Fahrenheit 451 Themes and Symbols: the Mechanical Hound, the Salamander and the Title
The temperature, the mascot, the mechanical dog and the bird that rises from ashes
Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which, Bradbury was told, book paper catches fire and burns. It is printed on the firemen's helmets as a badge of their job.
The book's main symbols are fire, the salamander the firemen wear, the phoenix, the Mechanical Hound and the parlour walls, and its big themes are censorship, conformity and the numbing power of entertainment.
Symbols at a glance
| Symbol | What it is | What it stands for |
|---|---|---|
| 451 | The temperature on the firemen's helmets | Destruction of knowledge |
| Fire | The firemen's tool, then a campfire | Destruction at first, warmth and renewal later |
| The salamander | The firemen's emblem and truck | Creatures of fire that are not burned |
| The phoenix | A bird that rises from ashes | Humanity rebuilding itself |
| The Mechanical Hound | A robotic tracker | Technology used for control |
| Parlour walls | Room-sized TV screens | Distraction and empty company |
| Seashell radios | Tiny earbuds | People shutting out the world |
Why is it called Fahrenheit 451?
Bradbury wanted a temperature for the title and, the story goes, called a fire station, which told him paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit, about 233 degrees Celsius. In reality the exact point varies with the type of paper, but the number stuck. The book even opens with the title explained on its first page, as the temperature at which book paper catches fire.
↑ Back to the topFire, the salamander and the phoenix
For most of the book fire destroys: houses, books, a woman who stays with her library, and finally Beatty. The firemen wear the salamander because in old legend it lived in flames without harm. By the end, around Granger's campfire, Montag sees fire used for warmth for the first time. Granger compares humanity to the phoenix, which burns itself up again and again and rises each time, but adds that people, unlike the bird, can remember their mistakes.
↑ Back to the topWhat is the Mechanical Hound?
The Hound is an eight-legged robot that lives in the fire station, tuned to the chemical profile of anyone it is set to hunt, and it kills with a needle full of drugs. It growls at Montag early on, a sign it may have been programmed to suspect him. Later it hunts him through the city while the chase is broadcast live to millions of viewers. It stands for technology turned into a tool of fear, a dog that has lost everything a dog should be.
↑ Back to the topParlour walls and seashell radios
Bradbury imagined room-sized screens and tiny earbuds before most homes had a television, and he made them the reason people stopped reading. Mildred wants a fourth wall so she can be completely surrounded by her family on screen. Many readers see the book as a warning about our own screens and constant feeds, a reading Bradbury himself encouraged when he said the book was more about television than about government censorship.
↑ Back to the topCensorship and conformity
Beatty explains that books were not banned all at once by a dictator. People wanted shorter, faster, easier things; every group objected to something; and finally it was simpler to burn everything that might upset anyone. The government only finished what people started. That is the book's sharpest idea: censorship grows from comfort and conformity, and freedom of thought needs people who are willing to be uncomfortable.
↑ Back to the topMore about Fahrenheit 451
Books Like Fahrenheit 451
Something Wicked This Way ComesRay Bradbury
The Stepford WivesIra Levin
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?Philip K. Dick
Brave New WorldAldous Huxley
1984George Orwell
A Clockwork OrangeAnthony Burgess
Forever PeaceJoe Haldeman
The Invisible ManH. G. WellsThis guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.