Guven 1

Sara Guven
Mrs. Fittro
9H/4th Pd.
25 August 2016
The Pursuit of Happiness...What Else?
The world needs to burn. I have been a fireman long enough to know things that the
government doesnt want me to know. Yet, no matter how much I want to expose them and fight
their system that is ruining humanity in order to preserve the peoples false, industrial happiness,
I lack the courage to do what I should have done years and years ago. Ever heard the saying if
you cant beat them, join them? Probably not, sayings were outlawed long ago. I hide the weak,
knowledgeable side of me as I do my duties every day, but it is like I have two identities and it is
getting harder to control them. I fight against the tyranny of a solid, intellectual mind to preserve
the peace and happiness of the people of my country. My name is Captain Beatty and I am a
powerful influence, yet weak inside, and my hatred for myself and my society is channeled into
who I see as a better version of myself: Guy Montag.
Anyone who has ever encountered me, whether it be having a polite conversation or in
the midst of burning their house down, knows that I am extremely persuasive and very
intimidating. I even had a dream where Montag tried to convince me that books were important
and I used them to utterly destroy his defense (Bradbury 104). I told Montag about my dream to
prove to him and you that books may seem like they are there to help you and give you
information, but what you do not realize is that books are open to everyone, and anyone can
come along and use the same words to prove you wrong. I showed Montag this by using quotes

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by the same authors that he attacked me with, and I was able to refute his whole argument. In
addition, thanks to my persuasive skills, Montag was so afraid of me that I was able to intimidate
him by walking in the room and having a casual conversation with him (104). Because I told
Montag about my dream, he was somewhat convinced that books really were nothing to fool
with. Also, I scared Montag back into line and proved my authority, diminishing his spark of
rebellion. I was gifted with powerful skills of manipulation, but my greatest weakness is the
knowledge of the truth.
Sometimes, my power gets to my head and I have to remind myself that Im not
invincible, but beneath my shield of authority, I hide the fact that I know more than I should. I
told Montag when I forced him to burn his house, everyone nowadays, knows, absolutely is
certain, that nothing will ever happen to me, (109). What he did not realize is that I was
speaking from personal experience, when my head gets too big and everyone else looks so small.
My position of power at the firehouse only fuels my ego and inflates my passion for justice.
Yet, each time I get in this mindset, the books in my head remind me of how broken our society
is and how deeply unhappy I am (58). Through my knowledge, I know about the pain that exists
in a normal world, and no matter how hard we try to block it by chasing temporary thrills, it has
to be felt. I feel this pain, and when I think about trying to unveil what real life looks like, I
quickly despair and am reminded of how helpless I am and how books will always betray you.
Thus, even though I may feel invincible, books are always there to remind me of how weak I
truly am.
Montag, in a way, is all of my failures come to life; he is brave, I am cowardly, he is
successful where I have failed. Montag was even brave enough to read to his wifes

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intellectually blind friends (96). Because Montag read to them, he somewhat broke through to
their human consciousness and emotions that they did not even know were there and let them
feel with the power of books. This is exactly the opposite of what our leaders want, and why
they have us chase instant thrill: because it requires no feeling but happiness, and all anyone
wants is to be happy. In this, Montag is brave enough to stand up to our rulers and was
successful, where I would have utterly failed and bowed down to the pressures of society. The
effect of Montags accomplishments is that instead of just going through their lives, not valuing
them or caring about death, or anything other than their precious happiness, they actually felt
something. Mrs. Phelps actually started crying because she didnt understand the feeling of pain
and suffering. To have true happiness, one must have felt pain, so no one in our perfect world is
happy, and therefore, my life as a fireman is useless.
Throughout my life and my role in society, I have learned that I am a powerful figure in
my community, but like any human being, I have weaknesses also; and I see Montag as the
personification of them. As I watch my men burn down houses in their vain attempts to destroy
wisdom, I reflect on the fact that humanity has always found a way to move on, and I realize my
life is pointless. I wish Montag would listen when I tell him books are futile, because I know
from personal experience that getting into this fruitless quest to be the new messiah for wisdom
will consume him and strip him of purpose. This is why I have to continue to burn the houses,
burn the books, and if I could, burn that side of myself, before those flames of resistance in turn
burn me. If only there was a way to end this vicious battle of burn or be burned

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Work Cited
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1953. Print.