The Symbolism of Fire (Examples from Literature and Religion)

Fire symbolizes many things, including passion, desire, rebirth,

resurrection, eternity, destruction, hope, hell and purification. These
symbols have been used in literature, film and religious texts for
millennia. Fire has been used by humans for over 400,000 years. Our
ability to control fire is linked to our ability to evolve as a species. We
used fire to cook food, forge tools, and stay warm at night. Fire has had
enormous benefits to humankind. And from our earliest literature, humans
have written about fire. They have written about its ability to nourish and
protect, but also harm and even kill.

We can see that fire is one of the most important symbols to us. Perhaps
that is why it is considered one of the four elements essential to life (along
with water, air and earth).

What does Fire Symbolize?

The symbolism of fire can change depending upon the context. In one
book, it may represent passion. In another, it may represent destruction.
Similarly, you and I may read the same book and interpret fire in
completely different ways. But over time and throughout history, fire
seems to have repeatedly symbolized a few key things. By understanding
these symbolic motifs, we can better understand humans’ complex
historical relationship with fires.

1. Passion and Desire

The flicking of a flame evokes thoughts of passion and desire. Fires leap,
dance and spread with reckless abandon. Is there little wonder we see
young lovers and remark on their “fiery passion!”

The link between fire and passion is also evident in the expression “light
my fire!” This expression indicates someone or something inspired passion
within someone’s soul.

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Shakespeare often uses fire as a symbol of passion in his plays.

One of his most famous quotes in Henry VIII is: “My drops of tears I’ll
turn to sparks of fire.”

Here, Queen Katherine speaks of turning sadness into action. She then
declares Cardinal Wolsey her enemy and blames him for causing trouble
between the queen and her husband. Similarly, fire is used in Romeo and
Juliet to symbolize the passion Romeo and Juliet feel for one another. For
example, in Act 1 Scene 1, Shakespeare speaks of “a fire sparkling in
lovers’ eyes.”

2. Rebirth and Resurrection

It is odd that fire can symbolize both death and life. But it just goes to
show how versatile the symbolism of fire is. The role of fire in the symbol
of rebirth is best known through the phoenix. The mythical phoenix dies
by spontaneous combustion. It bursts into flames and disintegrates into
ashes. Then, from the ashes, a new phoenix is born to live its live again.
Similarly, when a fire burns through a forest, the old growth in the forest
burns away to allow space for the new forest to emerge from beneath.

The phoenix comes from ancient Greek mythology. A phoenix is said to

live for 500 years before burning and returning to life as a new bird. A
very popular phoenix in modern literature is Dumbledore’s phoenix in
Harry Potter. Harry is surprised (and scared) when the phoenix catches
flame before his eyes. Dumbledore subsequently explains that the phoenix
is immortal but needs to regenerate by catching fire.

3. Eternity

Fire represents eternity is through the metaphor of the “eternal flame.” So

long as the symbolic flame burns, life and hope remain in this world. We
might say that an eternal flame burns in our hearts. This will indicate that
some belief still lives on within us. Eternal flames are also used in
memorium. We remember people’s love and sacrifice by burning the

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flame. So long as the flame burns, we remember and respect the memory
of someone who has died. In this case, might say that the eternal flame
symbolizes that the memory of someone lives on.

The eternal flame is perhaps most common in war memorials. For

example, the Australian War Memorial explains the eternal flame that
burns within its commemorative courtyard in this way:

“A flame is widely accepted as a symbol of eternal life. An eternal flame at

a war memorial symbolizes a nation’s perpetual gratitude towards, and
remembrance of, its war dead.”

4. Destruction

Fire has the ability to decimate things it comes in touch with. This has
helped authors throughout the years use fire as a symbol of
destructiveness.

In Fahrenheit 451, fire is used as a literal destructive force. The main

character, Montag, burns books for a living. He is literally burning
knowledge to keep people in the intellectual dark ages. But fire is also a
symbol of destruction in this book. It symbolises the destructiveness of
mankind and the pleasure and power we feel in destroying beauty. The
book opens with an explanation of the destructiveness of fire, which
remains as a motif throughout the novel: “It was a pleasure to burn. It
was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and
changed.”

