Mr. Smith
English 10D
4/21/12
Symbolism Essay
Throughout Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury many examples of symbolism come up. While some are more literal than others they all have important meaning to the story. The most important though may be the symbolistic meaning of the sand and sieve.
The sand and the sieve is first introduced when Guy Montag remembers the nasty trick his cousin played on him as a child. He tells about his experience of trying the impossible task to fill a sieve with sand for a dime. Then when Montag was on the train going back home he tried to read the Bible as fast as he could. He was doing this in hope that he would remember some of it yet he failed. The meaning of the sieve and the sand in the story is implying the incapability of peoples’ minds at that time to grasp what they don't understand . This means peoples’ minds are like the sieve and what they don't understand is the sand. It is impossible to fill a sieve with sand because the sand will just pass through. This is what Bradbury is implying with this use of symbolism. During our time people are able to understand and learn due to the presence of books. But during Montag’s life nobody is able to learn because they don't have books.
So Bradbury is saying that without books we would not be able to learn. That is what the sieve and the sand mean in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In the vast genre of literature, most authors use symbols in their stories or poems to efficiently give them more meaning and complexity. Usually, the job of the experienced reader is to interpret those symbols, which gives the reader a deeper comprehension of the story or poem. In Fahrenheit 451, three symbols used by Ray Bradbury and will be analyzed is the Sieve and the Sand, the Phoenix, and the River.…
- 642 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In the book Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury does a excellent job of using symbolism to stress the key aspects of his story.…
- 732 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
For this assignment about motif analysis, I chose the references to darkness and light. This motif significantly establishes the development of the characters in Fahrenheit 451. Two examples are when the Narrator talks about Montag’s first introduction to Clarisse. Bradbury says “Her face was slender and milk-white, and in it was a kind of gentle hunger that touched over everything with tireless curiosity… Her dress was white and it whispered.” Just by hearing that you can make a mental image of what Clarisse looks like and acts like. Similar to how he uses light to introduce Clarisse, he uses darkness to introduce the firemen. He says “They and their charcoal hair and soot-colored brows and bluish-ash-smeared cheeks where they had shaven close…Had he ever seen a fireman that didn’t have black hair, black brows, fiery face, and a blue-steel shaved but unshaved look?” This also makes a mental picture showing the darkness and evilness that the firemen bring to the society.…
- 344 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The novel Fahrenheit 451 demonstrates how people can influence one another into believing the same “theory.” This is shown all throughout this book because the main character Guy Montag who is a firefighter burns books as a part of his job, but what most don’t know is that he has his own collection hidden in his vents. Additionally, theme is represented well throughout this story. Theme is the main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work. This whole books revolves around the idea that books are evil. The government has imprinted this idea on the people, and this causes everyone to think that books are horrible and should be burned. Now this connects to the quote that John Keats says, because his quote is telling people that you shouldn’t be narrow-minded. Throughout this whole book you see how the people were influenced by the government into thinking that books were horrible, and those who believed differently were condemned.…
- 534 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
[(essay date February 1970) In the following essay, Sisario examines the source and significance of literary allusions in Fahrenheit 451 and considers their didactic potential for the beginning student of literature.]…
- 3126 Words
- 13 Pages
Powerful Essays -
In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, symbolism is used all throughout the story.…
- 1386 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Knowledge is the key to a successful society. In the society of Fahrenheit 451 people don’t have knowledge because it is taken away from them. The people have no sense of thought so they do not know right from wrong or how to think for themselves. The characters that does have knowledge are considered anti-social or not normal. Bradbury describes how unusual life would be without knowledge. Bradbury expresses that knowledge is an important aspect in life and signified this in Fahrenheit 451. He also shows why knowledge is the key to a successful society.…
- 327 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Montag and Mildred spend the day reading through the books, but none of what they read made any sense. Mildred begged Guy to destroy the books because it is very dangerous to have them. Guy knows that they can lose their home and be locked away in an insane asylum if they're caught. Montag won't give up, though. As they read, Montag hers the Mechanical Hound that he's certain has been programmed to hunt him sniffing outside his door. In this section the "Sieve and the Sand" refers specifically and literally to a passage where Montag had remembered a loathsome memory from his childhood.…
