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Examples Of Figurative Language In Fahrenheit 451

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Knowledge is not Power Prompt: The novel contains many literary elements and references to different works of literature, how do these convey the themes of the novel? Mass cultures are created by silencing the voices of the opposition, and in Fahrenheit 451 the oppression is in the form of book burning. By burning these books, in a muddled mess of metaphors and allusions, Ray Bradbury is able to show the true danger of a monotone, censored society and the power of individualism and intellectuality. By setting the scene in an ambiguous time and place (although it is in the future), Bradbury makes the dystopian novel more relatable. Figurative language is powerful, and Bradbury is not afraid of a metaphor. He uses an excessive amount to orchestrate …show more content…

Montag is trying to memorize the Bible and in doing so he tells himself, “Shut up, thought Montag. Consider the lilies in the field” (74). This is an allusion to the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus teaches his followers of morals and spoke against tangible, worldly items. Which parallels completely to the idea of being an individual in society rather than a monotone drone because if people could keep their intellectual property, the society Bradbury has created would become obsolete. Thus demonstrating the dangers of censorship. Multiple other allusions are made by Faber, Montag’s old professor who gives in to teaching him about books. Faber explains that Montag should pity those who burn books and are captivated by the pretty fire because they do not know any better (99). This alludes to the forgiving nature of God in the New Testament, as Faber tells Montag that they don’t know any better, just as people who are not in the light of God do not know that they are doing anything wrong (in accordance with Christian literature). In relation to the New Testament, being forgiving and accepting is what the society in Fahrenheit 451 is lacking, showing that by acceptance people of all different thoughts may coexist peacefully. Faber’s name is actually derived from Homo Faber, or the creator of everything in the life of homo sapiens, therefore depicting him in a godly

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