Similarities Between Fahrenheit 451 And Captain Beatty

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

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

Captain Beatty is a very persuading man, and is down right serious to most people, But he has a soft side. He shows compassion towards people though he can be serious and sometimes mean. Beatty says, “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 (Bradbury 238)”. Beatty shows compassion and mood towards the audience; He says what books truly are. This is showing a better understanding of how Captain Beatty feels towards books, and how “nouns, verbs, and adjectives” affect people and

Societies influence on citizens affects their actions, not how they perceive the world. Beatty believes that the way of society is how it should be; citizens perceive him as an authority figure that is content in the way society functions. Beatty and Faber are similar in the sense that; they are both well read, perceive society in different ways and both teach Montag using different techniques. First, Beatty is proven to be well read because he quotes many authors, but also shares his opinion that books are contradictory; “What traitors books can be! you think they’re backing you up, and they turn on you.” (97). This quotation demonstrates Beatty’s opinion of books; he believes that what is written in books contradicts itself and leaves

Although Beatty’s cruel, insidious personality makes him the quintessence of a villain, his hypocritical words and actions make him much more perplexing. Throughout the novel, Beatty proves to be a well-read person, although he adamantly opposes books. For example, when the old woman stays inside of her burning house just to be with her books, she shouts out “Play the man, Master Ridley!” (40), originally said by a man condemned to being burned at the stake for heresy in 1555. Beatty understood this quote to the extent that he knew who originally said it and even the date it was said, although he simply explained “I’m full of bits and pieces . . . most firemen have to be” (40). Later in the novel, Beatty uses his knowledge of literature to confuse Montag in attempts to dissuade him from books. Beatty perverts the original texts and quotes several literary works and authors to confuse Montag and at one point arrogantly states that he is “using the very books you clung to, to rebut you on every hand, on every point! You think they’re backing you up, and

Knowledge is power. Granger and Faber do not need authority to feel empowered, their knowledge is enough . Beatty on the other hand, seeks power in ways of authority. He is not willing to surrender power at any cost. Even when Montag points a gun at his face he says, “Go ahead now, you second-hand litterateur, pull the trigger.” (Bradbury 113). He shows no concern that he may or may not get shot within moments. All thinking is done for society. “Hard work” is foreign to them. Montag’s wife Mildred has one job; agree. The very last things she does every night is not kissing her husband, but falling asleep with seashells in her ears. There is no time to decompress, think about the day, or learn from mistakes made. Taking away that crucial time is hurting society enough, but completely eliminating books is absurd. Bradbury fears that American culture will no longer think for themselves and that their brains will never surpass a certain level of knowledge. There is no desire to learn, think out of the box, or create new ideas. In fact, anyone who attempts any of these actions is thought to be a glitch in the system. Beatty says, “Queer ones like her don’t happen often. We know how to nip them in the

Later on, Beatty exclaimed, “...you fumbling snob” (Bradbury 119). Repetition of the word “snob” is used to add to Montag’s negative emotions, the comment getting into Montag’s head. After, Beatty shows Montag that he also read books by quoting from Shakespeare, “‘There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats… they pass me as an idle wind, which I respect not!’” (Bradbury 119). Beatty’s action reveals to Montag that Beatty understood what Montag went through, but doesn’t care. Beatty is boasting that he knows as much, if not more, about books than Montag would ever know, generating the feeling of more anger and foolishness inside Montag. Telling Montag that he is being outwitted and outplayed, Beatty creates disappointment and shifts even closer to his goal. Therefore, he says to Montag “Go ahead now, you second-hand litterateur, pull the trigger” (Bradbury 119). A litterateur is a person who understands literature, but using the words “second-hand” implies that Montag only knows how to read, but doesn’t understand literature, so the phrase builds up Montag’s negative emotions. Beatty also dares Montag to kill him, making Montag feel the urge to commit

A Devil-related/evil presence covered in "thunderheads of tobacco smoke," Captain Beatty is the clever, cruel (person or thing that irritates and fights with someone or something) of the story; he is linked over and over again to fire (which in the end kills him) and to the (unavoidable, already-decided futures) as represented by repeating card games. As leader of a fire company, he hosts a (bad/ harmful/ morally wrong) friendship with the slow corporate or government workerized book burners who follow his orders. (in a way where one thing represents something else), he drives a "yellow-flame-colored hard-shelled insect with black, char-colored tires." Like the Mechanical Hound, he noses out information, such as the pattern of (not being true

“Are you crazy? Fahrenheit 451 should not be banned! This is an astonishing novel, written by the ingenious author, Ray Bradbury. He is the one who wrote the novel with so many beneficial, underlying messages, which happen to be true about our lives and even more so about our society. It offers so much more than what you think”, I disagreed as I interjected the outraged crowd of opinionated individuals, who protested outside of the Wheatfield Public Library. As most in this community can tell, the banning of Fahrenheit 451 has caused a tremendous outbreak within the people, and it has caused for everyone to either choose to encourage the banning of Fahrenheit 451 or to oppose it. As a definite result, I am against the banning of Fahrenheit 451, and it is not just for pity reasons. I am opposing the banning for so much more than that. My first reason to oppose the banning is that so many people think the theme of this book is about rebelling, which this is not the case. Instead, the theme is about having the courage to make a drastic change within yourself and society because you solely believe it is right no matter what the consequences are. Even from the quotes you find within the book, you can tell the progress that Montag makes towards change, and from those quotes are not signs of destruction. It is signs of self-assessment and coming to reality to admit he needs to make the transformation in his life for the better of him and those of his society. From this underlying

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

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.”

You enter a theater. Snuggling into the plush chairs, you watch the heavy curtains slowly lift and pull away. Magic and sparkles appear before you, trapping you in the world of the hidden and unknown. The impossible can happen here, anyone can be anything, with a simple covering of the face. What if I told you that Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, held the same qualities. What if I told you that the characters you think you know are actually completely different people. Beatty seems like the most solid person in the whole book, the most consistent; the least likely to change. But would you believe me if I told you that he changed, causing him to wear the mask that stifled him to death. He actually isn’t the book hating, fire breathing dragon

Beatty can be described as a round, foil character that conforms to the traditions of the society he lives in. It is common knowledge that a round character tends to be complicated and interests reader throughout their part in a fictional story. Throughout the examination of Fahrenheit 451, Beatty has left many readers questioning what has lead to such decisions and how books fit into Beatty’s reasoning. It is easy to tell that Beatty is a conformist and a traditionalist. Evidence of such

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