Beatty and Mildred in Fahrenheit 451 Essay

Beatty and Mildred: Alike or Different?

Everyone is different from each other. In the book Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, Captain Beatty and Mildred have many differences but are still similar. Beatty was once educated and Mildred was never educated. Both of them suppress something they do not want other people to know. Beatty and Mildred may seem like they are similar but they are different on many levels.

Beatty may look and act like a normal person but he is a completely different person on the inside. Beatty shows some of his intelligence when he talks to Montag about what he knows: Swahili, Indian, English Lit., I speak them all. A kind of excellent dumb discourse, Willie (Bradbury 107). Beatty reveals that he was once educated and he is not afraid to use his knowledge to challenge someone. To hide his intelligence, Beatty acts like an uneducated normal person. Beatty cares about people even though he comes off as a tough guy. Montag did not get Beattys hint about the books until Beatty said Didnt I hint enough when I sent the Hound around your place (Bradbury 113). He wanted Montag to take his hint and get rid of the books, so they would not have to burn Montags house. By hinting to Montag, Beatty was trying to give Montag a second chance to go back to his old life. Even though Beatty was a high ranking fireman he was not happy. After killing Beatty, Montag thought Beatty wanted to die. He had just stood there, joking, needling (Bradbury 122). Fed up with trying to suppress his knowledge all the time, Beatty pushed Montag to the point of killing. The reason behind Beatty pushing Montag to kill was, Beatty was tired of trying to be a normal person. Unlike Beatty, Mildred is what she appears to be.

In contrast to Beatty, Mildred is not willing to think about things. After being read a passage of poetry, Mildred says What does it mean? It doesnt mean anything! The Captain was right (Bradbury 68). By saying this, Mildred reveals that she was never educated. She reacts to the book like it is a threat to her; so she automatically does not like it. Even though Mildred is married she does not care about anyone. She races past Montag mumbling to herself Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything, everything gone now (Bradbury 114). After calling an alert on Montag, Mildred pays no attention to him as she runs out of the house. Mildred only cared about her parlor and the material things in her life; she did not even care what was going to happen to Montag once she turned him in. Mildred seems happy and entertained with the parlor, yet she tries to commit suicide. After trying to kill herself, Mildred shrugs it off like nothing: What? Did we have a wild party or something? Feel like Ive a hangover. God, Im hungry. Who was here (Bradbury 19). Montag tried to tell Mildred she overdosed on sleeping pills but she denied it and said it was a hangover. Mildred wants to appear like a normal happy person, so she denies her feelings and takes sleeping pills to help her get away from her feelings. Beatty and Mildred may seem alike, on the contrary, they are different.

Beatty and Mildred have some things in common, however they have more differences. Yet both of them have different feelings about Montag; neither of them wanted Montag to keep the books. They both respect the government: Beatty works as a fireman and Mildred obeys the rules. They wanted to keep things normal: Beatty tried to warn Montag about the books and Mildred tried to be her ordinary self after she overdosed on sleeping pills. People may seem similar but can be complete opposites.