Theme Of Fire In Fahrenheit 451

Fire is a basic human necessity-capable of causing both destruction and comfort. It can mean many different things to a lot of people. To one person it could be a source of evil and to another person it might symbolize passion. Ray Bradbury does a brilliant job portraying the different views on what fire symbolizes in Fahrenheit 451. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury discusses the idea of fire in order to show how the firefighter Montag starts opening his eyes on what society has really become, and his understanding of fire changes. From believing first that fire is simply a destructive force, to overtime seeing the calm and useful nature of fire. In the beginning of the book we are introduced to Montag. A 30-year-old man who works as a firefighter. Montag has a passion for fire and its capabilities, “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed”. (Pg. 1) In the novel, Bradbury first portrays fire as a destructive force, showing Montag’s love to burn and destroy. Montags profession only brought destruction he loved to see things burned and black. His job to burn the one source of knowledge and freedom in this dystopian society. It just shows how the government wants to limit the amount of the ideas and knowledge that books provide. …show more content…
She asks him things like,“ Is it true that long ago firemen put fires out instead of going to start them?” and “Are you happy?” Simple questions that helped opened up Montags mind to help him think, am I really happy? While talking to Clarisse, Montag remembers a time in his childhood where he and his mother had lit a candle “and there had been a brief hour of rediscovery, of such illumination that space lost its vast dimensions and drew comfortably around them” (Pg.7). This starts to show him how fire can be used for peace and comfort rather then, destruction and