5. Hope

Fire is something we look to – sometimes on the horizon – as a symbol

that salvation is near. There are a few reasons for this:

 Fire has long been an excellent form of long-distance communication

due to its brightness;
 Fire is warmth, and its sight may signify refuge from the cold
outside;

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  A fire on the horizon can symbolize an Inn or safehaven in which a
traveller may rest.

In the film Mulan, fire is shown as a way to send messages along the
Great Wall of China rapidly. Guards would light a fire. Then, guards on the
horizon will see it and light their own fire, which would alert the next
guard on the next horizon to light his. Thus, warning messages could be
sent far more rapidly than by horse or foot.

But the best example is the statue of liberty. The statue holds a fire above
her head. This fire is the first thing people will see of the new world. It is a
torch held high to show weary travelers that they have reached freedom
and liberty in the new world they seek.

6. Hell

Our modern view of hell almost always involves fire. We might curse
about an evil person by saying, “may you burn in the fiery pits of hell!”
This view of hell is closely associated with Dante’s vision of hell in The
Inferno. Fire awaits us in hell, and there we will be tortured as it burns us
insufferably. Even before Christian beliefs, hell seemed to be associated
with fire. Plato wrote of a lake of fire in which evil spirits burn in Gorgias,
written in 380BC. Similarly, the Egyptian Book of the Dead in 1250BC
spoke of a lake of fire awaiting sinners.

The clearest example of a fire symbolizing hell is in the Bible itself.

The book of revelation condemns people who worship beasts or false

prophets. It proclaims that these sinners will be “cast alive into a lake of
fire burning with brimstone.” Matthew also spoke often of a lake of fire
awaiting sinners. He writes, for example, of “the eternal fire which has
been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

7. Purification

I just spoke of how fire symbolizes hell in the Bible. It seem that the Bible
has another use of fire, too. Fire is often used to symbolize purification.

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Fire rids people (or the world) of sin. This is perhaps because fire leaves
no trace of the thing it burns besides its ashes. Thus, to purify a witch, we
burn her at the stake.

When the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah fall into their sinful ways, god
burns them to ashes. Here, fire is used to purify the earth and rid it of
sinners. It is plausible to see the notion of the phoenix rising in the ashes
in this metaphor, too. The burning is the purifying act, which is followed
by the rise of something more desirable, new and innocent in its place.

Conclusion

Fire has an incredible ability to symbolize many things all at once. This
can make it difficult to interpret literature the way an author had intended
it. Did they use fire in a situation to symbolize death or life? Rebirth or
punishment? Often, we have to look for the intended meaning by thinking
about the context in which fire was used. When reading a text for its
contextual reading, we are more likely to see the author’s original intent.

Fire Symbolism: Flames that Ignite Faiths and Inspire Minds

Since it was first proposed by the Pre-Socratic philosopher, Empedocles of

Acragas, fire has been regarded in the Western world as one of the four
classical elements. The status of fire as a component of life can be found
in the philosophy of other ancient cultures as well. Moreover, fire has a
highly symbolic function in many of the world’s religious beliefs.

Agni, the Hindu Fire God

In Hinduism, the element of fire is personified by a deity by the name of

Agni. In Hindu iconography, Agni is depicted with flaming hair and rides
on a goat, thus making him easy to identify. Agni is associated with
various forms of fire, including: sacrificial fires, domestic fires, the fire of
the funeral-pyres, and the digestive fire believed to be within every
human being. Of these fires, Agni is most closely associated with sacrificial
fires. This is due to the belief that Agni was responsible for carrying the

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offerings of human beings to the gods. In one myth, Agni’s brothers (the
various forms of fire, with the exception of the sacrificial fire) had been
broken whilst bringing the sacrifices of man to the gods. When it was
Agni’s (the Oblation-bearer’s) turn to take over this task, he disappeared,
and “entered the seasons, the waters, and the trees.”

When the gods found him, Agni demanded something in return for his
services, “Let my life-span be long, and let me have various oblations, and
let my older brothers be without injury at sacrifice after sacrifice…” All this
was granted by the gods, and Agni became the bearer of man’s sacrifices
to the gods.

