Symbolism

Ray Bradbury takes a lot of influence from other authors. On this story his influence is Robert frosts’ poem “fire & ice”Fire and IceSome say the world will end in fire,Some say in ice.From what I've tasted of desireI hold with those who favor fire.But if it had to perish twice,I think I know enough of hateTo say that for destruction iceIs also greatAnd would suffice.In the poem the Fire represents Desire while the Frost represents Hate. In Bradbury’s short story the Fire represents the desire of all the characters, specifically Sim’s, to leave, while the Frost represents his conflicting thoughts of staying to live out his short life.Two of the main characters in Sim’s life were his sister, Dark, and the girl he planned to marry, Lyte. Their names representing the two times of day that was extremely harmful to them.