Three of the characters depicted in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 illustrate the damaging effects of tyrannical governments on their citizens. The first one is Montag’s wife, Mildred, who loses herself in television and never supports her husband. The second character is Faber who was once an English professor and is now living in poor conditions with illegal books. The last person illustrating effects of tyrannical governments is Captain Beatty, a captain of the fire department who has much hatred towards books and those who read.
The point that Ray Bradbury was trying to point out in Fahrenheit 451 is that the entertainment business shapes a lifestyle with too much stimulation. This standard of living can cause people to lose focus and become lazy. This is well exhibited in the character Mildred. All Mildred does is sit in the parlor watching her magnificent wall to wall television and listen to her seashell radio contraption. She uses this as a void from the
One of the most complex characters in Fahrenheit 451 is Captain Beatty. Captain Beatty is a book burner with much knowledge of literature seeing as he quotes many famous quotes from classics such as Julius Caesar while he explains to Montag the evils of books. Beatty is obviously a once-was bookworm and now a book hater; all caused by the government. Perhaps deep down inside of him, Captain Beatty is denying his love for stories; perhaps he takes his anger out on frying books and burning those who oppose him as a denial tool from what he once loved. Or is it because he feels inferior to those with intellect? Either way, the government seems to have affected Captain Beatty psychologically through brainwash and rage.
Another character that was greatly affected by the government was Faber. Faber was once a successful English professor until the government decided books were illegal because certain stories “offended” certain readers. Now he lives in a rundown dwelling in poverty. Aft