Fahrenheit 451 Phoenix Analysis

Ray Bradbury’s novel elucidates how the society in the books has been burnt to ashes just like the mythical phoenix, leading to a possibility of regeneration of a new civilization through the existence of books Montag and others have. He used numerous literary devices to represent this statement. For instance, the use of sound, symbols, and imagery have been used throughout Fahrenheit 451.

The phoenix was mentioned in this novel several times by Ray Bradbury. First and foremost, “Only the man with the Captain’s hat and the sign of the Phoenix on his hat, at last, curious, his playing cards in his thin hand”, shows the readers an image of the captain. The sign of the phoenix in the hat was significant since the captain was the only one who

spoke boldly about the hound in that scene. The bravery and knowledge he has, symbolized the story of the phoenix after it raised up from the fire, but, with the additional human advantage, learning from the past. Another time Ray Bradbury used the noteworthy word was, “when she seemed hypnotized by the salamander on his arm and the phoenix-disc on his chest, he spoke again”. The symbolization of the phoenix has been used throughout the novel, but more specifically towards the last part of the novel.
The phoenix builds a pyre to burn itself. The bird is not aware that it is going to die soon, however, the twist comes here. It will rise from the ashes and regenerate with a new life. Comparably, the city was consumed by flames due to the bombs from the war. The connection between the bird and the society can be perceived through the rebirth from the destruction formed by the war and invasion of the media. The relationship between the phoenix and society does not draw to a close with that, both will cause their own demise on purpose although are not attentive. Fortunately, it will start over with a fresh start.
People should think about the past to prevent such tragedy situations. As Granger said “but we’ve got one damn thing the Phoenix never had. We know the damn silly thing we just did. … We pick up a few more people who remember, every generation.”(Bradbury 156), every human has the capability of acknowledging what is right and wrong. Optimistically, every time a person commits a mistake it is most likely that it would not occur again because the lesson has been learned. As long as humanity remembers all the devastation caused by burning precious books that contain imperative information for the ignorant people, the horrendous nightmare of the society will not repeat again.
“To everything there is a season. Yes. A time to break down, and a time to build up. Yes. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” (Bradbury 158) This quote demonstrates the readers how Ray Bradbury desires the society to get rebuilt, after all the cleansing the fire did to it. The society should stay silent while reading such books containing valuable knowledge and voice their opinions to enlighten themselves, other than just running away from debates like they did in the novel.
Montag goes through a transformation from the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, just like the phoenix. There is a considerable chance for the society to change by reading more banned books preventing the destruction that occurred in the city in the novel, but, it might go through a new cycle starting over just like the life of the historical phoenix. Will the society change back to burning books and knowledge all over again, according to the cyclical process like the significant phoenix?