Fahrenheit 451 Captain Beatty Comparison

In order to stand up for their beliefs, characters Guy Montag and Captain Beatty, despite their similarities, follow extremely different paths, leading them to opposing resulting situations. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses book-hating, manipulative Beatty as a foil to the soul-searching, curious protagonist, Montag, to highlight the power struggle between them, and the internal struggles and consequences one faces when intrigued by books in a dystopian, technology-based society like theirs. The issue of dominance between Montag and Beatty existed throughout almost the entirety of the novel. Lacking in power, Montag was expected to obey his boss, Beatty, which presented itself as a significant issue as the plot progressed.

Throughout Montag’s self-realization journey, he began to recognize the flaws of his technology-driven society, and felt the need to repair the shattered ideals of a ethically stable civilization. As he burrowed himself deeper into his craving for knowledge, he not only realized the brokenness of the world around him, but even the brokenness of his relationship with his own wife. The more extroverted he became, the more he saw how devastating both Mildred’s mental and social states are. When Montag confronted her with his concerns, asking “does your ‘family’ love you...love you with all their heart and soul[?]” she disregards him completely and shifts to a different subject (73). Through books, even with his newly acquired trauma, Montag finally discovers himself and continues his journey as foreshadowed and shown at the end of the novel. Beatty, on the other hand, had a drastically different experience with books. As Montag’s story was told, Beatty’s past was revealed alongside. With context clues, the reader could decipher Beatty’s troubled story. It’s obvious that Beatty had read books by his tendency to quote literature, especially when he had been angry at Montag. Beatty could also identify that Montag possessed and had been reading books, and even warned Montag about the negative effects, hinting at complications with his own personal experience with books. Beatty’s negative life experiences led him to a depressing life dedicated to destroying books, and eventually led him to his willing demise. Although their situations are extremely contradictory, both characters were subjected to strong life changes because of their interest in