Le Renaissance Of The Phoenix

[Author Name Removed]

Critical Literary Essay

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

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Le renaissance of the Phoenix

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 speaks of a futuristic, dystopian, and not-to-similar society, in this society, a fireman named Montag, whose occupation is to remove illegal and 'deviating' contraband (books in this context) from society's eyes, is dragged into a series of unforeseen, unfortunate yet life changing, life-changing yet socially destructive and powerful yet so insignificant events. The complex implication of this story is the conflict between knowledge/individuality and ignorance/conformity reflects tomorrow's possible future. However, the implication does not just stop there; it speaks the way for humanity's ignorance to be reborn, like a phoenix. Bradbury's ingenious methods of embedding specific symbols and circumstances allow many readers to comprehend the closeness of Bradbury's dystopian society and the society in which people [we] live. Bradbury uses symbols such as blood, the sieve and sand and the phoenix to describe the cyclic nature of humanity to fall into spiritual death and be reborn unto knowledge (individuality) and truth. Furthermore, he uses circumstances such as Montag's conversations with Clarisse or Faber to further the idea of ignorance versus knowledge. Finally, Bradbury underlines the topic of indifference throughout the story, which mirrors ignorance and knowledge.

In the beginning, Montag is like everyone in this society except he has a specific job. His job is to burn books and contraband. He never questions the society he lived in; he loved his job. To him, "it was a pleasure to burn" (part 1, page 3) books, he believed it was something "special to see [a book] eaten" (part 1, page 3) However, his life is reversed when he meets an eccentric (by society's definition of eccentric) girl named Clarisse. A free spirit characterizes Clarisse. She, by standards is 'naпve and ignorant' because she sees the world as completely something different as what Montag viewed it as. Montag saw the world as a monotonous society where everyone listened to his or her "parlor walls" (part one, page 9), which is a metaphor for today's television sets. She begins showing Montag that he can help change the world because it is crumbling due to the censorship of books. She teaches him to taste the rain, which irreversibly changes him to understand the world in a completely different perspective because it touched his spirituality and emotions, not just his mind. For the first time in his life, he begins to see the world in the truth, not just, by what society has defined it for him. As he begins questioning issues and aspects of his life, he begins to acquire true knowledge and spiritual strength. Furthermore, his eyes begin opening as he begins taking books and reading them. In comparison to the current world, these former circumstances are the precursors to a revolution. As one party begins to question the ethics and properties of society, it attempts to change others into believing their truth. Conversely, the world will try to deter the attempts of the former party and dismantle their existence to prevent the sameness of the society to continue. Furthermore, this is seen as the beginning of the aging of 'society' (the phoenix). In the novel, this can be seen when the captain of firemen Beatty, finds out about Montag's recent discoveries about the truth and attempt to dose the fire, which had created Montag's preliminary passion of books and now into the passion to discover truth and identity, he attempts to reason with Montag on Montag's level of understanding. He justifies that what Montag and his crew is doing is correct by stating, "not everyone is born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against." (Part 1) This toils with Montag's mind but as he is exposed to more philosophical truths and spiritual understandings, he denies Beatty's teachings and uses the fire, which had destroyed the truth, to burn Capt. Beatty. This is an extreme case of circumstantial poetic justice but in the end, Montag gets the last laugh, "You always said, don't face a problem, burn it. Well, now I've done both. Good-bye, Captain." (part 2) Montag barely escapes after this life changing yet cruel event, to the countryside, where he meets book readers (or 'deviants'). This symbolizes the death of a phoenix. Granger, the leader of the 'deviants', greets Montag sarcastically but when he "[welcomed him] back to life" (part 3), Granger also meant it literally in a sense because symbolically caused Montag to be 'born-again'. Montag was reborn like a phoenix is reborn after its death, but only spiritually. Montag is now free, he is free to be truly happy, to do meaningful activities, and satisfy him not just hedonistically but spiritually and mentally. From the former information, this can be deciphered into the method in which humans can free themselves from the grasp of monotony and conformism. On the other hand, the path of Montag's wife, Mildred, is despondent hopeless path. She is absorbed into society's Hedonistic pleasures that she is "poisoned" by it. Montag recounts in part one that she constantly has "seashells" (part 1) on. She cannot even remember what happened the first time Montag and her fell in love with one another. Montag, in his newly found rite of asking questions, asks Mildred "how did we first meet?" (part 1) and she attempts to recount but she cannot. It is not because she does not 'remember' but it is because she is so corrupted (and blind due to corruption), she hesitates and tries to answer him. Furthermore, Ray Bradbury reveals how corrupt she is by the usage of the Snake machine. The Snake has explored "the layer upon layer of night and stone and stagnant spring water," (part 1) but its replacement of her blood could not rejuvenate her soul. Her poisoned, replaceable blood signifies the empty lifelessness of Mildred and the countless others like her. These circumstances, events and character traits not only modify the environment variables in which Montag lives but the symbols infused within the story that also intrigue Montag's mind to understand the truth about his society.

As discussed formerly, the phoenix is a major symbol within Fahrenheit 451. The phoenix is