 Ancient Symbolism of the Magical Phoenix

 The Four Mythological Symbols of China
 Eternal Flames: Geologists Investigate Ancient Myths to Know More
about Modern Fuel
 Spontaneous Human Combustion: A Burning Mystery

Ahura Mazda of the Zoroastrians

Another use of the symbolism of fire is found in Zoroastrianism. Contrary

to popular belief in the West, Zoroastrians do not worship fire. Adherents
of this faith, however, do believe that the elements, including fire, are
pure. In addition to being a symbol of purity, fire is also regarded by
Zoroastrians as representing Ahura Mazda’s (the supreme god of
Zoroastrianism) light or wisdom. Whilst Ahura Mazda is generally said to
not have a physical form, but exists instead as a being of purely spiritual
energy, his imagery is also rather fire-oriented. For instance, Ahura Mazda
has been at times associated with the sun and its life-giving powers.
Ahura Mazda has also been perceived as the light of wisdom that pushes
back the darkness of chaos and ignorance.

Fire in Christianity

The manifestation of the divine in the form of fire may be found in the
Abrahamic faiths as well. In Christianity for example, the Holy Spirit is
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said to have descended on the apostles in the form of tongues of fire on
the day of Pentecost. The manifestation of God in the element of fire is
also found in the Old Testament, as evident in the passage in the book of
Exodus where God spoke to Moses from the burning bush.

Nevertheless, both Christianity and Judaism also acknowledge the

destructive power of fire. The destructive dimension of this element is at
times associated with the wrath of God, and a number of verses from the
Bible have been used to illustrate this. Another way of interpreting the
destructive power of fire is to view it as a means of purification. In other
words, fire could be symbolically seen as a way to ‘burn’ away one’s evil
urges.

Buddhist Views on Fire as Suffering

In some traditions, such as Buddhism, fire may be used to symbolically

represent something negative. In the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism,
there is a discourse known as the Adittapariyaya Sutta , or ‘Fire Sermon’.
In this discourse, the Buddha said:

“The mind is burning, ideas are burning, mind-consciousness is burning,

mind-contact is burning, also whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or
neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with mind-contact for its
indispensable condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning
with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion. I say it
is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations,
with pains, with griefs, with despairs.”

Therefore, fire in this context is symbolically regarded not as an

‘enlightening’ element, but rather as one of the roots of man’s suffering. It
is only by recognizing and extinguishing these symbolical fires that one
may find liberation from suffering.

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Fire’s Dualism

Thus, it may be seen that fire had different symbolic meanings for
different religious beliefs. For some, fire is associated with purification
processes; whilst for others, it is seen as the thing that needs to be
extinguished. For some, fire is regarded as life-giving; whilst for others,
fire is connected with destruction. It must also be noted that the
symbolism of fire extends well beyond the realm of religion and has
inspired other areas as well, including the occult, literature, and art.

Fire – Powerful Symbol That Played A Key Role In History Of

Mankind

Fire has played an important role in human life since the dawn of history.
Fire may symbolize the flames of the sun, which itself has qualities of
warmth, light, and creative power. Due to these qualities is thus equated
with life force and masculine creative strength and generally, an incredible
life force within a human being. It was a signal of vigor, strength and
psychic energy.

Generally, fire symbolizes eternity, warmth, love, spiritual enlightenment,

hell, punishment, evil, witchcraft, martyrdom, sacrifice, persecution,
home, protection, fertility, divine energy, purification and state of spiritual
nearness between man and spirit.

Fire In World's Religions And Myths

Fire has been used in religious rites and symbolism for hundreds of years;
with the main image of the smoke from the fire disperses into the
heavens. Associated with the sun, fire is purifying and/or destructive,
reveals spiritual power and therefore has played an important role in main
rituals and religious ceremonies throughout the world.

In Hindu beliefs, Agni is a powerful Hindu god of fire, and one of five
sacred elements of which all living creatures are comprised is fire. Fire is
considered an eternal witness essential to sacred religious ceremonies.

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In Christianity, fire is a symbol of the Holy Ghost and is often used in
countless descriptions of Hell.