- 481 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
There are a lot of different themes and symbols throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Many of the motifs coincide with the titles of the three sections in the novel. The three sections were ‘The Hearth and The Salamander,’ ‘The Sand and The Sieve,’ and lastly ‘Burning Bright.’ The symbols and themes of this novel varied from dependence on technology to freedom of expression. All throughout the book there is conformity and those who defy the rules and in the end the ones who do not do as they should, survive. While those who listen to orders and do what they are told are annihilated. The first section of the book’s title represents the growth and destruction of families and their connections, while section two’s title goes along with the themes of flaws of memory and knowledge and lastly the third section’s title is about the symbols of dual uses of fire; good and evil uses.…
- 1488 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
“If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.” This quote by Juan Ramon Jimenez means that sometimes rules are meant to be broken and sometimes rules are not always for the betterment of society. Rules give us structure, but they can hinder our humanity towards one another. The book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is about a dystopian society where books are burned and outlawed. Guy Montag, a fireman, comes along, and he learns about a past where people were not afraid to read and break laws and learns this all cause of a girl named Clarisse McClellan, then he meets a man named Faber who teaches him how to understand books. Then realizes what he must do. Guy Montag gains humanity because he wants to change his way of thinking as well as the thoughts of others.…
- 836 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Symbolism is used throughout the whole book, 1984. Symbolism is when the writer of a story makes an object/character/place/etc. be one thing and mean another. Most of the characters all symbolize something because of the way that they have been created and they are…
- 1732 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
Bradbury uses symbolism to indicate that relationships reflect who individuals are and who they want to be. Fire seems to mean a lot of different things at different moments in Fahrenheit 451. Beatty and his fireman minions use it to destroy. But the woman whose house they burn interprets it another way: "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." For her, it represents strength. Montag himself discovers an alternative use for fire at the end of the novel; when he realizes that it can warm instead of destroy. Like that whole cycle of life thing, fire has a constructive and destructive half. And like the books that are burned, each character in the novel is forced to interpret for them and confront contradictory perspectives – just like Beatty said about the books. Symbolism helps view the story from multiple points of view, and also gives a more vivid understanding of the thoughts and feelings of the characters.…
- 656 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In Ray Bradbury's futuristic novel, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury wants to send a message to his audience about the importance of reading. The novel takes place in a setting where reading is prohibited in the society. Technology has become more common in this society, taking away from the magical importance of reading. Even though the book is written over 60 years ago, it still shows a powerful message today. Bradbury utilizes the characters Guy Montag and Mildred to illustrate the importance of reading.…
- 498 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a very moving and captivating novel that uses a variety of symbols and the technique of imagery to convey important messages and ideas. This is why I chose to have multiple symbols present 2 major themes in my mind map. Firstly, I chose to depict a women’s struggle against the oppression placed upon them. I did this by placing a shovel in my mind map in order to symbolize the protagonists, Mariam’s and Laila’s own fight against oppression. In this case, Mariam uses the shovel to once and for all end the abuse that both she and Laila have suffered by the hands of Rasheed. When he begins to physically abuse Laila, Mariam takes a shovel kills Rasheed. After doing so, Laila and Mariam dig a hole in the backyard and bury Rasheed there, explain the corpse underneath the shovel. By doing this, she symbolizes that though she may not have had a choice of her oppression, she still has the power to end it.…
- 418 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Fahrenheit 451 is a book that is ironically about burning books. It causes readers to look at society and think about the way life is lived. It tells the story of a man who is able to make changes in his life that lead him to find happiness. While the story itself is itself is interesting, narrative structure elements such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution are used to help readers get and stay interested in the story. They also help readers care about what happens in the end.…
- 1116 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays