Symbols, motifs and themes in Fahrenheit 451

1. SYMBOLS: 

The sieve and the sand: 

"The Sieve and the Sand" is the name of the second part of Fahrenheit 451. It is first mentioned in the book while Montag is in the subway trying to learn the bible, or at least remember bits of it. Nevertheless, he is not very successful at it, because the words never stay in his mind. In this moment, he remembers that once, when he was still a child, one of his cousins told him that if he filled a sieve with sand he would get a dime. However, "the faster he poured, the faster it sifted through with a hot whispering" (page 74). This means that, no matter how hard he tried, the sieve was never full, because the sand would just fall through. Here, the sieve and the sand symbolize how like sand, knowledge can sometimes escape men (the sieve). 

In this particular case, it is also trying to demonstrate that knowledge and understanding had become harder and harder to reach because of how many distractions (technology) and shallow stimulations the world had to offer then. 

   https://es.pinterest.com/pin/554294666612267118/

                             

Mirrors: 

Throughout the book, it is seen how mirrors represent the discovery and realization of one's true feelings, of one's inner self. It is first mentioned in page 8, where Montag states that he believed Clarisse was just like a mirror, for she threw back at him his "own expression" his "own innermost trembling thought". It was after meeting her and seeing himself in her eyes, that he was able to realize he was not happy, that he was actually alone, empty and lost in a meaningless society in which people do not care enough to try and free themselves from the shallow life they have been given. Montag is finally able to understand that he needs to find what is missing, in order to fix his life and also save Mildred in the process. 

http://yourdost.com/blog/2016/03/why-looking-at-yourself-in-the-mirror-is-important.html

Blood: 

In the novel, Bradbury uses blood to symbolize the deepest part of ourselves, the one where we hide our most obscure, intense and sincere feelings. In page 1, it is shown how Montag felt the blood pounding in his head, while he was burning some books, this demonstrates how the main character actually enjoyed his job and the rush of excitement its fulfillment produced in him. But this representation of one's inner self is not just applied to Montag, but also to his wife Mildred who in page 12, had her old blood replaced by "fresh blood and serum" and all the substances in her stomach drank up by a machine, after she had taken a great amount of sleeping pills. Although they gave her new blood, she still remains the same afterwards, which means that she is just too far gone. 

This is why, Mildred cannot get rid of those feelings of unhappiness and emptiness that have been accumulating inside her. Even Montag tries to help her throughout the book, however she is just too trapped within her society. This reinforces the idea that Mildred is alive physically, but dead spiritually. 

http://www.brookdalehospital.org/patient-services/blood-bank.html

2. THEMES: 

CENSORSHIP:

From the very first pages, it is possible to understand that Montag lives in a society where books are banned. At first, he doesn't seem to care a lot about this fact, for he even enjoys being a fireman and burning books. However, he soon starts to wonder if they could truly have something valuable written in them.

The exact cause for the suppression of books is not clearly explained by Bradbury. In general, there are two main causes. The first one has to do with the fact that too much shallow stimulation (the colorful parlours, the loud music, the fast cars) doesn't allow people to focus on books, which leads to a general lack of interest in them. As Faber states in page 83, "Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord". 
 The second cause revolves around the aversion presented to books, because of envy. Beatty explains this in page 55 by stating that "With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers...instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word `intellectual,' of course, became the swear word it deserved to be". With this example, it is shown how since the majority of people were not interested in books, they became hostile to those who did, because they felt in some way inferior to them.  

Nevertheless, "minorities" also play an important role in the censorship of books. They, in certain cases, were the ones who fought harder against books for they contained elements that offended them. Beatty also illustrates this situation when in page 55, he says "All the minor minor minorities with their navels to be kept clean. Authors, full of evil thoughts, lock up your typewriters. They did". 

Throughout the novel it is explained how repression can take a society to the verge of its collapse. What the author really wants to express with Fahrenheit 451, is that freedom of speech can never be forbidden, for Human beings need freedom to find happiness and peace. 

https://derechosdigitales.org/8125/ecuador-copyright-weapon-censorship/

TECHNOLOGY:

In the novel, it is shown how technology has turned in one of the major tools and causes for the banning of books and the general lack of any substantial thought from the people within Montag's society. Mildred is one clear example of this situation. She would rarely take off her headphones (seashells), leave the parlour or even engage in a meaningful conversation with Montag. This situation is explained in page 41, where Montag declares that there wasn't only one wall, but three, that were keeping them apart. Here he is making reference to the fact, that his wife would only spend her time in the parlour surrounded by those three screens, paying attention to all those fake uncles and aunts, to the bright nonsensical colors. All those elements are the ones responsible for the unhappy senseless life the majority of people in the novel, are leading. This is why, Montag is seeking for someone who, just like him, cares "about something important, about something real" (page 49). 