In the Zoroastrian religion, the Creator made the whole world of fire,
water, and earth, and all-nourishing ether. Fire is continuously used to
represent Ahura Mazda - God of the Zoroastrians, including the fire at
Yazda, which has been burning for over two millennia.

Fire was important for agriculture; it was common to use fire in various
rituals, in which torches, bonfires, burning embers and even ashes were
considered capable of stimulating the growth of the cornfields and the
well-being of man and of animals.

Fire In Alchemy And Astrology

In alchemy, fire is associated with the chemical element of sulphur

(sulfur) and its symbol is an upward-pointing triangle. In ancient Europe,
learned chemists talked about fire as a 'transmutation factor' because
they believed that all things exploded from the fire and returned to the
fire. The alchemists have an important concept of fire as ‘an Element
which operates in the center of all things’, as a unifying and stabilizing
factor.

One of the most important alchemical symbols is an amazing mythical

firebird, Phoenix, a symbol of Sun, immortality, rebirth through fire and
eternal life. Paracelsus, an alchemist, physician, astrologer, and occultist
demonstrated the parallel between fire and life, pointing out that-both
must feed upon other lives in order to keep alive. In astrological "wheel of
fortune", fire signs are energetic and full of force.

Fire As One Of The Four Elements

Fire, accompanied by water, earth, and air were recognized as the four
primary elements by Aristotle and Plato and by a Greek philosopher,
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 535 BC - 475 BC). In his Dictionary of Symbols”
J. E. Cirlot says that in Egyptian hieroglyphics, fire is also related to the

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solar-symbolism of the flame, and linked with the concepts of life and
health as it originates from the idea of body-heat. It is also allied with the
concept of superiority and control (19), showing that the symbol had by
this time developed into an expression of spiritual energy. In Heraclitus'
system, the cosmos refers to as "everliving fire". Heraclitus equates fire
with God/Zeus as the divine ruling order saying: "thunderbolt steers all
things" alluding to the directive power of fire, an important element being
the origin of all things but at the same time, it is the most inconstant and
changeable. Heraclitus observed that all things are exchange for fire, and
fire for all things. Fire changes into water and then into earth; earth
changes into water and then into fire.

Fire In The Bible

In the Bible, fire is part of the revelation of the Deity. When God revealed
himself to humanity, the event was accompanied by fire. When we burn
the lamps and candles on the day of the dead and pray, our prayer is a
symbol of admitting the dead to eternity of light, because fire symbolizes
light. Fire is a symbol of purification, which is the custom of cremation in
some cultures. The flame of a fire that changes constantly expresses life,
therefore, it is a permanent element of tombstones whether in the form of
a candle, a torch or a torch. As a symbol of purification, the fire
manifested itself in the destruction of evil and plague. In the Apocalypse
of St. John, The Apostle, it is a punishing fire in which sinners will burn’
and 8:5. says: “And the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of
the altar and cast it on the earth: and there were thunders and voices and
lightnings and a great earthquake.”

Generally, fire symbolizes eternity, warmth, love, spiritual

enlightenment, hell, punishment, evil, witchcraft, martyrdom,
sacrifice, persecution, home, protection, fertility, divine energy,
purification and state of spiritual nearness between man and
spirit.

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Fire In Arts

Fire is often presented by artists as purification. A painting by the English

painter John Martin from 1852 is entitled "Destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah" It shows the biblical story of the destruction of the two cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah. The act of destruction was committed by God who
used rain of sulfur and fire from heaven to punish people for their
wickedness and uncontrolled debauchery. In this case, the painter used
the fire to symbolize punishment, an unconquerable destruction and
misfortune. It is believed that fire is a symbol of evil and unhappiness and
bright flames of fire represent new thoughts or passion and sexual desire.
Undoubtedly, fire has long been and one of the greatest inspirations of
people especially including artists and perhaps madmen.

Significance of Greek Mythology Fire

Fire has a prominent place in several Greek myths and is associated with
several notable characters in Greek mythology, most famously with
Prometheus, who stole fire from the Olympian gods. It had a practical,
symbolic, and even elemental significance to the Greek mind. In practical
terms, it was both extremely dangerous and extremely useful, if properly
managed, for warmth and for crafts like metalworking and related
technological advancement.

