Fahrenheit 451 - Literary Device Question
While describing
the mechanical hounds In the novel, Guy Montag says “Because all we put into it
is hunting and finding and killing. What a shame if that's all it'll ever know”
(Bradbury 54). Is this description of
the hounds symbolic of the firemen themselves? Are the Hounds and the Firemen really
any different, even though the hounds are known as the greater of the two
evils? How does this example of symbolism help to progress the plot forward?
To answer the question if the hounds and the firemen really any different, I think they really aren’t. As reading the book you can tell that the people allow the government to dictate what defines worth and happiness to them and as a government with such high power I think he wants to keep that kind of power by created ‘law enforcement’ like firemen and these mechanical hounds. Therefore I think the Mechanical Hounds represent governmental control and manipulation of technology. Usually dogs are used as the rescuers for the firemen. But in this story, the mechanical dog’s sniffs out illegal books, hunt down criminals, and incapacitate criminals with its needle, that extends from its nose, filled with procaine or morphine that are created to be the watchdogs of the society. This example of symbolism helps progress the plot forward because it gives readers a better image and a understanding on how the government controls the town and what Montag is trying to free him-self out of.
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