The Literary Device - Essay Example

Literary device used in Fahrenheit 451 The overriding theme in the novel is censorship. The sets the action in the novel in a futuristic society, one in which the government does not permit the circulation of specific literatures. However, the author does not provide reasons for the intense censorship evident in the society. Such a deliberate act of omission results in speculation by the audience as they try to understand the logic of the conflict in the novel. In developing the theme, the author uses various literary devices key among which are symbolism, imagery and allegory (Bloom 121). The three are interrelated literary styles that enhance the creation of the conflict in the novel. The literary devices enhance the portrayal of the theme of censorship but fail to provide adequate reasons for the censorship of literature. As such, the literary devices enhance the reinforcement of the theme effectively since they heighten the conflict in the story as portrayed in the discussion below. Instead of providing reasons for the censorship of literature, the author uses the literary devices to provide factors that possibly led to the censorship. The factors portray a general disinterest in reading and active hostility towards reading. Fire is an overriding symbol that represents the rage and intense disinterest in reading. The author uses fire to represent several other personal and social features in the society. This way, he builds the conflict in the plot systematically thus justifying the censorships. The name of the novel for example is a temperature that Ray Bradbury understood is the auto ignition point of paper (Ferber 81). This portrays the author’s use of fire and heat in the novel to represent various social and cultural features that he represents. The “firemen” embody the fire that burns books among other outlawed literatures. The fire on the novel represents the censorship in the society. Beatty and his group of “firemen” use fire to destroy literature. Such is an effective form of censorship that ensures the complete annihilation of the literatures. The team ensures that they burn every trace of literature. Their operation is so efficient that it succeeds in eliminating any form of outlawed literature. The fire is therefore a tool the authority in the society uses to intimidate the population thereby indoctrinating the people to a culture characterized by disinterest in reading books. The existence of other media such as television proves that in deed the society continues to dislike books among other types of literature while preferring television programs. The books on the other hand represent critical knowledge capable of enhancing the growth of liberal society. Burning of books is therefore a means used by the government to deprive the growth of knowledge and advancement of free thought. In the section entitled The sieve and the sand, Montag returns home to find his wife and a group of her friends watching the parlor wall. He tries engaging the women in a conversation only to realize that the women are not only disinterested in such talks but also lack basic information concerning the fast approaching war. The scene shows that the government continues to discourage reading and the growth of book thereby denying the populace vital social and political information pertaining important features of the society (Mancini 61). In a contrast to the women, the plot has specific characters including Montag who culture their interest in reading despite the ban on books. The likes of Faber and the woman who commits suicide are liberal minds in the society. They understand the prevailing political and social factors and can therefore criticize them appropriately. The enlightenment of Montag and Faber for example saves them from the eventual destruction of the country at the end of the novel (McGiveron 129). The contrast between the two groups of characters portrays the disparity in knowledge in the society thus validating the government’s use of fire to burn books. The fire represents the censorship thus the stagnating growth of knowledge and enlightenment in the society. People in the society shun reading books owing to their fear of the state fire that burns any literature considered controversial. While fire enjoys an overriding representation of destruction as portrayed by Beatty and his group of “firemen”, the woman who burns with her books in her house provides a radical representation. “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” (Bradbury 155). To the woman, fire represents strength and determination for liberation. The woman burnt herself owing to her strong beliefs in the power of literature. From that moment in the plot, fire adopts a vital figure representing strength, courage and boldness. Montag becomes bold and strong. He uses fire to kill his boss Beatty and burn the hound thereby breaking free. Such is an interesting twist in the plot as the author uses fire to represent both the evil and the good in the society. The same fire that consumed the good at the beginning of the novel as Beatty and his men burn books is the same fire that destroys the evil when Montag burns his boss who threatens to kill his friend, Faber. Yucky animals are yet other symbols used in the novel to enhance the censorship of both the literary materials and the freedoms of the people. The author refers to the helicopters hovering overhead and the hound, which is a mechanical machine, created in the form of a dog to enhance the operations of the “firemen”. Such yucky animals help enhance efficiency in the operations of Beatty and his men as they move around the society limiting people’s rights to read. The hound and the helicopters represent the authority and the effectiveness of the operations of the government (Fishburn 44). The helicopters carry out extensive surveillance of the country from the skies in search of offenders. The hound on the other hand can sniff every literary material thereby directing the “firemen” to the capital offenders who continue to read. When Montag overcame the hound, the move typified his maturity ad defiance of the authority. He manages to escape only after burning the hound (Carr-Gomm 66). Additionally, the scene proves that the hound was always the most effective tool used in scuffling the rights of the people. It elicited fear thereby making the work of the officers easier. Additionally, it was capable to work even after the humans failed. When Mildred goes to the hospital where the doctors pump her stomach, she describes the machine as a snake. She also describes an earpiece she uses at night as a praying mantis. The hound on the other hand is like a spider fitted with eight legs. The author therefore uses such as insects and other unpleasant animals to represent the destructive technology adopted by the government in its attempt to maintain the status quo. The devises are efficient in their functionality thereby succeeding in fostering the desired censorship. The animals therefore represent the destructive nature of the society and the attempt of the government to control the information the public obtains from the media. Beatty and his men work with the machines effectively. While the machines run on specific programs to sustain the wanton destruction of the society, Beatty and the men share a similar mindset thus work as though machines burning both houses and people without questioning their actions (De 22). Another final symbolism in the novel, which coincidentally portrays the effects of the censorship in the society, is Montag getting naked at the river. After killing Beatty and destroying the hound, the chase for Montag intensifies as he escapes towards the river. In order to escape, Montag undresses, bathes in the river and adorns Faber’s clothes. His action represents his growth as he sheds his old life, one characterized with oppression of the people and burning books. He bathes in the river thereby cleansing himself before putting on Faber’s clothes a move that represents his rebirth and change of ideologies. The authorities later find man dressed in Montag’s old clothes and kills him in a case of a mistaken identity. The murder of the man is an ancillary to the symbolism in the book (Balakian 45). In retrospect, symbolism is a major literary device that Ray Bradbury uses in his novel to help develop both plot and the message. The author uses strategic symbols in the novel thereby capturing the themes of the book. Key among the themes is censorship characterized with wanton destruction and arson. As such, fire embodies the censorship since the government uses fire to burn books among other types of outlawed literature. Other significant symbols in the novel that enhance the theme include the insects and Montag’s life. Montag undergoes complete metamorphosis a feature that symbolizes the growth of the society and its attempt to redeem itself from the autocratic government. Works cited Balakian, Anna. The Symbolist Movement in the Literature of European Languages. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1984. Print. Bloom, Harold. Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. Print. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011. Print. Carr-Gomm, Sarah. Hidden Symbols in Art. New York: Rizzoli, 2001. Print. De, Koster K. Readings on Fahrenheit 451. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 2000. Print. Ferber, Michael. A Dictionary of Literary Symbols. Cambridge [u.a.: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print. Fishburn, Matthew. Burning Books. Basingstoke, Hampshire [England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print. Mancini, Candice. Censorship in Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Print. McGiveron, Rafeeq O. Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury. , 2013. Print. Read More