Splashes of Faith

Religion plays a huge role in almost everyone's lives- Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and even Atheism. It is something that is everywhere, no matter where you live, what language you speak, or who you associate with. Even if you don't believe in the same God or greater being that someone else does, it is still talked about and openly brought up a lot in daily life. Not surprisingly, religion isn't brought up a lot in the book Fahrenheit 451; however, there are examples of subliminally placed messages throughout the book that provide proof that there is some sort of faith or belief in the dystopian and seemingly doomed world that Guy is living in.

Religion can be interpreted many different ways in the book; it can be seen as just as constricting as the government, but it also can be seen as a vent, or proof that there is something to believe in within the life that Guy is living in. One way that religion is sincere in the book isn't very subliminally placed -- Faber. From the first page that Faber was introduced in the book to the last page, he was a seemingly mellow person, and very forgiving of Guy's "sinning" of hoarding books. Guy obviously confides in him when he doesn't have a house or anyone to go to, and Faber explains to him that Guy was once just like everyone else, and that he should be displaying pity more than he should fury towards everyone.

From the get go of the book, fire has also been a huge part of the book -- almost an inspiration for fire fighters. A complex thing to look at is how fire ties in with religion, Christianity to be more specific. In the Bible, fire symbolizes presence and divinity. In Fahrenheit 451, fire has many contradictory meanings. On the first page of the book, "It [is] a pleasure to burn. It [is] special to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (3) is described in brilliant colors and the hands of the burner being a conductor. Through the course of the book, the meaning completely changes when Guy uses his instrument of passion, fire, to burn Beattie.

Finally, the bible plays a somewhat important role in the book, starting off when he saves the Bible from the old woman’s house  that was being burnt down. Periodically throughout the book, it is mentioned that Montag is holding the Bible, fiddling with it in his hands, and touching it while it is in sight of him. Also, it is clear that Montag has emotions and expression towards the book when he goes out of his way to show the book to Faber. Lastly, at the near end of the book, Montag agrees that he will memorize the verses of the book, so that in another day, he can reprint it again. Tied in with the ending of the book, as him, Granger, and the others walked up with the river to find survivors of the ultimate atomic destruction of the city, he clearly remembers verses from the Bible; tying in the apocalypse in his world to the apocalypse that was envisioned in the Bible.

“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.” (51) From beginning to end, religion has been thrown in by Bradbury for many indefinite reasons: maybe to show that there is hope in the seemingly doomed world that everyone lives in, or maybe to let people view religion in different angles than just the stereotypical way that religion is portrayed. For whatever reason, the splashes of faith and belief that are painted into the book make the pages so much more creative and mind boggling. With religion added into the book subliminally, the dystopia that is created in the book, doesn’t seem so dystopian and dark.