Symbolism in fahrenheit 451
...knows there is something great in the books. Also, when reflecting on how Beatty called Clarisse an “odd duck” (p. 60) one can see Clarisse was an individual, someone who, like the books, did not fit into society. Beatty states that books are burned because they cause people to think, and they make controversy: “Burn the book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag” (p. 59). In Fahrenheit 451, burning the books is like burning the freedom to think and be yourself. Another central symbol is that of fire, representing the extinguishing of any problem that stops society from functioning like clockwork. Burning all the “bad” things is like cleaning up in the Fahrenheit 451 world. This is shown when Beatty says “fire is bright and fire is clean” (Page 60.) Another way to look at the fire as symbolizing something that erases problems is when Montag burns down his house. In this instant the fire stands for Montag sterilizing his life by burning his house, “he felt himself gush out the fire, snatch, rend, rip in half with flame, and put away the senseless problem” (p. 116). In Fahrenheit 451 the books are burned because they caused a problem, they caused thinking. The sand and the sieve are also symbols in part of the novel. They symbolize knowledge and the mind. You can fill your mind with knowledge, but there is a certain way to go about it, or the knowledge won’t last long enough for you to remember. On the subway Montag was thinking about when he was younger and a cousin told him “Fill this sieve and you’ll get a dime!” (p. 78). The faster Montag tried to fill the sieve the more impossib...