Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Even though Beatty is a intelligent character, he lacks the enthusiasm and will of creating a change in his society. Instead of using

Suprisingly, he knows a lot about books. He spends a lot of time quoting from books. Montag and Beatty are foil characters because of their different views as well. He manipulates Montag into going against what he wants to believe in. However, at the same time, makes Montag want more knowledge. Beatty says to Montag, “Each man, the image of every other, then all are happy.” (58). This quote is saying all people need to be made equal. This is a contrast between Montag and Beatty because Montag becomes free and realizes all people should have their own minds. This a strong point tthat describes the differences between Montag and Beatty. Beatty and Montag are both very knowledgeable, but all in all, they have different views that leave one satisfied and the other in

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

“It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 3). Towards the beginning of the novel it is noticeable that fire is praised by the protagonist and those who choose to conform to society’s rules. In this quote in particular, fire is being used as a tool against literature.

Another influencing character is Beatty, his boss and chief of police who is very knowledgeable. He finds out that Montag has books in his possession and that is when the start of the climax. Beatty is an

Beatty disliked books. In the book Beatty says”Well, Montag, take my word for it, I’ve read a few in my time, to know what I was about, and books say nothing!” This proves he thinks they are worthless and meaningless. Beatty also says in the book,"What traitors books can be! You think they’re backing you up, and then they turn on you. Others can use them, too, and there you are, lost in the middle of the moor, in a great welter of nouns and verbs and adjectives."

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

He takes a lot pride in his hard work with the local fire department. He was not a happy person, he was unhappy with his marriage A third-generation fireman, in the book Montag is stereotypical , with his black hair, black brows, fiery face, and blue-steel shaved but unshaved look. He all of a sudden realizes the vacancy in his life. One thing he wishes he could change in his life was not having a closer relationship with his own wife.

Clarisse is a curious girl about her environment, how the earth has evolved, and the past. She rubs off on Montag, which could lead to a dramatic change in his life.

Throughout the book, there are people who have tried to dissuade Montag from breaking the rules. A few of these people include Captain Beatty, Stoneman, and Black. Captain Beatty used his own knowledge of books and

Before Captain Beatty was killed, he was taunting Montag while Montag was holding a flamethrower, but did not have anything to defend himself with. Beatty knew Montag would kill him if he kept taunting Montag, so he kept on until it finally happened. Throughout the novel, Beatty seemed to be the bad guy who represented the evil side of society, but this reveals otherwise. Montag was doing what Beatty could not by defying society’s law against books. When Montag burned his own house down, that seemed to put Captain Beatty over the edge and accept the fact that Beatty was a coward who executed actions that he did not agree with. An additional important character in the novel is Professor Faber. Faber serves as a mentor to Montag in the book. He does not agree with the established rules of society, yet never personally takes action throughout the book. He describes this lifestyle in a conversation with Montag: “I’m one of the innocents who could have spoken up and out when no one would listen to the ‘guilty,’ but I did not speak and thus became guilty myself” (Bradbury 78). Faber looks back with regret on his earlier life when the ban on books began. He did not want to take action due to the fear that persecution would fall upon himself. Those experiences are what make Faber a good mentor to Montag; Faber has learned from them and is glad that Montag is not scared to do what Faber could not.

Montag loves his job! The first words of the chapter say that it was a “pleasure to burn.” He loved to see things “eaten” and to see

Although it was illegal to have books, Beatty quotes books throughout the story. It is believed that he has read all the prohibited books. Montag tells Beatty that he believes books contain value and Beatty tries to convince Montag that books contain nothing but contradictions, even though he has read more books than most. “What traitorous books can be! You think they are backing you up and they turn on you. Others can use them too and there you are lost in the middle, in a great wealth of nouns, verbs, and adjectives.”

In the beginning Beatty was very close with Guy Montag but then backstabbed him by burning his house and willing to take Montag to jail. By example in the novel Fahrenheit 451 it shows that Guy Montag got caught having books in the house, but if Beatty was a good friend to Montag he could have warned him and let him know that this man knows that Montag owns books in the house and has to get rid of them instead of making him burn the house and wanting to arrest Montag. Beatty says “ ‘When you’re quite finished’ ” said Beatty behind him. ‘You’re under arrest’ ” (Bradbury 111) which proves that Beatty is only loyal to himself, and him going to check up on Montag and telling him they are brothers was a lie.

In the movie he kills Montag and in the book Montag kills him. The reason Beatty is depressed is because he can’t express himself in this dystopian world. He is a pawn in the government’s game to keep all the people dumb so they are easily controlled. In the movie in the book he makes many references to literature. “Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun now he got his damn wings burnt.”