Fahrenheit 451

Captain Beatty is the chief of the firehouse where Montag works. He’s of indeterminate age but is likely to be some years older than Montag. Beatty is the novel’s primary antagonist, and he’s a devious character who is a staunch defender of the fireman system. His nature is paradoxical. On one hand, he is well-educated and able to quote from literary classics at will, but on the other, he also loves to burn books and point out their supposed hypocrisy. He is a skilled orator and uses his ability with words to try and force Montag to doubt himself.

Beatty considers himself a liberator rather than an oppressor and believes that by banning books, the government has created a fairer society where people are happy. Beatty’s perceived happiness and unyielding belief in his work are called into question after his violent death, which he may have facilitated as an escape from his paradoxical life.

Mildred is Montag’s wife. She is the same age as her husband and spends her days at home in front of the parlor walls. She’s a pale and waif-like figure who symbolizes a society that values artifice over anything meaningful. Mildred is shallow and unhappy, evidenced by her implied suicide attempt and sleeping pill addiction. She’s unable to articulate her feelings and is reliant on technology, “her family,” as an escape from the drudgery of her everyday life. Her decision to report Montag to the police for hoarding books shows that she can be extremely callous and expects to get her way. Montag pictures Mildred’s death at the end of the novel as the bombs hit the city. He imagines it to be an almost cathartic moment for her, as she finally realizes how worthless her life has been.

Professor Faber is a retired English teacher who lost his job at an art college more than forty years ago due to low enrollment. He is timid in appearance but passionate about literature. Like Beatty, he’s knowledgeable on the subject, although Faber believes books to be a force for good. He’s suspicious of others and does not trust Montag to begin with, quickly hanging up the phone during their initial conversation. Faber admits to being a coward and is initially hesitant to involve himself in Montag’s plan. He makes up for his lack of courage by becoming Montag’s second mentor and uses his modified seashell radio to help Montag explore his growing sense of awareness during his journey. Faber’s fate is not clear, but Montag suspects he perished during the attack on the city.

Granger is the leader of the “Book People,” a disparate band of homeless intellectuals living on the margins of society that Montag encounters after escaping the city. Most of them are wanted men, though the state has little interest in hunting them down. Granger is Montag’s third and final mentor. He’s a patient and thoughtful man, who’s more than happy to take Montag under his wing and teach him the memorization technique his network has perfected over many years. If Faber and Clarisse represent the “planting of the seed,” so to speak, then Granger represents “the flowering” of Montag’s new knowledge, which he’s now able to put to good use. Granger has a cautious optimism and believes that eventually, people will once again want to read books.

Clarisse is Montag’s 17-year-old neighbor. Her face is “fragile milk crystal” (6), and she has an angelic quality about her that draws Montag in during their first encounter near his home. Although they grow close, their brief relationship never borders on the romantic, with Clarisse framed as the daughter Montag has never had—something that Clarisse alludes to during one of their exchanges. She’s a curious free spirit who takes an interest in other people and prefers to spend her time surrounded by nature rather than technology. Clarisse appears to be older than her years and possesses a level of self-awareness that goes far beyond Montag’s. She’s happy to spend her time “shaking a walnut tree” (19) and “knitting a blue sweater” (19) without worrying about what others think. Clarisse is Montag’s first mentor, and she encourages him to view the world differently. Her influence remains with Montag long after her tragic death.