Throughout the book, Bradbury uses many different types of literary devices to draw the reader in and keep them reading.
One devise that he used quite often was symbolism. The book was full of symbols; the phoenix, fire, water, and even the title of the book has a symbolic significance.
The major symbol in this book was obviously going to be fire, seeing as though Guy is a Fireman that sets things on fire, and the cover of the book is a stack of books burning and a man made of paper burning along with them. It is not just all about the burning houses, it is also about the other subtle things throughout the book. When Guy got the feeling like somebody was just there, which turned out to be Clarisse, he could feel the body heat that made the air slightly warmer than the rest of the surrounding air.
Throughout the book, fire changes from one meaning to another. At the beginning, when Guy Montag was just a simple Fireman, who set stacks of books and houses on fire, and went to bed with a big smile on his face. It was just a tool of destruction and a weapon against the war on the rebels who decided keeping books in their house was a good idea. Then, after the whole killing of Captain Beatty and burning the Mechanical Hound, and after he got into the forrest, fire’s meaning to him changed. It went from being a tool of destruction, to a tool of warmth and a light, and it was even a different color than what he was used to because this one was not a kerosene fire (Bradbury 145). To the old lady that sacrificed herself with her books had another meaning for fire that she revealed when she said “Play the man Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out,” which was a quote from two “heretics” about to be burned for their “crimes” in 1555 (Bradbury 40)
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Print.
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