Fahrenheit 451- Literary Device Question
In page 156, the author inserted an allegory about Phoenix. Phoenix is a kind of bird which consumed by flames but then rises from the ashes. What is the purpose of the comparison between the Phoenix and human beings? In other word, how does the story of Phoenix help you understand the society of the world in the book?
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ReplyDeleteI believe the comparison between the two was derived from the understanding of how, after the destruction of the city, mankind will learn and grow from the event. Montag realizes within the text as, "It was not burning; it was warming."(Bradbury145). Bradbury possibly wanted to portray a theme of the cycle of life through destruction and creation. The use of the phoenix in my opinion doesn’t directly relate to the society within the book rather to the understanding of life. Bradbury portrays the society through others means. One example would be when Montag took the train the advertisement consumed Montag, "Denham's Dentifrice"(Bradury78). The author used alliteration to convey how the society within the book was controlled by technology and lacked individuality and self-conviction. Bradbury also used the character, Beatty, to reinforce the society within the book. Through dialogue Beatty proclaims "What traitor’s books can be! You think they’re backing you up, and they turn on you. Others can use them too, and there you are, lost in the middle of the moor, in a great welter of nouns and verbs and adjectives."(Bradbury101). I believe that the society is conveyed through the characters but the use of the phoenix is a metaphor for creation and destruction.
Thanks for your comment. I agree with your point that the author wanted to portray a theme of the cycle life. Comparing the life to the Phoenix, the similarity between them two was that they both reborn in the destruction. This point can also be demonstrated in the text, “And it looks like we’re doing the same thing, over and over” (Bradbury 156). However, I think this text did reflect the problem of society. “But we’ve got one damn thing the Phoenix never had. We know the damn silly thing we just did” (Bradbury 156), through this sentence, I think the author was attempting to use the word “damn silly thing” to imply the wrong concept of the social system, and that also could be considered as the reason why the destruction happened. “’You know the war’s on?’… ‘it seems so remote because we have our own troubles’’” (Bradbury 125). We can see in this dialogue, people think the destruction happened because of their troubles in society. I convince that the author inserted the story of Phoenix is not only describing the destruction, but also implying the problem of the society which caused the destruction.
DeleteThanks for your comment. I agree with your point that the author wanted to portray a theme of the cycle life. Comparing the life to the Phoenix, the similarity between them two was that they both reborn in the destruction. This point can also be demonstrated in the text, “And it looks like we’re doing the same thing, over and over” (Bradbury 156). However, I think this text did reflect the problem of society. “But we’ve got one damn thing the Phoenix never had. We know the damn silly thing we just did” (Bradbury 156), through this sentence, I think the author was attempting to use the word “damn silly thing” to imply the wrong concept of the social system, and that also could be considered as the reason why the destruction happened. “’You know the war’s on?’… ‘it seems so remote because we have our own troubles’’” (Bradbury 125). We can see in this dialogue, people think the destruction happened because of their troubles in society. I convince that the author inserted the story of Phoenix is not only describing the destruction, but also implying the problem of the society which caused the destruction.
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