Literary Analysis of the metaphors found in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
In this age of modernity and
technological innovation, Fahrenheit 451 is viewed as a crucial tool from
different perspectives ranging from relations between humanity to technological
dimensions. Fahrenheit 451 talks about the materialistic society that has
disregarded social interaction with each other. The community has been
submerged into technological innovations forgetting the relevance of written
materials.
As such, metaphors are used
in this novel to compare two ostensibly opposite things that may be having
similar characteristics or associations. In the book Fahrenheit 451, Ray uses
metaphors to express various sentiments and perceptions humorously.
Precisely, the identified
metaphors in Fahrenheit 451 deepens the understanding of the important themes
and make this novel so captivating. Some of the metaphors that can be found in
Fahrenheit 451 is subsequently stipulated:
Salamander
Ray Bradbury uses Salamander
to represent the bravery of firemen in the current societal setup. The author
uses Salamander to epitomise the dilapidated condition of the government. The
society described, though relatively modern, is slowly moving towards
dictatorship and primitivism.
For instance, in the book,
the author is continuously cautioning the reader of the existing eventualities
of the dystopian community under the stewardship of a dictatorship
administration government and ignorant government sycophants. This change is
seen from the censorship, and media mediocrity witnessed in today’s societies.
In the book, we can see that the media is used to suppress the minds of the
populace and the government are the primary beneficiaries.
The sieve and the sand
Bradbury uses this imagery to
illustrate Montag’s primary objective of acquiring and retaining the knowledge
he obtains from the books. He equates the education that he receives from books
with sand falling through a sieve with little being preserved in mind.
Postulated merely, Bradbury
uses sand to symbolize the palpable truth that Montag is seeking from the books.
Similarly, the sieve is figuratively used to compare the human mind that is
continually trying to acquire and retain knowledge that is so elusive.
Phoenix
Granger gives an analogy of
humanity and Phoenix that resurfaced after the bombing incidence. Just like the
phoenix incidence, man has the intrinsic