The Climax of Fahrenheit 451 begins to unfold after Mildred and her insipid friends call the firemen on Montag, too stunted to realize that this will mean the end of their precious parlor wall. Indeed, when the firemen arrive on the scene, Mildred is too shaken to even grasp the nature of the situation. Montag is forced to burn down his own home, which he does. Beatty discovers the earpiece after striking Montag in the head. He intends to use what he has learned to hunt down Faber, but this becomes too much for Montag, who turns the flamethrower on Beatty. Beatty taunts him cruelly, which causes Montag to burn him alive. Upon reflection, Montag realizes that Beatty was using Montag to facilitate his own death, likely every bit as world-weary as Montag himself.
Setting the Scene: As the section "Burning Bright" begins, Montag faces the harsh truth that Mildred called in the alarm on him. Beatty forces Montag to burn down his house with his flamethrower, and warns him of the hound's attack if he tries to escape. Montag obliges, burning everything down, only to be placed under arrest by Beatty when he is finished.
Beatty realizes that Montag is listening to something, and he strikes him in the head; the earpiece falls out of Montag's ear and Beatty picks it up. Beatty hears Faber talking and realizes that it is a communication device. Beatty then tells Montag that he will have the device traced to find the person on the other end. After Beatty proceeds to provoke Montag with quotes from various literary texts, Montag turns his flamethrower on Beatty, and burns him alive. The other fireman are motionless, and Montag uses the opportunity to knock them out. The hound attacks Montag, injecting him with some type of anesthetic, before Montag uses the flamethrower to destroy the hound as well.
Montag limps off his on numb leg to the spot in the backyard where some of his books are hidden. He hears sirens and attempts to run down the alley, but he breaks down and starts sobbing. Upon putting a seashell radio in his ear, he hears authorities alert the public that he is on the run.
In Part Three, Montag is surprised to learn, as he arrives at his home for a fire call, that Mildred called in an alarm on him. Captain Beatty then makes Montag burn his entire home and book collection before placing him under arrest. Before Captain Beatty can arrest Montag, Faber yells at Montag to run away, and Beatty strikes him in the side of his head, which sends the green bullet flying to the pavement. Beatty then picks up the green bullet and holds it to his ear. As Beatty is holding the green bullet to his ear, he listens as Faber continues to give Montag instructions via the two-way communication device. Captain Beatty then tells Montag that he initially thought he was wearing a Seashell radio but will now trace the green bullet and arrest the person giving directions. Montag responds by pointing the flamethrower directly at Captain Beatty and switching the safety latch off. Beatty is surprised at Montag's threat and continues taunting him until Montag finally pulls the trigger.
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