Spelunking with Ray Bradbury: The Allegory of the Cave in Fahrenheit 451 (Critical Essay‪)‬

According to Holtsmark, "for reasons of plot, character, and allusion, among others, myth is a central feature of ancient Greek literature, [and] it has appeared tacitly axiomatic from the time of antiquity that myth informs most narrative literature" (2001, 24). Greek authors turned to myth "at those crucial points at which pure reason seem[ed] unable to advance further" (Kirk 1970, 259). Foremost among the mythic themes in Greek literature is the word katabasis, which "literally means 'a going down, a descent,' capturing the imagined physical orientation of the other world relative to this one" (Holtsmark 25). Obvious manifestations of this theme can be found in the Homeric journeys of the Odyssey (1996) and the Iliad (1991). In both books, Homer utilizes physical caves to accent the literary descent. Although he rejected certain literary applications of myth, especially among the poets, Plato "reasserted the role of myth in his own practice" (Kirk 1970, 250). In particular, Plato asserted the role of myth in the dialogue of the Republic when "reason seemed unable to advance further." The katabasis tradition is introduced into the Republic at the beginning of Book VII when Socrates asks Glaucon to "make an image of our nature in its education and want of education, likening it to a condition of the following kind. See human beings as though they were in an underground cave-like dwelling" (1968, 514a). This passage is the opening line of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. With little question, scholars agree that the Allegory "is the keystone of the dialogue" (Sandoz 1971, 62). The textual relevance of the Allegory for Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is obvious in Montag's hope that "[m]aybe the books can get us half out of the cave" (1953, 74). Perhaps less obvious, the following analysis demonstrates that Plato's Allegory is the central metaphor for the novel. More specifically, the Allegory provides a template by which Bradbury's characters can be analyzed and distinguished.