Fahrenheit 451 Captain Beatty Analysis

Beatty is the fire chief and everyone is feared by him. Beatty tries to stop Montag on going down the road of believing books are not a bad thing, he himself has gone down that road and does not believe it is one worth traveling. Shortly after Montag kills Beatty he realizes that he wanted to die, all this time he wanted to be a character of his own book and after he died he finally was. Beatty had wished he could forget his past life and be happy like everyone else. Captain Beatty did not feel that books provided him with enough information about life he felt as if all the pages in the book were blank. He believes that books only lead to confusion and thought, which should be avoided at all

Bradbury also serves to warn us of the danger of ignorance in this futuristic dystopia. This again is reflective of the Nazi book burnings and the idea of people leaving behind knowledge and becoming ‘blissfully’ ignorant of the past. In Fahrenheit 451 the fireman's responsibility is to destroy knowledge and promote ignorance in order to ensure equality. Ignorance, however, promotes suicide, poor decisions, and empty lives. When Beatty discovers Montag's hidden collection of books, he explains that all firemen become curious of books, and may have time to explore them for a short time before disposing of them. He then tells Montag about the state of the world: people are made

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

Of all literary works regarding dystopian societies, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is perhaps one of the most bluntly shocking, insightful, and relatable of them. Set in a United States of the future, this novel contains a government that has banned books and a society that constantly watches television. However, Guy Montag, a fireman (one who burns books as opposed to actually putting out fires) discovers books and a spark of desire for knowledge is ignited within him. Unfortunately his boss, the belligerent Captain Beatty, catches on to his newfound thirst for literature. A man of great duplicity, Beatty sets up Montag to ultimately have his home destroyed and to be expulsed from the city. On the other hand, Beatty is a much rounder

Fahrenheit 451 is a book that surrounds a fireman named Guy Montag and his revelations of the world he lives in. He becomes aware of the horrible things that occur around him and begins to notice them more. As a fireman; which is a person that burns books in their world; Montag is faced with several choices to make. Finally, he decides to take action as he reaches out to a man called Professor Faber and they develop a plan to curve the course their world is taking. However, throughout the book, several surprising dilemmas occur with other characters of the book like Mildred Montag (Guy Montag’s depressed wife) and Captain Beatty (chief of the fire department) that help steer Montag into the choices he makes.

In the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, there are many different characters and each one plays a different role. One of the main characters, Guy Montag, is a fireman who takes pride in his work and enjoys burning books as a part of his job. His outlook about burning books changes after he meets Clarisse McClellan and Professor Faber. It’s very interesting how Montag’s way of thinking transforms overtime. He becomes very courageous about hiding books and is also curious about reading them. Throughout the novel his actions, ideas, and his feelings change as he starts to think for himself.

The book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a science fiction novel placed in the future. The plot of the story is about a firefighter named Montag in a futuristic city where firefighters start fires instead of extinguishing them. He starts to read books although it is illegal and realizes many truths in the society. Montag kills his fire chief and meets intellectuals by the railroads. They watch as the city is destroyed and go back to rebuild society. Beatty is Montag’s fire chief and boss. He is invested in getting rid of books, although he himself reads. Faber is a former english professor who maintains a low profile and also reads books. He helps Montag understand them. In Fahrenheit 451

In Fahrenheit 451, the citizens are filled with irrelevant information just so they wouldn’t have to think on their own, and possibly offend other people with their thoughts and the government is intolerant, or not tolerant of views and/or beliefs of people. When Captain Beatty is speaking to Montag as his house, he talks

Everyone has met a person who inspires them by always making seemingly effortless decisions that make the world a better place. On the other hand, there will always be people who make poor choices that negatively impact others, without knowing they are hurting people. For example, in Fahrenheit 451 Captain Beatty appears to be mean-spirited, but has fundamental morals; on the other hand, Clarisse represents purity and happiness. Although they seem like polar opposites, they were both born capable of single handedly destroying or saving the world, just as everyone is. When children are still new to the earth, they haven't been exposed to the many beautiful, but also the heart-breaking aspects of the world. At this point of their life, they haven't been influenced by others and are able to think without other people's views filling up their minds (and not leaving space for original ideas). Humans are born as a completely blank slate that can be carved in a good or an evil way depending on the events and people who

