Fahrenheit 451 contains several
Biblical allusions.
One is in "The Sieve and the Sand" when
Faber reads from the book of Job. This book of the Old Testament is the story of Job -
who is the victim of a dispute between God and Satan, to see if this human, when put
through as much difficulty as Satan can manage - will remain faithful to God. Faber
encourages Montag to continue doing what he thinks is right, despite the difficulty. In
the end, Job does remain faithful - and is greatly rewarded as a result. The unspoken
connection here is that Faber believes Montag will feel rewarded in the
end.
Another Biblical allusion, also involving Faber (also
in "The Sieve and the Sand") is when Faber describes himself as fire and Montag as
water. This is a direct reference to Jesus' first miracle - turning water into wine at
the wedding at Cana. This allusion draws a parallel between the transformation of the
water into wine - which established Jesus' ministry - to Montag's desire for a similar
transformation. He has felt purposeless and stagnant his entire life, and hopes his
revolutionary idea will pull him out of that purposelessness, and also do something
great for humanity.
The other huge Biblical allusion is the
reference to the book of Ecclesiastes (the passage Montag is attempting to memorize).
If you've ever read Ecclesiastes, you'll know that a key passage is the "everything is
meaningless" and "To everything there is a season," lines. No doubt Bradbury chose this
book on purpose - as it seems to be a great definition of the two conflicts Montag is
most experiencing throughout the novel. First, the "meaninglessness" of his life and
second, the desire to change things because the time seems
right.
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