fireman structure. Montag then begins to tear pages from the Bible, which makes Faber agree to help him. Faber then takes Montag to a small, hidden room in his home, which serves as his workshop. Faber then shows Montag a two-way communication device called the green bullet. Faber then tells Montag,

"I've waited, trembling, half a lifetime for someone to speak to me. I dared speak to no one. That day in the park when we sat together, I knew that some day you might drop by, with fire or friendship, it was hard to guess. I've had this little item ready for months. But I almost let you go, I'm that afraid!" (Bradbury, 43).

Faber's comments reveal the power of fear and its impact on political dissidents in Bradbury's dystopian society. Faber has been forced into hiding and fears that he will be arrested by the police, which is why he is initially reluctant to help Montag.

Fear reigns supreme in societies where control and order are deemed more important than humanity. Fear is the best weapon against free thinking and chaos. If a government can get the populace to live their lives in fear, then they will be managed more efficiently. Governments need people who believe that fear must be used in order to establish the status quo. Then, the execution of swift punishments also help to maintain it. Fear flexes its power and muscle in Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 mostly through Captain Beatty, the burning of people's homes, and the use of mechanical hounds.

To begin with, Captain Beatty represents the fierce philosophy behind censorship in the story. But it's not just censorship that the society is controlling--its people. If people like Beatty can intimidate others by executing harsh punishments, then the society's belief system can be controlled. Montag is highly intimidated by Beatty because he is strong physically and mentally, but also because he is an authority figure for the government, and he represents it well.

Next, the burning of people's homes is over-the-top harsh compared to the "crime" of owning books. This punishment definitely sends the message that that owning and reading books is unwanted. After the books and the home are burned, the citizen is then arrested. The rules of the firemen even seem harsh:

"Rule 1. Answer the alarm swiftly.
        2. Start the fire swiftly.
        3. Burn everything.
        4. Report back to the firehouse immediately.
        5. Stand alert for other alarms" (35).

Such swift execution leaves the firemen no time to stand around talking with neighbors or surveying the destruction for any long periods of time. They arrive, execute and leave with objective resignation. Seeing this would surely strike fear into witnesses.

Finally, anyone who attempts to flee the scene or avoid arrest will be hunted down by the mechanical hound. The  hound represents violent, technological fear void of any emotion as well. The hound can hunt down anyone based on the scent of perspiration. Other than the flaming green eyes and the eight robotic legs, the worst part about the hound is the following:

"a four-inch hollow steel needle plunged down from the proboscis of the Hound to inject massive jolts of morphine or procaine" (25).

Beatty doesn't alleviate the fear of the hound either by saying the following:

"It's a fine bit of craftsmanship, a good rifle that can fetch its own target and guarantees the bull's-eye every time" (27).

Hence, Beatty solidifies fear and represents fear by planting all of his support behind the robot that can inflict a lot of fear and pain itself. Incidentally, all of these fearful elements eventually catch up with Montag and the reader gets to see how he handles all three of them at once.