Librember

"I hope I've clarified things. The important thing for you to remember, Montag, is we're the Happiness Boys, the Dixie Duo, you and I and the others. We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought. We have our fingers in the dike. Hold steady. Don't let the torrent of melancholy and drear philosophy drown our world. We depend on you. I don't think you realize how important you are, to our happy world as it stands now."


- Beatty

       How does one deal with a world where it seems as though the government is against them? Well in all actuality most people would conform to the government's wants and needs in order to survive and try to fit the ideal citizen's role. That is exactly what occurs in the dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, where books are illegal for citizens to own. Why books? Why the restriction? I would feel completely awed at such crazy activity as to burn books because they are illegal. As Beatty is the figurehead that represents the dystopian society in the book, you can tell how he is trying to brainwash the main character Guy, that he is a part of something greater. Beatty, an advocate of the government tries to confuse Guy into thinking that books "make people unhappy with conflicting theory and thought." I personally think that Beatty is afraid of competition, since throughout the book he seems to have such knowledge about books, that the thought of somebody else knowing the power that books can bring scares him. Therefore, Beatty is trying to eliminate the competition. 

       Bradbury uses many techniques to highlight the point that he is trying to bring out about censorship and knowledge. For one, he develops many characters such as Beatty throughout the book to foil Guy. In this way he shows the contrast of certain characters to let the reader find out who Guy really is. Though the work as a whole makes me understand that humans are so caught up in trying to be "perfect" that they will abide to any rule sometimes to make them seem so. This quote is a perfect example of how the work is trying to manipulate citizen's minds. Don't read books because they're confusing and are thought provoking, just go on thinking that you know everything and that everything is okay. In reality that is what makes being human so perfect is that we're imperfect. 

      Although I maintain that I don't enjoy reading books as much as any other person, they are a very essential part to the way we live life today. Never will I underestimate the power of a book especially after reading a novel such as this.