Captain Beatty Character Analysis in Fahrenheit 451 Essay Example

📌Category: Books, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, Writers
📌Words: 1113
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 22 April 2022

The novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a dystopian society where they banned books because people don’t want to feel anything, because of the chaos that reading could foment. However, Guy Montag, a fireman in this story, can’t see the harm in books and free thinking. Captain Beatty, leader of the firemen, thinks books are only harmful to society and will destroy the happiness the society has created. Faber, an old yet wise man and the foil of Beatty, keeps books as an outcast and coward, drowning out the society but too scared to change it. Beatty uses his knowledge of the society to try and manipulate Montag into staying silent and keeping things the same which sparks confusion and anger in Montag, whilst Faber gives Montag the confidence to resist society and attempt to change the way they see books by providing him knowledge. 

Beatty is the fire chief, which means his job is to burn books. He believes that books cause confusion and conflict. Beatty strikes fear into Montag when Montag discovers that Beatty is visiting his house, he “did not move, but stood looking into the cold whiteness of the wall immediately before him.” Montag had taken a day off work because of his distraught after burning a woman with her books. Beatty walks into Montag’s house “with his hands in his pocket” and “sat in the most comfortable chair.” (50.) Beatty walks in, his appearance projecting a calm, relaxed and menacing manner.  Beatty is not only unimaginative but unwilling to reflect on things. “More sports for everyone, group spirit, fun, and you don't have to think, eh?” (54). Beatty is stating that by more entertainment and sports people have less time to think and ask too many why questions because “you ask Why to a lot of things and you wind very unhappy indeed, if you keep at it.” (58.) He seems to find contentment in his state of emptiness and believes they “stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought.” Beatty also uses pressure to try to trick Montag into thinking that their society is perfect and tells him that their happiness is dependent upon him by telling him not to “let the torrent of melancholy and drear philosophy drown our world.” (59). Manipulating Montag further he says, “We depend on you. I don’t think you realize how important you are, we are, to our happy world as it stands now.” (59). Beatty is attempting to convince Montag not to read by making him feel important to the society and putting the weight on him, leaving Montag feeling “as if the house were collapsing about him and he could not move, in the bed.” (59.)

However, Faber helps Montag find the confidence to resist the society  rather than intimidate him out of it. Montag goes to Faber, for help against Beatty and the society, who lives away from the society drowning it out in fear but refuses to do anything to change it because Faber is “the only one I [Montag] knew might help me [him].” (77.) Faber feels less afraid knowing Montag’s reading a book and is interested in learning about them than burning them. He shows Montag that books are worth reading and Montag realizes that they [the society] “have everything we need to be happy but we aren’t happy.” (78.)  People don’t want to think about details, they want to be comfortable. Books don’t provide comfortability the way the parlor walls do. “It tells you what to think and blasts it in. It must be, right. It seems so right” (80.) The parlor walls don’t require thinking and that keeps the society thinking that they’re happy but because Montag has read, he knows that they aren’t truly happy so he turns to books. “That’s the good part of dying when you’ve nothing to lose, you run any risk you want.” (81) Montag is plotting a way to rebel against the society even after Faber informs Montag that anything with the books is incredibly risky. Faber is scared of death and the punishment of owning books while Montag is unafraid of either. “This afternoon I thought that if it turned out books were worthwhile, we might get a press and print some extra copies-” Faber has given Montag the confidence to openly resist the society. This leads to Montag plotting to plant books and become an infiltrator by “Plant[ing] the books, turn in an alarm, and see the firemen’s houses burn, is that what you mean?” (82.).  Beatty manipulates Montag so he asks Faber if he has anything to avoid it happening. “Can you help me in any way tonight, with the Fire Captain? I need an umbrella to keep off the rain. I’m so damned afraid I’ll drown if he gets me again.” When Faber sends Montag in to plant the books and follow through with the plan, avoiding Beatty’s manipulation, he sends him with an earpiece. Montag is aware that Beatty can easily talk him out of their plan if he listens, meaning he’s ready to stand up against Beatty.

When Montag returns, ready to go there with their plan, Beatty tells him to go and burn his house, telling him "when you're quite finished," said Beatty behind him. "You're under arrest."  (111.) While Beatty is taunting Montag, he discovers that Faber is talking to Montag using an earpiece and threatens to track it back to Faber. Montag cried out “No!” and “twitched the safety catch on the flame-thrower.” (112.) Beatty is then killed by Montag, causing Montag to realize that Beatty wanted to die. “He had just stood there, not really trying to save himself, just stood there, joking, needling...” (116.) This realization causes Montag to cry because Beatty had taunted him and poked at him knowing he was armed. Montag picks himself up to return to Faber’s while he’s crying, telling himself “Come on, get up, get up, you just can't sit!” (116.) When he arrives at Faber’s, he tells Faber to avoid being traced by the Hound by burning the “spread of the bed… the chair in the living room...Wipe down the furniture with alcohol… turn on your lawn sprinklers as high as they'll go…” (129.) Montag explains that this should kill the trail and scent of him near and in Faber’s house, retrieving Faber’s old clothes and whiskey to keep the scent consistent. With Faber’s help, he has the bravery to keep up the plan and escape from the city. After he leaves the city, he lies in a river, with time to finally think, and begins to realize “So if he burned things with the firemen and the sun burned Time, that meant that everything burned. One of them had to stop burning. The sun wouldn’t certainly. so it looked as if it had to be Montag.” Faber has helped Montag realize that burning books is causing more harm than healing. As a result of Beatty’s death and Faber’s help, Montag was given the ability to break free from the society and realize fire can be used for life rather than to burn it.

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