Symbolically, it often had a connotation of intelligence and also of

destruction as well as, thanks to the useful properties just mentioned, life.
Elementally, it was conceived as a basic force of nature and one of the
four elements of nature—earth, water, air, and fire. These various
connotations should be borne in mind when considering the significance of
fire in the myths.

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Three figures and related fire myths are especially important in
Greek mythology:

Hephaestus

Hephaestus (pronounced Hef-eest-us) was the god of blacksmiths and

fire. He was born of Zeus and Hera, the king and queen of the gods, but
became hated by Hera because of his deformity and notorious ugliness—
he was the only Greek god who was not handsome or beautiful—and Zeus
threw him out of Olympus. He was famously lame, either from birth or as
a result of the impact on hitting the earth after the long fall from Mt.
Olympus, and he walked with a severe limp. On the positive side,
Hephaestus was renowned for his magnificent craftsmanship—forged in
fire—including spectacular architecture, most notably the golden mansions
of the Olympian gods; automata, such as the giant animated golden dogs
that guarded one of the mansions; and arms and armor, most famously
the marvelous shield of Achilles described in Homer’s Iliad (about the
Trojan War). His workshop was under Mt. Aetna in Sicily, an active
volcano to this day and the highest volcano in Europe. Accordingly, he
has associated also with volcanos, indicated in his Roman name, Vulcan.
Hephaestus got revenge on Hera by giving her a beautiful golden throne
which, when she sat in it, tied her down with golden cords so fine as to be
invisible to onlookers. She was forced to stay bound to the throne until
Dionysus got Hephaestus to agree to release her after getting him drunk.
He did not release her, however, without a price: he demanded that
Aphrodite—the goddess of love and the most beautiful goddess next only
to Hera herself—be given to him in marriage. Thus the ugliest god won
the second-most beautiful goddess to be his wife. Aphrodite, perhaps not
altogether surprisingly, was unfaithful to him, and Hephaestus exacted an
act of revenge on her as well.

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Prometheus

The myth of Prometheus’ stealing fire from the gods is one of the most
famous Greek myths today and probably the most famous in specific
relation to fire. Prometheus, whose name means “Forethought” or
“Forethinker,” was one of the Titans, the gods who ruled the world before
Zeus and the Olympians took over. Prometheus himself was treated
leniently by the Olympians because he switched sides and joined them in
the War of the Titans that culminated in the Olympian victory. (Most of
the Titans were condemned to Tartarus or hell.) Zeus gave Prometheus
and his brother Epimetheus the task of providing gifts to mortal beings,
who were as yet very feeble and struggling for survival. Prometheus was
to bestow gifts on humans (in later versions of the myth he actually
created humanity), and Epimetheus on the other animals. Unfortunately
for humanity, before Prometheus was able to act, Epimetheus (whose
name means “Afterthought”) gave all the best gifts to the animals
(beauty, strength, speed, and agility, etc.), so human beings remained
weak and vulnerable against the more dangerous animals and the rigors
of nature. This is where the fire myth comes in. Prometheus thought the
least Zeus could do was to give humanity fire for warmth and material
advancement, but Zeus refused. Prometheus, who was known to be a
master trickster, had played a trick on Zeus, and Zeus in reprisal decided
to punish mankind, whom Prometheus loved, by denying them the gift of
fire. So, Prometheus snuck into Hephaestus’ workshop and stole fire and
also forging implements and gave them to the humans. (Other accounts
have him stealing the fire from Olympus.) Prometheus is therefore
remembered as one of the great benefactors to mankind. Zeus’s response
was now even more severe. He punished humanity by sending them
Pandora’s box full of untold pains and miseries, and Prometheus’ less
intelligent, afterthinking brother Epimetheus foolishly opened the box. As
for Prometheus, Zeus had him bound to a rock where an eagle feasted on
his liver every day for many years. Zeus made his liver regenerate every

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night so the next day the eagle could go back to his feasting. Prometheus
remained in this agony until finally freed by Heracles (Roman name
Hercules). But the gift of fire was never taken away, and thanks to
Prometheus’ gift were able to work their way out of their wretched
physical condition. Although he was a god, Prometheus’ theft of fire later
became a symbol for human independence from the gods and eventually,
in the context of the Christian West, of revolt against God in the form of
atheism. Marx used the Promethean myth in this way, for example. More
broadly, Prometheus still is used as a symbol for human intelligence,
ingenuity, and progress.

