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Symbols
Fire is an interesting symbol in Fahrenheit 451 because it symbolizes two different things. Through the firemen, who burn books and wear the number "451" on their helmets, fire symbolizes destruction. (451°F is the temperature at which paper and books burn.) Yet at the same time, Clarisse reminds Montag of candle-light, and so fire, when controlled, symbolizes the flickering of self-awareness and knowledge.
Fire Quotes in Fahrenheit 451
The Fahrenheit 451 quotes below all refer to the symbol of Fire. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1 Quotes
It was a pleasure to burn.
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The famous first sentence of the novel introduces readers to a world in which firemen start fires instead of putting them out. Guy Montag, the main character of the novel, is a fireman, and seems to take great pleasure in his work. Guy doesn't see anything morally objectionable about using fire to destroy "improper" literature--on the contrary, he seems to believe that he's doing the right thing.The sentence also alludes to the dark side of Guy's society. Authority figures like Guy act as if they're doing the "right thing" by burning down people's houses. But secretly, it's implied, they act Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati
"We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon."
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Captain Beatty gives one final historical explanation for the supremacy of censorship in his society: anti-intellectualism. In Beatty's society, intelligence is treated with suspicion and even outright hatred, because it makes the less-intelligent feel inferior. While anti-intellectualism can be found in any society, it's usually protected by certain laws and rules, such as the laws of free speech, which allow intelligent people to express their ideas freely. In Beatty's society, however, no such protections exist; as a result, the less-intelligent can "wage war" on intelligent people with impunity. Books, then, are perceived as dangerous, because they can make certain people Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iust
"Burn all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean."
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Beatty sums up his ideas about censorship and conformity with a simple sentence: "Burn all, burn everything." Beatty has just been describing the history of censorship in the United States. He fully recognizes the scope of his work as a fireman: by burning forbidden literature, he realizes, he's strengthening a system in which all people have the same experiences and thoughts.Beatty's work as a fireman represents the "dark side" of his society. People in the U.S. enjoy lives of fun and mindless pleasure--but their pleasure is dependent on Beatty burning down houses (and occasionally burning the people in them, too). Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accu
Part 2 Quotes
"Those who don't build must burn. It's as old as history and juvenile delinquents."
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In this passage, Faber sums up his ideas about modern American society. Society, he says, has become a place for destruction. Firemen destroy forbidden literature, and even the average American citizen watches TV programs in which people and machines destroy each other. In short, society has become mindlessly violent because it's entertaining, and because people have nothing positive to offer in place of violence. As Faber sees it, society's love for destruction is indicative of a fundamental lack of creativity: "those who don't build must burn."Faber's theory of modern American society is rooted in his knowledge of history. There have Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates.
"They are so confident that they will run on forever. But they won't run on. They don't know that this is all one huge big blazing meteor that makes a pretty fire in space, but that someday it'll have to hit."
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In this passage, Faber offers some harsh thoughts on Guy's wife and her friends. Guy has just returned from a long conversation with Faber about the superficiality of modern society. During his ride back to his home, Guy learns that his country has just declared war. When Guy returns to his home, he's shocked to find that his wife and her peers are mostly indifferent to the political details of the war--they're more concerned about the TV program they're about to watch, "The White Clown."Faber, who's communicating with Guy via an earpiece, claims that Guy's peers are naively confident that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Volupt
Part 3 Quotes
"What is it about fire that's so lovely? No matter what age we are, what draws us to it?... It's perpetual motion; the thing man wanted to invent but never did. Or almost perpetual motion. If you let it go on, it'd burn our lifetimes out."
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Captain Beatty has discovered that Guy Montag is a "traitor" to society: Guy has been reading the books he was supposed to destroy. As Beatty prepares to arrest Guy for his acts of treason, he mocks Guy by musing on the beauty of fire. Beatty claims that all human beings are attracted to fire, because it has the potential to last forever, because it is capable of destroying everything, and because it is constantly moving and entertaining (like a primitive form of television, almost).It's interesting that Beatty praises fire for its destructive capabilities as well as its immortality. One could Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita del
"Now, Montag, you're a burden. And fire will lift you off my shoulders, clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical."
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Here Beatty offers Guy a chance to burn down his own house, which--as we've seen--has been targeted for destruction because of Guy's "subversive" behavior. As Guy grips the flamethrower in his hands, Beatty mocks Guy for being a "burden" and suggests that he'll enjoy burning Guy to a crisp.It's not a great idea to antagonize someone with access to a working flamethrower. But perhaps Beatty's behavior in this passage is indicative of a broader problem with his society. On some level, Beatty seems to want Guy to attack him with the flamethrower (which Guy does immediately after this passage). Beatty's Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptate
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Fire Symbol Timeline in Fahrenheit 451
The timeline below shows where the symbol Fire appears in Fahrenheit 451. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
...intense pleasure in burning a pile of books on a lawn. It's his job—he's a fireman. He loves the way things look when they burn and the way he feels when...
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...and asks if she can walk home with him. She notes that Montag is a fireman, and says that she isn't afraid of him and tells him that fireman used to...
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...he reaches ten, the woman strikes a match and lights herself and everything else on fire. The neighbors come out to watch the spectacle.
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Driving back to the firehouse, Montag asks what the woman was reciting when they entered. Beatty knows it by heart....
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