What is the meaning of the following quote from Fahrenheit 451? "We're going to build a mirror factory first and put out nothing but mirrors for the...

Granger says this to
Montag at the end of the novel, after their civilization has been destroyed in a war and the
survivors are camping by the river. Granger is speaking about civilization rising anew from the
ashes, like the Phoenix, and he says that the survivors need to think about all the mistakes
their civilization has made and how to improve it. He believes that remembering the past and the
mistakes of the past is the key to improving the future. He says that they are going to
"build the biggest goddam steam-shovel in history and dig the biggest grave of all time and
shove war in and cover it up." He realizes that war must become a thing of the past if
civilization is to have a rebirth.

When he says that they are going to build
a mirror factory, he is speaking metaphorically. He means that in order to rebuild their
society, the survivors must take a long, hard look at themselves and think about their faults
and mistakes. They must first reflect on what society has been before they can attempt to
rebuild it along better lines in the future.