The Phoenix

The Phoenix is probably even better known today than the Prometheus
myth, though it may not immediately be associated in everyone’s mind
with fire. There are versions of the Phoenix myths in several cultures in
several civilizations. In the Greek version is the story of a bird of
paradise, majestic in size and dignity and brilliant in color, who lives in
paradise 1,000 years (though some sources put the time period as
significantly longer or shorter) and then comes to earth and dies by fire,
only to be reborn from the ashes to live another 1,000 years. This cycle of
life and death continues endlessly. In some versions, she is consumed by
fire from a spark sent from the heavens; in others she sets herself on fire.
Then after three days she comes alive. The Phoenix is a powerful symbol,
then, of life, death, and rebirth. As a symbol of rebirth it is also a symbol
of hope. The Greeks associated it not only with the cycle of life in general
but also specifically with metempsychosis or reincarnation. Thus they also
connected the Phoenix with the idea of the immortality of the soul.
Christians later employed the myth as a symbol of Christ’s death and
resurrection. As you can see, the significance of Greek mythology fire is
very rich and varied, abundant with mystical as well as material
overtones. As a symbol, it provides a way for us poor humans to conceive

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of our relation to nature, our ingenuity in the use of it, and how we can
live well in the world.

The mythology of fire by Ruth Padel; In ancient Greece, fire was

stolen by Prometheus, whose punishment by Zeus, ruler of the gods, was
worse than a scorch-mark and has mesmerised the imagination of
philosophers, painters and poets ever since. Prometheus is the archetypal
figure of revolutionary defiance, chained to a rock with an eagle eating his
liver, which regenerates only to be eaten again the next day. ‘Fire’ is also
‘life’. In one story, Prometheus not only gave human beings fire, and
therefore civilisation, but created them. The origin of human suffering,
mistrustful relations between divinity and humanity, and possibly the
ambiguous nature of hope, all came into the story of fire. (Prometheus
Bound, whose author was traditionally taken to be Aeschylus, the oldest
tragic poet whose plays survive. The language is slightly later than his day
so it may not be actually his, but whoever wrote it was a genius, and
influenced by Aeschylus, so we may as well say it was Aeschylus and be
done. It was the first play of a trilogy. The others are lost, but we know
that in the next, Prometheus Unbound, Heracles kills the eagle and frees
Prometheus; and in the third, Prometheus Fire-Bringer, Prometheus is
reconciled with Zeus.) The story is a treasure trove of symbolism,
refracting countless meanings of fire, as love, lust, spirit, life, passion, art,
imagination, freedom, revolution and – firing the mind – creativity. Fire as
God, knowledge, truth, glow of divine comfort, or blaze of divine fury. Fire
as source of warmth, light, culture, nourishment (‘calories’), technology,
invention and science, but also the firing squad. Fire can purify,
regenerate and destroy. The symbolism ranges from sexual (flame is
vertical, rises from a spark, is created by rubbing), to theological:
humanity gets something forbidden and divine, like the fruit in Genesis,
another creation story. Painters have loved exploring the visual potential
of all this. Most focus on three moments: Prometheus brandishing fire,
chained by Hephaestus, or attacked by the eagle. Rubens’s panel in the

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Prado, of Prometheus stealing fire (1636), is the picture of guilt, looking
over his shoulder as he dives for earth with his torch. But in the
seventeenth century, artists developing a newly somatic sense of the
Crucifixion were interested in portraying extreme pain, and so often
portray agonised Prometheus in positions similar to Christ.

