In part three, Beatty explains "Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun and now he's burnt his damn wings, he wonders why." Why is Bradbury comparing...

In many ways Montag's story up to this point parallels the Icarus myth.

First of all, Montag is being lead by Faber, an older man who has devised Montag's means of "escape"; a plan to destroy the fire houses. Faber continually warns Montag against rash action, and Montag frequently ignores Faber - he reads poetry in front of his wife and her friends, he talks to Faber through the earpiece in the presence of others, and he lets Beatty confuse and scare him when he returns to the firehouse. Like Icarus, Montag is warned about the dangers of recklessness and self-involvement.

Secondly, the moral of the Icarus myth warns against pride. Beatty believes Montag is demonstrating hubris by hiding books and plotting against him. He accuses Montag of being prideful while explaining his dream:

"'The folly of mistaking a metaphor for proof, a torrent of verbiage for a spring of capital truths, and oneself for an oracle, is inborn in us'"

and after they arrive at Montag's house:

"It was pretty silly, quoting poetry around free and easy like that. It was the act of a silly damn snob. Give a man a few lines of verse and he thinks he's the Lord of all Creation. You think you can walk on water with your books."

Finally, one of the main images in Fahrenheit 451 is the comparison between water and fire, or dryness and wetness. This parallels imagery from the Icarus myth. Although Icarus' wings were melted by the heat of the sun, he was killed by a fall into the sea.