Fahrenheit 451: Captain Beatty

In my opinion Captain Beatty was an awesome antagonist to Montag. At first it seems like he is a real mentor and friend to Montag, but when he tries to convince Montag of the evils of books and he is roasted alive by him it was a fitting end to him. A man who once loved books, but after he was deluded into thinking they all contradicted each other he devoted his life to hunting down the books and those who hoarded and protected them. Captain Beatty seems to play the role of the voice in the back of Montag's head telling him to keep calm and that everything will be alright. He's like the little devil from cartoons telling the character to do the evil thing, with Clarisse on the other shoulder dressed like an angel. Beatty also seems to act as a foil to Faber. Another quality of Beatty is his seeming ability to be able to play off of Montag's thoughts so well. A truly devious and somewhat ironic quality is how Beatty uses his books to manipulate Montag so well. His devious and perceptive nature really make him just shine as a villain, and it would have been hard pressed for Bradbury to write a better villain then Beatty. In the end as well when he doesn't attempt at all to prevent his death at the hands of the fire that Montag started is a sign that he may be fed up with his life despite comments where he may state otherwise. It seems that he just like all the other citizens in Fahrenheit world are truly unhappy with their lives despite seeming to be happy and content with their dull and meaningless existence. These are some of the reason why I think that Beatty is an excellent and diabolical villain who in my opinion deserves a top spot in the list of best villains in literature. I'm surprised that he isn't given more credit as excellent as an antagonist he is.