Thomas Paine once said, "That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only which gives everything its value." This quote is saying that if we do not struggle for something then we do not appreciate it as much as we would if we did not struggle for it, which it true. It is true because if we work hard for something then we feel relief after finally getting it, but if we do not then we just take it and eventually just put it aside.

I agree with Thomas Paine because the more we want something the harder we fight for it. For example in the dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, Montag had a great passion for wanting to read books. However, the law did not allow him to because the books will help him gain knowledge, and the hierarchical government does not want that. Nevertheless, as the book goes on it talks about how Montag hid books and read them secretively, and had Faber helps in the process.

Even though his job tells him otherwise, Montag ensures to not allow that influence him too much. By the end of the story, Montag successfully is allowed to read books, and he savors that. Since Montag could not obtain the right to read books easily, he fought for it hard With his persistence, he eventually got it.

Another example that proves Thomas Paine's quote is in history, we have seen African American people always be considered "lower" than the white people. White people were always on top, and they always hurt the African American people. White people are said to have always had whatever they wanted, causing them to eventually throw it aside because they did not work hard for it.

For example, they brought slaves to do their work for them, but as soon as the slave could not perform certain tasks they would be thrown to the side and a new one would take their place. Controversially, the African American people population had to fight for their freedom, and once they had gotten it, they savored it. They savored it because they were not going to let anyone else take it away from them since they knew that they deserved it.

All in all Thomas Paine was right when he said, "That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only which gives everything its value." This is due to the fact that it has been proven multiple times throughout history when the white people treated the black people horribly. In literature when Montag wanted to read so badly that, he broke the rules. Working hard for something shows us the value of something that we hold dear to ourselves, and we do not just see it as another object that is in our house; we see it as something we worked for Hence why I agree with Thomas Paine's quote.