The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is set in a totalitarian, collectivist society in which individuality is viewed as a crime. Throughout the story, the protagonist Equality 7-2521’s views on these laws drastically change. He begins with the feeling of guilt for going against the leaders, but by the end of the story, Equality feels no regret or shame for his transgressions. The shift in Equality’s appraisal of his actions is understandable because the leaders of the society deliberately took away his individuality and withheld significant information from him.
In the beginning of the novel, a strict code of laws is introduced. Equality 7-2521 wrote “We have broken those laws. The laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocations bid them so. May we be forgiven!” (7). Equality felt culpable for his actions because he had been taught about the evils of …show more content…
The leaders placed these restrictions on the society with the interest of keeping peace and order, but the result of this was a lack of individuality. One cannot have their own thoughts or their own hopes, “for men may wish nothing for themselves” (15) and would be committing the Transgression of Preference. The people in this society are taught from a young age that “everything which comes from the many is good. Everything which comes from one is evil” (84). This idea is seeded into their minds, manipulating them to adhere to the standards. Equality cannot help being different from the rest. He had always held the desire to discover, and that, in the end, supported the greatest change in his character. “Questions give us no rest. We know not why our curse makes us seek we know not what, ever and ever. But we cannot resist it” (15). Having a deep interest in obtaining knowledge, Equality abandoned his attempts to obey the