Swimmin against the current

We take advantage of books. The knowledge and entertainment that we receive from them, it's like we expect it; but after reading Fahrenheit 451, reading books feels like a privilege.

Montag's foil seemed to have the biggest impression on me.
Captain Beatty.
Why does he hate books?
I don't think he does, I just think he's too much of a coward to admit that he knows books are useful and can be used for good. When he came to talk to Montag when he was "sick", he expresses a clear understanding of the essence of his job as a fireman. But after the conversation I was left with a feeling the Beatty didn't completely support his cause. In the fire station Beatty recited numerous quotes from books, he obviously had read them. He was just too brainwashed into believing what he was doing was right that he wasn't able to distinguish his true personal opinions from the ones he was told to believe, much like Montag at the beginning of the novel.

I think there is a little bit of Captain Beatty or Montag in all of us. The world tells us things are right, the ways things should be done- and we just learn to accept it. And if we ever begin to challenge those ways, things get shaken up. Our personal character shines through in those situations- if we are like Captain Beatty we continue with the worldly ways, because it's easier not to question them. But if we're like Montag then we swim against the current, to achieve a better understanding of the world and maybe begin living our lives a different way.

When Montag kills Beatty, it's like he's burning (literally) away the possibility of being conformed to his old ways of hating books, because Beatty had the most influence on him in the fire department.

Many ideas in the book parallel to our modern world. Walls were replaced by televisions in the novel, much like people invest in ginormous flat screens today. The "seashells" remind me of blue tooth sets/ headphones. Bradbury mentioned faster speed limits, and today the speed limits have increased significantly since the time period this book was written.

The thing that really intrigued me was that entire idea behind burning the books is to achieve a universal happiness.
Where is it?
The wall watching seashell listeners have a superficial type of happiness. But Clarisse who ignores the rules, challenges things, has "different" views, and reads books has the internal kind. She doesn't let anybody else dictate her lifestyle, and that's why she's happy.