Alex Williams
10-31-14
Period 8
In Fahrenheit 451, their society believes that everyone should be the same. The book says, "We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal." (Bradbury, 58). This shows that they do not allow anyone to be different and be their own person. One way they do this is by burning books to hide the differences in people. Books help violate the idea that everyone is created equal by advancing one's knowledge, highlighting the interests of different people, and by encouraging individuality.
When you read a book, you further your knowledge on a subject or topic. In the book,
Beatty says, "A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon." (Bradbury, 58). Knowledge is the shot they're taking from the weapon. They're taking away the power from the book to increase an individual's intelligence, to make them smarter than one other person. This shows the differences in people, separating them from who is smart and who is not. They try to form everyone into the same person, so they're all alike and avoid the problem of one person making another feel inferior.
Books have the power to make you to give something more thought, to find a deeper meaning, and that's why they're feared in the society of Fahrenheit 451. "This book can go under the microscope. You'd find life under the glass, streaming past in infinite profusion," (Bradbury,
83). This shows that it has features and depth to it. They challenge what the reader is thinking and cause them to look at the world differently. An example would be Montag's change in character throughout the book. He starts out as a fireman, following the society's rules, but once

he sees how books have affected one person, he finds an interest in them, and uses them to search for a deeper meaning to life.
A final way books violate the idea that everyone is equal, is that the characters in the books promote individuality. Every character is not the same and has their own personalities.
Some readers develop a favorite character. They look up to that character and admire the things they do and way they act. They become their role model and want to be like them. This gives them that urge to be different from everyone else and to make their own choices. Most books today feature a character that stands