Cormac Mccarthy : The Road

The phrase "carrying the fire" comes up four times in Cormac McCarthy's
The Road and is said eight times in those four scenes. It also appears as
"carry the fire" in the scene where the man dies. Carrying the fire signifies
hope for the human race; though the world seems all but over, as long as
someone is alive and trying to thrive, they're still carrying the fire, which
means the human race still has hope. When the boy is scared early in the
novel, his father assures him that they will be okay. When his father
agrees nothing bad will happen, the boy says, "because we're carrying the
fire." His father affirms this, saying "Yes. Because we're carrying the fire."
The next time the phrase appears, it's after an encounter with cannibals.
The man promises the boy that they won't ever eat anyone. He says
they're the good guys and that they're carrying the fire. That light for
humanity means that they can't turn their back on being the kind of
people who don't exploit others and eat them for food. The third time the
boy says the phrase, he's asking his father about the possibility of finding
another father and son like them. He says, "And they could be carrying
the fire too?" The man assures him that it's possible but that they can't be
sure. He's trying to teach his son to be wary without extinguishing the
hope that there are still good people in the world. When his father dies, he
insists that the boy has to go. He charges his son with carrying the fire.
He tells him: The "fire" in this text is a very important symbol of both
hope and humanity. McCarthy presents the reader with a grim and
relentless dystopian world which offers little hope or future for humanity.
The remnants of the human species are forced into cannibalising each
other merely to survive or scavenging for tins and other dried goods

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thanks to some kind of unspecified disaster that has overtaken the planet.
As a result, the humans in the book are presented as shadows of their
former selves, debased and animalistic in the way that they prey on each
other and have lost any sense of moral code. It is only the father and the
son in this text that offer some kind of hope for humanity, and it is this
that is captured in the phrase "carrying the fire." Note how this is directly
addressed when the father realises he is dying in the injunction he gives
to his son: In this way, his father shows that the fire isn't a real fire.
Rather, it's the drive that keeps humanity going and the hope for a better
world. The boy accepts what his father says and goes with the man at the
end of the novel. He asks the man whether he's carrying the fire—the
fourth and final time the complete phrase appears—and the man doesn't
understand what he means but finally says that, yes, he's carrying the
fire. The "fire" in this text is a very important symbol of both hope and
humanity. McCarthy presents the reader with a grim and relentless
dystopian world which offers little hope or future for humanity. The
remnants of the human species are forced into cannibalising each other
merely to survive or scavenging for tins and other dried goods thanks to
some kind of unspecified disaster that has overtaken the planet. As a
result, the humans in the book are presented as shadows of their former
selves, debased and animalistic in the way that they prey on each other
and have lost any sense of moral code. It is only the father and the son in
this text that offer some kind of hope for humanity, and it is this that is
captured in the phrase "carrying the fire." Note how this is directly
addressed when the father realises he is dying in the injunction he gives
to his son. In the father's description of the fire, it is clear that the way he
talks about the fire being "inside" his son, and "always" being there, is
something that points towards its symbolic meaning. The fire that the boy
is told to continue carrying represents the hope for humanity. This is why
when the boy meets the man who will take care of him he instinctively
asks whether he carries the fire. As long as this symbolic "fire" burns,
there is still hope for the future of humanity in this grim world.

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Jack London: To built a fire

Fire means the difference between life and death in a setting as cold and
bleak as the one presented in London’s story. The title of the story also
keys the reader into the important role of fire in the story. The goal of the
protagonist is to build a fire, and as he fails in this later in the story, the
man attempts desperate measures to achieve this goal: like lighting all his
matches at once, or attempting to kill the dog. Fire is repeatedly
associated with life and protection through the word choice of the story.
The man’s first successful fire, which he builds when he eats his lunch,
helps to establish its importance early on. Even when nothing has gone
wrong, the man needs a fire to survive. His body, unlike the dog’s body,
does not have the natural resources necessary to survive intense cold
without a fire. Building a fire is an act of technical skill and technology,
and fire in literature has also often been used as a symbol of knowledge.
The building of a fire thus symbolizes life in the story, but also life through
human knowledge, skill, and technology. And the failure of the man to
build a fire is the failure of these things, as expressed in the man, and in
the brutal cold of nature. (The man’s initial failure to build a fire
demonstrates how much he needs one. That the man is unable to eat
without a fire despite keeping his lunch against his body again attests to
the way his preparations are not enough to face this degree of cold. This
first successful fire establishes fire as a source of life and protection,
vitally important to the man’s survival in the story.)

