Captain Beatty has not been punished because he is the captain responsible for keeping the other firemen on their feet so they won't question. Throughout the book he quotes lines from famous books and then tells the men that it's useless. He does this to show his authority and so that the men look up to him without question. Beatty tells the firemen that books are depressing which is why they must burn them to keep society "happy". When one of them does question, Beatty goes to Montag's house and goes on and on about why books should be burned, again showing his authority and intelligence so that Montag accepts his views towards books. Beatty must know books to explain their "unimportance" and "wickedness" to the men. If it weren't for him, the men would go off and read books and the society would be "chaotic". We don't want that now, do we?
We aren't sure, but Beatty may not be so contemt with the books. It could be his job that causes him to speak about books that way. It is argued that his death was suicide when he kept urging Montag to kill him by saying, "You won't really do it. Put the gun down," or something along those lines. Perhaps he was as unhappy as Montag and he was sick and tired of the whole thing. Perhaps he knew Montag had the courage to kill him, and that was really what he wanted rather than living the rest of his life unhappy and criticizing books.
He used to read a lot of books.
Captain Beatty uses logic and quotes from well-known books to cause Montag to doubt himself. It is fitting because Montag but all his trust in books for truth and Beatty uses it against him. Hope this helps...
Captain Beatty quotes books on pages 56, 57, and 58 in "Fahrenheit 451." This occurs during his confrontation with Montag, where he recites passages from various works to illustrate his points about the dangers of books and ideas.
He was the chief fire officer, but he was also extremely well informed about books.
Captain Beatty basically tells Montag to stop being curious and get back to doing his job. Beatty says that every fireman is curious at one time or another but that Montag shouldn't throw his life away to be satisfied.
Captain Beatty is the primary antagonist in "Fahrenheit the sieve and the sand." As the fire chief, he enforces the ban on books and intellectual freedom in the dystopian society of the novel. Beatty represents the oppressive government that oppresses free thought and individuality.
Captain Beatty hints to Montag that he knows about his secret stash of books by subtly referencing specific titles during their conversations. Beatty mentions classics like "Romeo and Juliet," "Julius Caesar," and "David Copperfield," which could indicate his awareness of Montag's illegal activities.
Montag is worried about Captain Beatty finding the books hidden in his house. He fears that Beatty will discover his secret obsession with reading and knowledge, which goes against the society's strict anti-book laws that Beatty upholds as Fire Chief.
Beatty thinks that there is no use for the books. He had just lost his wife and was going through tough troubles dealing with it. He turned to the books, but they were empty to him. He didn't find anything usefull so he wanted to burn them all.
Captain Beatty's visit to Montag's house was to warn him about the dangers of books and to urge him to return to his normal duties as a fireman. Beatty suspected that Montag was harboring books in secret and wanted to prevent any further disobedience.
Montag was afraid that Captain Beatty would discover his hidden collection of books and his growing disillusionment with the society and government that they were living in. He feared that Beatty might suspect his rebellious thoughts and actions.
Beatty is ironic because he is a fire captain who is well-read and knowledgeable about the books he burns. Despite his knowledge, he chooses to enforce the oppressive laws that ban books, showing a contradiction in his beliefs and actions. This irony is further emphasized when Beatty eventually meets his demise through the very knowledge he once possessed.