Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Why would Captain Beatty want to kill himself?why would he provoke montage when he had a flamethrower?

In Fahrenheit 451, suicide is common.  This is revealed by the nonchalance with which the technicians treat Millie after her overdose.  It is not surprising that Beatty would just as soon die as remain alive.


Today, we call what Beatty does "Suicide by cop."  Beatty commits suicide by firemen.


To know why Beatty commits suicide all you have to do is look at the society in which he lives.  Beatty is intelligent--he's too intelligent not to know that his existence is lacking. 


Ironically, Beatty allows himself to be killed for the same reason Montag begins reading books--his existence sucks.   


The world they live in is mindless, superficial, unemotional, unenlightening, unfulfilling. 


The real question is:  why would anyone want to live?  

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