In the way this theme is being developed, the reader is able understand that Bradbury is actually trying to predict and exhibit what could happen if we allow ourselves to get wrapped up in technology. Conceived with the goal of connecting people, technology has ended up alienating us. The message is clear: the excessive use of technology can destroy everything we, as humans, value and cherish.

http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/behaviors-technology

KNOWLEDGE AND IGNORANCE: 

Throughout the novel, it it seen how knowledge and ignorance are two topics that haunt and overwhelm the main characters. In Montag's society, ignorance has definitely taken control over everybody, and knowledge is seen as one of the most dangerous poisons that could reach mankind's mind. 

With this, Bradbury wants to express that in a world full of so many distractions, ignorance is becoming stronger, stimulated by a majority that always wants to take the easy way out, no thought or effort put into it. With each passing moment, this majority is forgetting that knowledge, in spite of not assuring happiness, can be the mechanism through which we discover who we are and what could possibly make us happy. In page 82, Faber warns Montag not to expect "to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or library", but instead to do his "own bit of saving", and seek happiness with the help of knowledge, in any way he deems necessary. 

In Montag's society, books have become forgotten because they have "pores" (page 79), they have more than what meets the eye, which means that they require time to be discovered and understood, but clearly people do not crave this, they "want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless" (page 79). But this never ending battle between ignorance and knowledge can only solved within ourselves, we are the ones that decide which of the two we want to follow. This is why, although Montag was surrounded by ignorance, he (on his own) determined that he would search for substantial and meaningful thoughts. 

http://www.becomeablogger.com/2636/theres-no-longer-an-excuse-for-ignorance-the-secret-to-success/

3. MOTIFS:

Paradoxes: 

Throughout the book, Bradbury uses a great number of paradoxes as a way to express his opinion towards the society he lives in. From the very beginning, the reader is able to recognize the recurrent idea of things and people that are alive but dead at the same time. In page 10, it is seen how Montag describes his room as "indeed empty", even though Mildred was there lying in bed. Here the main character is trying to explain how although Mildred was physically there and alive, she was also dead, for her mind and her spirit were elsewhere. Nevertheless, this problem does not only apply to Montag's wife, but to almost everyone in their society, including Mildred's friends, who cannot engage in a conversation that makes sense (page 89). 

Another example of this situation is shown in page 21, where it is stated that "The Mechanical Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live". This means, that although the Hound seemed to be alive (doing things made Montag believe he really was), it was just a machine that couldn't actually feel or think for itself.

By implicitly comparing, the situation of both the Hound and people, the author is demonstrating that if we continue obliterating knowledge and depending so much on technology, there will be no difference between man and machine (they will both be there physically but not spiritually). 

Through this motif, Ray Bradbury is also trying to state that even though his society seemed to be happy in plain sight, something completely different was happening on the inside. In conclusion, people were and are still becoming emptier and lonelier because they have stopped connecting to the world surrounding them.

https://es.pinterest.com/pin/250864641712975020/

Fire:

From the very first pages, fire is a recurring idea that represents destruction and death but also warmth and light, depending on how its used. In page 109, Beatty states that fire's "real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences", which is making reference to the fact that fire is the most effective mechanism to get rid of a problem, for it literally makes it go away. Only ashes are left afterwards, and these cannot be restored to their original form, as the protagonist explains in page 1, fire eats, blackens and changes things forever.

Nonetheless, Montag also discovers that fire can bring strength and understanding. In page 5, he compares Clarisse to a candle, for her soft and gentle flicker did not annihilate but instead enlighten him, and made him realize the truth about his life. In addition to this, in page 139, Montag realizes that fire could provide warmth and that "it could give as well as take". This means that fire's duty is not only to destroy but also to construct. 

http://science-all.com/wallpapers/fire-images.html

SOURCES: 
http://www.60secondrecap.com/study-guide/ray-bradbury-fahrenheit-451-motifs/
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/themes.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/examples-of-figurative-language-in-fahrenheit451.html
http://www.shmoop.com/fahrenheit-451/fire-heat-light-symbol.html
https://www.learnerator.com/fahrenheit-451/q/2185/fire-as-motif