War and Civil Liberties

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Fire

Wikipedia gives a nice definition of fire.

Fire is a form of combustion. Most typically fire refers to the combination of the brilliant glow and large amount of heat released during a rapid, self-sustaining exothermic oxidation process of combustible gasses ejected from a fuel. The flames are a body of gas that releases heat and light. Fire starts when a fuel is subjected to heat or another energy source, e.g. a match or a lighter, and is sustained by a further release of heat energy until all the combustible fuel is consumed ("Fire" website).

What is it about the flame that it is so captivating? What does the flame mean? Let's look further. What do we know about fire right now? The first thing that may come to mind is that you don't play with it. Most people's first experience fire with has been an either violent or gentle, "Don't touch that, it will hurt you." And what does that statement immediately make a young mischievous child do? Run right up to Daddy's room and sneak a pack of matches. I know I did it. A few friends of mine and I set little pine needle fires in the woods near our elementary school. I never knew someone put a fancy name to it but Gaston Bachelard in The Psychoanalysis of Fire calls that "clever disobedience" A child wants to be better than her father; know more than her teacher. I hope to inspire my students to 'clever disobedience' with books (Bachelard, 1964).

Now I was not an adolescent pyromaniac. Why on earth did I set little pine needle fires? We knew that the 'fire' could get out of control. But it wasn't only the exhilaration of doing something forbidden, although it certainly was exhilarating. If such 'violent delights' (Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet) intoxicated me so, I am sure I would have done much much more than set little pine needle fires. It must have been the fire itself. 'Clever disobedience' may rationalize the latent miscreant tendencies in me but it certainly doesn't explain my10-year-old brain's fascination with the flame. Bachelard does, however, explain that rather succinctly:

• Fire is thus a privileged phenomenon which can explain anything. If all that changes slowly may be explained by life, all that changes quickly is explained by fire. Fire is the ultra-living element. It is intimate and it is universal. It lives in our heart. It lives in the sky. It rises from the depths of the substance and offers itself with the warmth of love. Or it can go back down into the substance and hide there, latent and pent-up, like hate and vengeances. Among all phenomena, it is really the only one to which there can be so definitely attributed the opposing values of good and evil.
• (Bachelard, 1964).

"Among all phenomena, it is really the only one to which there can be so definitely attributed the opposing values of good and evil." This is a difficult concept for young minds to grasp but what an important one! It is a theme that is inherent in great literature as in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (Friar Laurence, Act II Scene III),

Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied; And vice sometimes by action dignified. Within the infant rind of this small flower Poison hath residence and medicine power: For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part; Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart. Two such opposed kings encamp them still In man as well as herbs, grace and rude will;

It also exists in the everyday human condition. This mix of compelling, opposed moral elements is in fire.

If you refer to the basic formula of fire, there is no inclusion of emotion or subjectivity; just fuel, oxygen and heat. It is what it is. Our science tells us that there is no more or no less to it. Yet the flames entrance us either at the hearth or at the pyre. What do you think of when you see these images in your mind's eye: Gently burning logs in a hearth casting an almost golden light on a mother rocking a swaddled baby? Can you feel the emotion rising in your throat as you gaze on the dark sight of an angry mob, mouths silently frozen in shouts of hate as the burning cross reflects in their dark eyes? In order to appreciate the power of fire, we have to figure out from whence that power came.

The Myths of the Origins of Fire

I will start with the myths. For several reasons, not the least of which is that for many students, even adults for that matter, a myth is often confused with fact; but also myths illustrate human nature that continuously tries to explain the unexplainable.

Of the myths of the origins of fire I studied, I discovered several commonalities. First and foremost is that the 'fire' was in the possession of someone or something that would not allow anyone else to have it. Second, those who do not possess the fire will scheme, consort or otherwise plan to steal the fire. The theft is violent, carefully planned or cleverly tricked. Third, the entity that is successful in obtaining the fire is punished, transformed, or deified, and everyone lives happily ever after. This is a short example from The Myths of the Origins of Fire. It is the myth of the Buriats, of Mongolian descent, the largest ethnic group in Siberia ("Buryat" website),

They say that formerly men knew not fire. They could not cook their victuals and went about hungry and cold. A swallow took pity on themand stole fire for them from Tengri, who is the Sky. But Tengri was angry at the bird and shot at it with his bow. The arrow missed the body of the bird but pierced its tail; and that is why the tail of the swallow is still cleft in two. It was the swallow that brought fire to men, who ever since have been happy and would not hurt any swallow. For the same reason people are glad when a swallow builds its nest in their hut (Frazer, 1930).

