...Ayn Rand “I guard my treasures: my thought, my will, my freedom. And the greatest of these is freedom.” (Rand. 58). Ayn Rand treasured her personal beliefs, which were reflected through her writing. Rand lived in two distinct countries: Russia and the United States, during her lifetime. Ayn also lived during a time where many major global events occurred. A very unique and interesting childhood and adult life, subjective beliefs and philosophies, and major events occurring in the world around her were all factors that contributed to Ayn Rand’s perspective and style of writing in her infamous novel, Anthem. Ayn Rand, the oldest of three daughters, was born on February 2, 1906 (Gladstein. 3,4). Rand’s given birth name was Alisa Zinovievna...
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...Society tends to enjoy belittling those who do not meet the set “norm.” Ayn Rand’s Anthem expresses the alienation of the individuals who fail to be homogenous to their coexisting society. Ayn Rand’s society provides characteristics such as punishing people by making them feel as if they are alienated, subjecting individuals to segregation or accepting them, as well as providing escape routes. Such humans who are alienated are considered to be “the other” in this society. Rather than promoting differentiation and diversity… Rand’s society strongly rejects it. The character in Anthem who is especially subjected to alienation and the title of “the other” is a man named Equality 7-2521 a.k.a. Prometheus. This character feels as if he is a target of alienation due to his height, intelligence, and ability of preference. Although Prometheus as said in the novel strives to be one with his “brothers,” he is unable to overcome his “sins” of inequality. Characteristics such as being six feet tall, smarter than the average Joe in his society,...
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...A free market economy is an economy where most means of production are privatized and guided and where income is distributed largely through the operation of the market. To many people, it is seen as ultimate freedom and true economic liberty. Others, however, think that it is corrupt. Ayn Rand, the author of the novella Anthem, strongly believed that in order to have a progressive and stable economy, a country must have a free market. This belief is supported by the history of many post-communist countries. The Russian federation is one of the most well known post-communist countries. This is because once a free market was introduced, the countries scientists and scholars had a chance to develop innovations and advance society. With the freedoms...
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...ANTHEM In a time after mass destruction, when the world has ended up where it started, the idea that people are one and all and all in one is ingrained into their minds. They go through school at the exact same pace, all for their careers to be chosen for them by the council. In this society, no one stands for themselves, but they stand for each other, and are punished when they don’t do this. Throughout Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, the protagonist Equality 7-2521 learns that it is not a sin to be an individual in the radical and strict society he lives in, which condemns individualism. He does this by seeking knowledge from the Unmentionable Times after realizing how powerful it can be, alluding to his individuality. Next, he breaks free from...
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...Erich Fromm was a German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. In Fromm’s essay ”Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem,” he discusses and compares the impact of human obedience and disobedience to ones self and to human society. While discussing both obedience and disobedience, Fromm opens his essay with “For centuries, kings, priests, feudal lords, industrial bosses, and parents have insisted that obedience is a virtue and that disobedience is a vice.” Immediately after this statement, he gives strong points of views opposing the statement of disobedience being a vice. In the “Anthem,” Ayn Rand tells a story about a place in unspecified future period, where people no longer have their own individual rights, and collectivism is leading the entire society. It's a dystopian sci-fi novella set in the future when mankind has entered another dark age as a result of the evils of society. She introduces a boy named Equality 7-2521 who is disobedient to the Council of Vocations and experiences self-growth and freedom. Disobedience is an act of courage, necessary for the individual to fight against the unreasonable demands of authority. Fromm writes, “Human history began with an act of disobedience, and it is not unlikely that it will be, terminated by an act of obedience,” supporting his statement that obedience might as well “cause the end of human history.” He uses religious and mythological figures to demonstrate...
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...Ayn Rand’s Anthem depicts the dystopian future in which an unnamed society has completely “forgotten” the word ‘I’. While reading Anthem, Ayn Rand introduces Equality 7-2521, the hero who breaks away from the status quo of the unnamed society. Collectivism is the immoral guide for the unnamed society, a guide that Equality challenges to the extent of its extremities. The dictatorial leadership of this society restricts even thinking about one’s self, no one person is obliged to give priority to an individual. Thereupon, we see Equality’s entrance into the society, just by his physical characteristics rebelling against the status quo, being both too tall and too smart. Equality faces his own internal conflicts, he, in his misunderstanding, struggles to understand the gravity of his actions and his true differences from the society’s collectivism....
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... This is the dystopian setting of George Orwell's 1984, Ayn Rand's Anthem, and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, where the motif of collectivism and control works to convey the message that collectivism and control make totalitarian control second nature. Totalitarian control through collectivism plants its seeds through childhood brainwashing. In the book 1984, brainwashing is carried out through organizations such as the Junior Spies and the Junior Anti-Sex League. Winston says, "… by means of organizations...
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...In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, a society is built on the ideology of “Brotherhood” and togetherness. One man, Equality, defies this ideology and threatens the “perfect” society built by the councilmen. When Equality discovers the word “I”, he explains the word “‘we’ must never be spoken, save by one’s choice and as a second thought”. Rand, with this quote, wants one to understand the collectively as a group is harmful and restricts one’s freedom. The communist society is unequal and suppresses one’s freedom. While the people are brainwashed to believe everyone is “equal”, there are still those with higher power and control. In the community the council is the “voice of all men”. Even though the community is thought to be equal, the council...
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...A collectivist society where individuality is punishable by death and men are viewed as “all in one and one in all… indivisible and forever”; herein lies the world of Anthem, an atypical yet discomforting dystopian world. Like most dystopias, the government is oppressive and tyrannical, hiding behind a false veil of fairness and equality. Different is the retrogressive development of technology, which can be described as primitive at best. The stark contrast between this portrayal and portrayals in other dystopias highlights the impact individualism has on the progression of technology in society. Ayn Rand’s Anthem implies that invention inherently encourages the development of the individual and technology thrives when independent thought...
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...-Conformity and Rebellion: In my analysis of Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” I would tend agree that people are divided based on their roles and functions in society. This division of people may be outside of an individual’s or group of people’s control. This division of people may be driven by socioeconomic, geographic, political, ideological or technological reasons. There may be individuals in power that will dictate where classes of people should live and work. The divisions of people into classes can be seen in both the real world and fictional writings. There may be divisions of classes within the same group of people based on power and influence in that group. Some of these individuals in these groups may also consist of those rare individuals with a conscience, that Thoreau speaks of, who can influence change or incite a rebellion. If the actions of these rare individuals incites a revolution and takes down those individuals currently in power then I would agree they would be considered an enemy of the state. People can also be divided based on their roles and functions in society without force or coercion. Their culture or customs of a society may dictate roles and functions. An individual may be born into this society with fixed expectations of their roles or functions. This agreement can be the seen in the case of Changez, in the Reluctant Fundamentalist. Changez was born into a caste system where his family held some form of power and influence based...
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...Unlike during the Unmentionable Times, when men created “towers [that] rose to the sky,” it is an affliction to be born with powerful intellectual capacity and ambition in Ayn Rand’s apocalyptic, nameless society in Anthem. Collectivism is ostensibly the moral guidepost for humanity, and any perceived threat to the inflexible, authoritarian regime is met with severe punishment. The attack on mankind’s free will and reason is most evident in the cold marble engraving in the Palace of the World Council: “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever” (6). Societal norms force homogeneity and sacrifice among all people. Laws and rules are crafted to prevent advancement and preserve relentless...
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