We let the firemen keep the book twenty-four hours.’” replies Beatty when Montag asks what happens if a fireman takes a book home (pg. 62). This makes Beatty not normal because he is allowing someone to read a book, which is against the law, with his knowing. Going against the law like this and him understanding why they would have wanted to read a book, sets Beatty apart from all the others in the society of Fahrenheit 451. Nobody is supposed to read or have possession of books.

Character Sketches In Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, the supporting character in the novel, Keiko Okabe, divulges to the reader that she is truly a profound American and steadfast friend to anyone. Throughout the novel Keiko is struggling with the fact that some civilians do not believe she is a true American because her ethnical background proves her family is from Japan. Even though people made fun of her for being Japanese, she strives to be accepted as an American. This is indicated in the scene at the Black Elks Club where Japanese adults were arrested, and Keiko tells Henry, “‘That’s fine be who you are,’ she said, turning away, a look of disappointment in her eyes.

Now on both of their behalves they really did not have the same view into the dystopian society. Montag believed it was wrong to burn books, and Mildred did not care about nothing including Montag and them books. “It is easy to read the women in Fahrenheit 451 as stock, one-dimensional characters, set up only to illustrate the opposite poles between which Montag struggles.” Montag does not realize he struggles to see the differences in him and women. “Although Montag has not yet recognized the problem with this reduction of happiness to a step below hedonism, a kind of vicarious hedonism, in which even sensation is often artificially provided, Beatty seems aware of it." Beatty realizes something different before Montag has the chance to. “Before Montag can begin to recognize his connection to others and to his inhuman society, however, he needs to reconnect with himself, reestablish his relationship with the world.”

In Terry Heller’s essay, “Fahrenheit 451” he analyzes Ray Bradbury’s 1953 book, Fahrenheit 451. Heller discusses and examines the three major parts of the book separately and then he connects them. He also discusses the culture in which the story is based in and how that affects the protagonist, Montag, and the other characters. He discusses Faber, Clarisse, Mildred, and Beatty and how they affect Montag. Heller analyzes how Clarisse opened Montag’s mind to the wisdom in books and how Montag unconsciously began hiding books inside his house.

Captain Beatty’s character is one of intriguing qualities of which one of them can be his candid way of discussing how the social order that exists in Fahrenheit 451 is organized. In this particular section of the book, Montag had been clearly influenced to a certain degree by his interactions with Clarisse McClellan and was being confronted by Beatty about these obvious changes. Beatty is an important source for gathering insightful information concerning the reasoning behind certain aspects of this dystopian society; in this case, he is discussing education. Captain

The idea of a dystopia is reinforced through the presence of a "Grand Inquisitor" figure in Captain Beatty. A “Grand Inquisitor” figure is a character who confronts the protagonist about the values he is learning to support, claiming that freedom is something no one really wants and that people would rather relinquish control of their lives to higher authorities via rules and laws to ensure their own safety and happiness. There is always some indication he has experienced things forbidden in the general community; nevertheless, he tries to convince the main character that the society has the right idea, despite leaving a vague sense he actually likes what is forbidden. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury uses Captain Beatty as a "Grand Inquisitor" figure for Montag, showing his support for the regime with information the protagonist is supposed to take to heart (Patai 43-44). In the novel, Beatty pays Montag a visit as he starts to believe that the actions of the firemen are not ultimately right. Beatty tells Montag that people do not really like freedom, then undermines some of his thoughts in the hopes of getting him to come back into the fold, even going so far as to admit he has read some books, too, but understands why they should be banned. When, later, Montag does return to