Captain Beatty in "Fahrenheit 451" Essay

It’s a double edged sword. Beatty’s message about books is primarily, “The Devil is real, and he’s not some little red man with horns and a tail. He can be beautiful because he’s a fallen angel, and he used to be God’s favorite.” Books are like a nightmare dressed like a daydream and in the end, all they do is fail you. Although Montag panics, he knows deep down inside what the truth about books is.

He had just stood there, not really trying to save himself, just stood there, joking, needling, thought Montag, and the thought was enough to stifle his sobbing and let him pause for air”(116). Beatty read books, which many in the society don’t do. He wasn’t able to live with his knowledge, with no one else to talk to or discuss with. His actions prove, that to him, being apart of the group is easier and better than being on your

Captain Beatty is a very complex character in the sense that he's very contradictory in nature. On page 27, he goes into depth about the history of how firemen came to be, quoting literature and sharing knowledge that he's grown to hate. He claims that he's attempted to understand the world of writing and education, but that it has a strong tendency to isolate an individual and makes them feel lonely. Beatty enjoys the feeling of instant gratification rather than earning something, and he knows it and stresses the importance of simple living. This shows that Captain Beatty went through the same moral crisis that Montag is experiencing, but it's apparent that he wasn't strong enough to follow his mind and not the social norm.

Montag is a conformist in the totalitarian society in which he lives.  He, in the beginning of the story, loves his job.  However, he is manipulated repeatedly by his nemesis, Captain Beatty.  Captain Beatty is a manipulator who is expert in being able to aggravate Montag into a verbal duel that is basically one-sided. Montag and Captain Beatty seem to have a relationship where the boss is always trying to pin an untruth onto one of his employees.  Montag becomes discontented at work.  He becomes complacent by going through the motions by not really concentrating on the job at hand.

Juan Ramon Jimenez once said, “If they give you ruled paper, write the other way”. This quote shows the challenge of authority, like Montag and his society. Just like challenging the normal, or doing the opposite of what seems to be right by “writing the other way” on a lined piece of paper, Montag chooses to challenge authority by reading, remembering, and comprehending books, instead of burning them. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes place in a dystopian society in the twenty-fourth century and the main character is Guy Montag. He is a fireman whose job is to burn books and start fires instead of putting them out. Moreover, he lives in a society which just listens to government propaganda and follows whatever they are told; the citizens do not think deeply about aspects in life but rather focus on mind-numbing activities, that does not take any deep thought process. Books are banned but Montag takes the risk to start to read books, hoping they will bring him happiness in the dark world he lives in. In his journey he has three mentors who help him, Clarisse, Faber, and Granger. The protagonist, Guy Montag, changes as a result of the conflict within his dystopian society and this change connects to the novel’s theme of government censorship over its citizens.

Towards the end of the passage, Montag threatens Beatty with a fire hose, prompting a lengthy dialogue from Beatty. Beatty responds to Montag’s threats with an allusion to Shakespeare, saying, “‘There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats, for I am arm’d so strong in honesty that they pass by me as an idle wind, which I respect not!’ How’s that?” Beatty’s ease and familiarity with Shakespeare confirm that Beatty has definitely read books, and that he is an intelligent man has some notion of what books have held deep within their pages. In this way, Beatty is similar to Montag, he is another book burner that is knowledgeable about literature. What separates the two is that Beatty is simply unable to diverge from societal norms, and his stubbornness takes over and refuses to admit the worth of books. This differs greatly from Montag, who is finally starting to rebel against society. In this same scene, Beatty also taunts Montag when the fire hose is pointed at him, urging Montag to, “Go ahead now, you second-hand litterateur, pull the trigger.” While this may have just been Beatty egging Montag on, later on Beatty’s lack of resistance seems to suggest that Beatty really didn’t care whether or not he died. Moments before his death, Beatty simply says, “‘Hand it over, Guy,” and then proceeds to smile as he knows he is about to be burnt. Through dialogue, Bradbury is able to reveal information about Beatty’s background and knowledge of books, as well as his

Everyone is capable of being good. But the question you should be asking is if that’s their desire. People are capable of anything. They can also be very tempted by their bad side or their risk-taking side, which can be brought out by others. Some people have a lower tolerance for temptation which makes it easier for them to do what other people say. Such people are also known as followers. They can be tempted by bad things while trying to do the right thing. Each person’s personality can affect everyone around them. People’s cores can be fundamentally good but they could be tempted or affected by others.

