QEUSTION 8-Fahrenheit 451

Entry of your choice.

I think this book was especially harder to read because of the symbols, paradoxes, and metaphor used in the novel so I tried to find some of the symbols, paradoxes and metaphors that are used in this book.
“Not empty” but “Indeed empty”- In the beginning of the book, Bradbury says the room was not empty at first by indeed empty. Mildred was lying in the bed but the author said it was empty because she had taken almost a bottle of sleeping pills and she was almost dead. I think the author was trying to explain the emptiness in Montag’s world.
The Hearth and the Salamander- This was the title of the first chapter in this novel. Hearth is the floor of the fireplace and the ancient people believed that salamander lived in fire. These two are symbolizing fire which is very important in this novel since Montag was a fireman and fire destroyed knowledge which Montag was seeking.
The Sieve and the Sand- In the book, the author tells a story about the sieve and the sand. When Montag was young, a cousin of his told Montag to fill the sieve with the sand and if Montag does, the cousin would give him a dime. Montag tried to fill the sieve, but the faster he tried, the faster the sieve was empty. There is no way that a sieve can be filled with sand. When Montag figured that he could never do it, he cried. Montag thinks the sieve and the sand is similar to the Bible. If he tried to read the Bible faster, there could be some left, but the details would fall through the sieve. This metaphor is telling how we can’t achieve something very instantly.
The Phoenix- Granger said phoenix was similar to the war they had. The phoenix destroys itself after a few hundred years. From this passage, we can predict that the world would be rebuilt like the phoenix after being destroyed.