Fahrenheit 451: letter to Montag

Mr. Guy Montag,

            It has come to my attention that you have acquired a certain interest in reading the books we burn. I, as the captain of our fire station, feel the responsibility to address this issue on behalf of our station.

            Always remember that you are ultimately saving the people of our country from the poison that books contain. You should consider yourself very privileged to be able to follow in the footsteps of your grandfather and father, as the job of a fireman is one of the most important jobs to protect our nation.

            Throughout my career, I have seen many firemen in your position, who are influenced by the great temptress: reading. All firemen go through this at one time or another. I want to remind you why we burn books. At one point, there was a book that appealed to everyone. Then technology became much more advanced, creating movies, computers and the radio. At the same time, the content of the advancements got simpler. Everything lowered its standards to become the new normal, so that everyone could understand and be considered “equal”. After this, the technology got better while books, with so much conflicting information, got shortened. Gradually people stopped wanting to read them, instead opting for the simpler options like watching wall-to-wall television. It became a fireman’s job to restore the peace that books disturb. There are so many minorities in this country that it is impossible to keep them all happy with the content of a book. We are in charge of incinerating and eliminating these materials so that the people of our country may live peacefully, without feeling uneasy and unequal.

            I hope that you will start to feel well enough to return to the station soon, and get back to normal. You are an important part of our station, and we depend on you.

Sincerely,

Captain Beatty