Fahrenheit 451- (A)Topic

Throughout Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, his use of fire becomes quite apparent in the telling of Montag's journey as a firemen. Although the element of fire may seem obvious since it is his line of profession, the use of fire has so many different meanings.
For Montag's generation, fire solely represents destruction. Through fire the firemen destroy books, knowledge, life, and hope. The scene in which a woman burns in her house along with her prized books, portrays fire as demolishing all that she viewed as good as pure, but also as a cleansing, for that same fire is ridding her of a society that has held her captive in her own mind. The fire is freeing her from a world that will not accept her for who she is and what she wants out of life. Having been informed by these books what life could be like, the thought of going back to what was now expected in Montag's world, was unbearable. Fire was taking away the immense knowledge of literature, and was terminating her life; however, fire was also the reason she was able to escape.
Although Montag and the countless other firemen viewed the use of fire as a means to devastate, despite this negative outlook associated with fire, Montag was also able to recognize the good it could bring as well. When Montag is on the run from Beatty and the law, he meets the older men that were once scholars and great thinkers of another time. While Montag is talking with these men, they are gathered around a fire which is warming their bodies and hands. Montag is captivated by this fire, because unlike the situations he was used to, this fire is controlled. The fires created by the firemen are wild and untamed, whereas the fire created by these men exhibits control and management.
Fire can represent destruction, hate, terror and fear. However, fire also embodies hope, passion, drive, and life. Bradbury was able to reveal all the personalities of fire and all the possibilities to which it can symbolize.