(The next symbol is the fire. Fire is very closely related to the sun because
they both offer the same benefits, light and warmth. The difference in this
story is that the man has no control over whether the sun is visible or not.
He does however, have it within his power to build a fire. London explains
the importance of building a fire through the characters thoughs :”He
would have to build a fire and dry out his footgear. This was imperative at
that low temperature- he knew that much” (Cain 286). We get a better
idea about the importance of the fire by the character’s reactions to the

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presence of fire, and then again to the absence of it. When the man has
his fire burning, he is content and at ease. He knows that the fire
promises “life with every flickering flame” (Cain 288). After building it, a
tree branch weighted down with snow falls and effectively snuffed out the
fire. At this, the man is “shocked. It was as though he had just heard his
own death sentence” (Cain 288). The man knew that the fire was his
source of light and warmth, and in the Yukon, it was also his source of
light and warmth and in the Yukon , it was also his source of life. Fire has
been used as a symbol in many Native American legends. One Mohawk
legend describes how fire was first brought to their nation. A boy named
Tree Arrows was isolated in search of his guiding spirit when the gods
showed him the ‘magic’ of fire. Through this boy the nation was taught
this ‘magic’ and prospered (How Fire Came to the Six Nations). In this
story you could say that fire is a symbol for life and survival. You can
easily compare this legend to To Build a Fire since they both stress the
necessity of fire for human survival.

William Golding: Lord of the flies

Fire is a complicated symbol in Lord of the Flies. Like the glasses that
create it, fire represents technology. Yet like the atomic bombs destroying
the world around the boys' island, fire is a technology that threatens
destruction if it gets out of control. Fire also symbolizes the boys'
connection to human civilization: their signal fire gives them hope of
rescue. The other boys want to "have fun," Ralph wants to rebuild
civilization in the form of the signal fire.

Nathanial Hawthorne: The Scarlet letter

He who plays with fire is bound to get burned. This commonplace

expression outlines the painful outcome of trifling with things as wild and
uncontrollable as fire. Sometimes, powerful, passionate sentiments are
like a fire that we lose control of, and lead to unintended outcomes. In
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, characters’ emotions in the heat

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of the moment often cause them to make decisions with devastating
consequences. In the novel Hawthorne uses fire to symbolize the passions
in the hearts of his characters, and the results of fire (cinders, burns,
embers) to symbolize the repercussions of those passions.

Throughout the novel, different characters experience passionate

emotions like hatred, anger, and love. Hawthorne often describes
characters in the heat of passion as fiery or glowing. When Chillingworth is
enraged with his hatred of Dimmesdale it is as if his soul was on fire, and
the glowing flames shone through his eyes with red light. Chillingworth
had so little passion in his life before he reached the colony that this new
intensity is like a blazing flame in his soul. Pearl is always alight with an
enormous range of emotions from anger to sadness to joy. Hawthorne
writes that she is, “the brightest jet to ever dance across the earth”
Pearl’s spirited emotions are like an ever-burning fire in her heart that
shines out her soul and lights up her whole being. These descriptions show
Hawthorne’s use of fire to represent the passionate sentiments that his
characters experience.

The scarlet letter serves as a punishment for Hester’s adultery, an act that
grew out of her passionate love with Dimmesdale. Like a burn, it is a
painful reminder of the affection and intimacy they once shared. Choices
that are made because of passion set the course of The Scarlet Letter,
from Hester and Dimmesdale’s adultery to Chillingworth’s fierce hatred.
The character’s emotions are the fire that fuels the plot of this novel, and
without them there would be no story. The consequences each character
must bear as a result of their emotions are also an essential part of the
plot; they are their physical and emotional scars. The metaphor of fire as
passion can be found in countless places in literature, but Hawthorne
expands on the comparison to include every aspect of fire and an
enormous range of human emotions. Although they may be consumed
with love or hatred, joy or rage, the flame of passion shines through all
the main characters of The Scarlet Letter.

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