Fahrenheit 451 Lesson Plan

How does the story of Icarus play into this section?

Before ordering Montag to burn down his own house, Beatty baits him, comparing him to Icarus and thus alluding that Montag, by harboring books, has flown too close to the sun and shall now fall to his death. With this analogy, Beatty argues that those who defy the law of the land will meet their end. Ironically, Beatty is actually the man that dies, while Montag escapes and (perhaps) begins a new life. Also note that when Montag kills Beatty with the flamethrower, Bradbury compares him to a charred wax doll, a description reminiscent of an earlier reference to Millie as a wax doll melting under its own heat—and of the...