In “Fahrenheit 451,” what is the name of the protagonist’s fire captain? His captain is Beatty.
Captain Beatty is Guy Montag’s superior at the firehouse in Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel. In Montag’s society, firemen no longer extinguish accidental fires; they burn books, which the government and much of the public associate with disagreement, discomfort, and disruptive ideas. Beatty commands this censorship apparatus and initially appears to be an authoritative defender of the system.
Beatty is more complicated than a simple bureaucrat. He is highly literate and quotes or alludes to books while arguing that books create confusion and unhappiness. His knowledge makes him a particularly effective opponent for Montag, whose growing curiosity leads him to question his profession and the society around him.
The wrong options are characters with different roles. Faber is a former English professor who helps Montag understand literature; Granger leads a group of intellectual refugees; and Montag himself is the protagonist and a fireman, not the captain. Near the novel’s climax, Beatty orders Montag to burn his own house. After Beatty threatens Faber, Montag kills him with a flamethrower and escapes.