Saturday, August 21, 2010

Fahrenheit 451: Religion

So, first of all, I am really hating these blogs more and more with every one I do. It sucks because they are so long, and there are so many of them. I am almost to the breaking point, but, luckily, I am also almost done, sort of. Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 contains numerous religious references. Professor Faber promotes a Christian sense of forgiveness for Montag. After Montag's turn against society, Faber reminds Montag that, since he was once a member of the following faithful, he should have a feeling of pity toward the people instead of being so angry at them. Faber believes this because the people really do not know as much as he or Montag know, and that should eventually lead to their downfall. They are going to be ignorant and left in the dark about what is actually going on around them, and Montag should feel sorry for them instead of being angry at them. The novel also references Jesus Christ's miracle at Canaa where he transformed regular water into fabulous wine. Faber makes two correlations: one is comparing himself to water, and the other is comparing Montag to fire. Montag is fire because of his job and the anger within him, and Faber is water because of his more mellow tendencies. Faber also tells that if the two were to merge into one, the fire and water would combine to make wine, sort of like in the biblical story. Jesus Christ's transformation of water into wine was one of the miracles he allegedly produced to instill his powers and prove his identity as the son of the Christian god. This miracle also proved his role as savior as a gift from the Christian god. Montag wishes to confirm his own self through such a process, but he is clearly unable to because of his lack of "god powers." Montag wishes to have a meaning to his life, but he is unsure of where he needs to start his search. He longs for a way out of the real life, so he starts in on books and a hopeful identity.

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