animals even though the society ignores completely nature. For example, the mechanical hound and the Electric-Eyed machine.
Religion:
In the novel there are many religious references. Mildred friends reminds icons he saw in a church but he didn't´´ understand their meaning.
The author uses language from the bible in order to resolve the novel. For example, when Montag and Granger group walk upriver to find survivors of the bombing of the city shows a connection between the end of the book and a verse from Revelations. “When we reach the city” shows that connection between the atomic holocaust of Montag’s world and the Apocalypse of the bible.
THEME:
Are fundamental ideas explored in a book.
Censorship:
In the book there is no clear and justified explanation of why books are banned and forbidden. There are two important factors that can explain this prohibition.
The first one is the unpopularity of books and how the radio and television replaces them and how the shiny and loud things stimulates people in order to keep them unfocused. The society often prefers to read a condensed book than the real and original thing.
The second factor is the fact that some people are hostile towards books and how some may felt inferior from those who read more than they should. Also, how many may feel offended by some stuff that the book talks about and how they tell the truth about society.
Knowledge vs Ignorance:
The fireman duty in the novel is to destroy knowledge (books) in order to promote and keep ignorance among the people on the society. Also, they do these in order to show them that books and unnecessary and that they are fine without them. Clarisse, the old woman and Faber shows knowledge and that sparks doubt in Montag. His search of knowledge destroys his ignorance that he shared with everyone in the society and that helps him to battle the basic beliefs of his society.
SYMBOLS:
Are objects, characters, figures used to represent ideas or concepts.
Blood:
Is a symbol of human being’s repressed soul or instinctive self through the novel. Montag feels his blood filled with revolutionary thoughts. The symbol of blood is related with the Electric-Eyed Snake machine when Mildred’s body is filled with new and fresh mechanically blood. The hound founded Mildred’s corrupted inside and hew feelings of delusion, misery and self hatred. The poisoned blood of Mildred shows the lifelessness of Mildred and the other that are just like her.
“The Hearth and the Salamander” (1st part of the book):
The hearth or fireplace is a symbol of home and the salamander is the official symbol of the firemen and the name of their trucks. The hearth is Montag’s life because it contains the fire that makes him feel at home and the salamander ancient beliefs was that it was a creature that lives in fire and is flameproof.
“The Sieve and the Sand” (2nd part of the book):
This shows a childhood memory from Montag. When he was little his uncle dared him to touch the sand while using a sieve, he couldn’t do it because the sand would always “escape” his grasp. This represents how he reads and reads but the information will never stay in his memory. The sand is the truth that Montag wants to know and the sieve is the obstacle that prevents him for finding it.
Phoenix:
Mankind after the bombing is like a phoenix that burns itself up and then rises out of his ashes over and over and over again. People are capable of recognize a mistake and learn from it in order to not do it again. The Phoenix is a representation of the collective birth of human mankind and Montag’s spiritual resurrection. It shows how when the society “ends” Montag is able to be himself and to start a new and better reality.
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