Question: What reasons does Beatty give for the current state of society and for books being destroyed?
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In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Captain Beatty is the head of the fire department that burns all books in society, the current state of society could be a result of the burning of books and erasing of literature. Throughout the course of chapter one, specifically near the end, the book teaches us that there are many reasons Beatty gives for the current state of society and for destroying all books. When Montag is going through a midlife crisis nearing the end of the chapter, Beatty ends up stating the original history and purpose of firemen. According to Beatty creativity and literature made society so sensitive to criticism. Beatty then goes to talk about how diverse and vast the society is and how books and literature could upset the different minorities. Beatty states “A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon” (Chapter 1, pg.56). Beatty is saying that a book is full of knowledge, and it could be as harmful and powerful as a loaded gun. Beatty also gives an example of a young and intelligent student in school, if this student makes others in the class feel stupid, weather they do it on purpose or not, it causes sadness and unhappiness. Overall, Beatty gives a lot of incite on the current state of society and the reason for destroying books, but he also tries to convince and guide Montag out of his midlife crisis. Beatty gives many substantial and weak reasons for why they destroy books but does not give an exact explanation for the current state of society. This shows that Beatty doesn’t have an exact reason for the burning of books, but is using books as the reason and problem for everything.
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This is an image of Captain Beatty from the original film Fahrenheit 451 played by Cyril Cusack.