Let's look at the first theme. The fire is in the control of one person, animal, thing or god. In this case it is the Sky. Obviously, Sky did not want to share the fire or it would have not been angry at the little swallow for taking it. The swallow is punished via the arrow that clefts its tale, but the humans are forever grateful to the swallow.

The characters of these myths vary widely but birds, snakes, frogs and lizards are common. The long-tailed lizard, or Salamander, is an interesting character that is popular in ancient fire myths. In fact the Greek term "fire-lizard" is the origin of the word 'salamander' (Griffiths, 1996). For many years it was believed that salamanders had the ability to survive fires. In fact, some of the myths say that salamanders can actually extinguish fires. According to Richard A. Griffiths, Aristotle was one of the first to suggest this salamander ability. As it turns out, the little lizards were most likely hiding in cords of wood and would scurry out of the flames. If the wood was damp and consequently the fire went out, the salamander was blamed. The salamander is important symbolism in Bradbury's 451.

The Phoenix also plays an important role in 451 and its symbolism. Like the myths of the origin of fire spanning the globe, the story of the Phoenix exists in similar form over several different cultures. The most commonly known is the Classical Arabian Tale ("Rise of the Phoenix" website). "The Phoenix was a bird as large as an eagle with scarlet and gold plumage and a melodious cry." It had an incredibly long lifespan ranging from 500 years to 12,994 years depending upon the account. When it was time for the bird to die, it would build "a pyre nest of aromatic branches and spices such as myrrh" and set it on fire, consuming itself in flames. Three days later the Phoenix arose from the ashes, symbolizing the death and re-birth of the sun.

While the myths themselves are simple tales without much elaboration, it is clear that the fire is valuable. But not valuable as in wealth or anything we would consider monetary; rather the fire is valuable for sustaining the life-force. It is valued for the things man can create with it, for the power the fire gives humankind. This may explain why the sublime tales make the reader feel that the thief is perfectly justified in the theft. And further the thief is not ultimately referred to as a thief. In the end the protagonist is beloved or referred to as the 'fire-bringer,' not the 'fire-felon.'

The last common theme varies more widely than the previous themes. It is that the savior or trickster is punished or transformed in some way. Much in the same way knowledge can transform a human. It is that transformation that I will emphasize in the myths.

Prometheus

We have connected fire, the thing to fire, the myth, in an attempt to explain why fire is such a powerful symbol. I want to study the Greek Titan Prometheus to weave these myths together to illustrate the power that fire actually represents. And it is this power that is hoarded by those who wish to control others.

For this student discovery I want to focus on Aeschylus's Prometheus around the third century B.C.E. There is a trilogy of Promethean works attributed to Aeschylus; Prometheus the Fire-Bringer, Prometheus Bound and Prometheus Unbound. Prometheus is regarded as a culture hero; the defiant savior who stands up to the Gods to obtain this powerful tool for all of mankind (Frazer, 1930). I focus on this version because it most clearly illustrates the symbolism of 'fire.' Humans were childlike before he brought fire. "Seeing, they saw not, and hearing they understood not." Prometheus says that he gave the gift of fire by which mankind would learn the many crafts of building and carpentry, the science of astronomy, the skills of counting and writing, sailing, mining, healing and sacrifice through his gift. Hence it is beautifully clear that fire symbolizes knowledge and the power that knowledge brings the humans, something that heretofore had been possessed only by the gods. The gods were so angered with Prometheus for allowing the humans this knowledge that he was sentenced to be chained to a rock for 30,000 years with an eagle eating his liver.

Prometheus is eventually freed, ironically, for giving Zeus the knowledge that only Prometheus had; the name of the woman who would bear the son that would oust Zeus. While I will not dwell on that aspect of the story, it is interesting to note how knowledge is shown to empower the one who has it.