Response To Fahrenheit 451

The reason Beatty hasn’t been punished is because he is the Captain of the Firemen. If the captain is punished then “the fireman structure itself could be burnt.” (pg.85) People would be wondering why it’s okay for firemen to read a book and not them. That’s why such information is hidden from people. “I’ve had to read a few in my time, to know what I was about, and the books say nothing! Nothing you can teach or believe.”(pg.62) With this quote Beatty most likely hints that books confuse him making him not like them. There was nothing there for him to teach or believe maybe this is why he doesn’t like books. “What do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy…” (pg.59) This passage can explain why people removed books. Some books made them unhappy so they removed them. “Someone’s written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book.”(pg.59) This citation justifies my idea as to why books were removed. If a book made someone unhappy it was removed thus keeping everyone happy.