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury follows Guy Montag, a fireman whos occupation consists not of putting fires out, but of starting them in order to eradicate all works of literature from his futuristic American community. Montag has a realization of the emptiness in his life and of the power of literature through the help of Clarisse, Montag’s young and inspirational neighbor, and Faber, Montag’s partner in their plan to reintroduce literature to society. The novel becomes an instrument for the emphasis of the power of literature and how its serves as a tool for information, pleasure, and protection of society’s future by remembering the past. Through a destructive society and the symbol of fire, Bradbury highlights literature’s

Captain Beatty, the chief of the firemen in Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” has his own view of the world. Beatty’s view is that he and his firemen needs to preserve everyone in the society pleased. Whether the happiness comes from the entertainment of T.V. or from burning the novels someone opposes to, Beatty only wants to examine people delighted with what they have. If someone has a problem with a text, the firemen are to burn that text immediately, it does not matter if others favor the novel or not. Beatty’s view of the world is that firemen were given an advanced description of their jobs for their peace of mind, along with burning everything that is a detriment to people’s

Beatty was a main character who warned Montag for trying to fly away and start a revolt against the horrible society they inhabited. He was trying to show Montag the consequences he would have to pay if persisted in reading books and telling the stories they hid inside. Beatty casually hinted Montag to stay away from the books for his next warning would not be as sweet when he said, “One last thing… once in his career, every fireman gets an itch… Montag take my word for it, I’ve had to read a few in my time, to know what I was about, and the books say nothing!” (59). Beatty was as clever as he could be and actually appeared happy at the sight of Montag’s newfound zealous for books. Perhaps he already considered the act of

He was in fight or flight mode and wasn't thinking. Now he is starting to understand how the government is treating the citizens unfairly, and how he can’t think his own way. On page 49, it says, “And I thought about books. And for the first time I realized that a man was behind each one of the books. A man had to think them up. A man had to take a long time to put them down on paper. And I’d never even thought that thought before” (Bradburry 49). Montag couldn’t think for himself because the government told him what was right and wrong. Now he is thinking for himself and seeing how corrupt the government is. Later, Montag gets caught and finally has to be speak for himself. On page 112, it says, “We’ll take this and drop in on your friend.” “No!” said Montag” (Bradburry 112). Beatty catches Montag with the earpiece and is trying to make montag feel like he is the one at fault. Montag screams back and says “no”! He is thinking for himself and protecting his friend by concealing and not giving his name up. After Montag screams “no” at Beatty, the situation escalated very quickly. Page 113, writes, “Montag only said, “we never burned right….” “Hand it over, Guy,” said Beatty with a fixed smile. And then he was a shrieking blaze, a jumping sprawling gibbering manikin, no longer human or known, all writhing flame on the lawn as Montag shot one continuous pulse of liquid fire on him” (Bradburry 113). Beatty is

For example on pages 102-104, Beatty uses many quotes to confuse Montag. Beatty quotes Samuel Johnson saying, “He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty” (Page 103). He doesn’t want Montag to question the Firemen, and or do anything rash. Beatty also quotes Shakespeare when he sees that Montag will kill him. On Page 113 he says, “There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats, for I am arm’d so strong in honesty that the pass by me as an idle wind,which I respect not!”. This quote is from Julius Caesar, in which Brutus is speaking to Cassius about threats. Beatty is so secure in his belief that the government should restrict books, that he would not be afraid to die for it. Montag sees this, and kills Beatty. The allusions to Shakespeare in the novel are important because many regard Shakespeare to be the greatest writer of all time, and it is fitting that their government would want to burn his

Although Beatty decides to reject what he learned when given the opportunity to read books, Beatty is unhappy with his life as a fireman and persuades Montag to kill him by using pathos as shown through his words and actions. Firstly, Beatty orders Montag to burn Montag’s own house, creating anger and sadness within Montag. Messing with Montag’s emotions makes it a pathos appeal. This action alone does not make Montag kill Beatty, but it does push to that goal. In addition, Beatty continues to irritate Montag by insulting him, saying “It was the act of a silly, damn snob” (Bradbury 118). Even though Montag was acting like a snob, or a stuck-up individual, when he read the “Dover Beach” poem to Mildred and her friends, Beatty calling Montag

9. In the story, Montag had killed Beatty. While he did that, he realized that Beatty had wanted to die. Beatty had wanted to die because he was miserable which is not how he normally acts. It has been hinted in the story that Beatty may have possibly read books before and knows what is going on with the society. Beatty had said that books were empty and are not worth to read it. This shows that Beatty knows that the society he lives in was not as good as it seems, however he did not want to go against the government, so he just does as he was told. This makes him miserable because he may not like burning books that much, but burning books is his job and he has to do it. To die is sometimes the quickest way out of all of your problems, however it is also the most cowardly.

Beatty is a complex, contradictory character that (hypocritically) uses his vast knowledge of literature, history and philosophy against all those who attempt to preserve the value of knowledge. After the “firemen”- whose job is to set fire to books- burn down Mrs Blake’s house full of books, with her inside, Montag questions Beatty about her final words. “Play the man Master Ridley; we shall this day light a candle…as I trust shall never be put out” said Mrs Blake shortly before striking the match herself, denying the firemen the personal satisfaction of burning her books. Beatty responds to Montag immediately saying “a man named Latimer said that to a man named Nicholas Ridley, as they were being burnt alive at Oxford, for heresy, on October 16, 1555.” Latimer and Ridley can be described as martyrs to the cause of free thinking. This intensifies the irony that Beatty, an agent against radical thinking, should be so well acquainted with this story. Beatty thus demonstrates an encyclopaedic knowledge of the past while simultaneously condemning those who read and preserve history.