...Ayn Rand’s book Anthem is a story of a boy named Equality 7-2521 and his hunt for his freedom from the many harsh rules and controls that is city had. On his quest for freedom, he discovers how cruel his society actually was. If any of the laws in the city are disobeyed, the people will either be severely punished, or even worse, sentenced to death. When Equality discovers electricity, he decides to present it to the World Council of Scholars. They are furious with his discovery, so they send him away to the Palace of Corrective Detention. While he is there, he decides he has to escape. So he breaks free, and runs into the Uncharted Forest. Now Equality is on his own, independent, and free of all of the unnecessary rules and restrictions that...
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...Freedom The society in Anthem was devastating to the point where no one was truly joyful. The author Ayn Rand lived in a communist society which inspired the book to be a dystopia. A dystopia is a world/community where the people believe their lives are going great when in reality it’s horrible. There are various symbols in the writing like people crying at night, the Uncharted Forest and the lightbulb. To begin with, the citizens are in tears while they sleep because of how miserable they are. One of Equality’s brothers cries at night which symbolizes terror. Equality is the main character of the story. He says, “There are Solidarity 9-6347, who are a bright youth, without fear in the day; but they scream in their sleep, and they scream:...
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...In most dystopian societies, they restrain their citizens from acting upon rebellious or different actions. This is no different in the novel Anthem. In Equality 7-2521’s society, “There are no men but only the great WE…”(19). Equality’s “brothers” and “sisters” and he, himself, must live and work for their other “brothers” and “sisters”. Everyone included in the society is meant to be equals, having all the individuals lacking a personal identity. This restraint causes Equality to feel guilty when his “curse” influences him to acquire for knowledge anmore d form his own words, thoughts, and opinions. When this growing influence drives him to lose his acceptance, Equality escapes to the Uncharted Forest where he gains the freedom and individuality that was taken from him. Which in turn changes Equality’s opinion of his sins, and declares his actions as just....
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...The novella Anthem portrays life in a world with no freedom of expression. One where dehumanization and alienation is common. It follows Equality 7-2521 and all his struggles and awareness throughout his lifetime. The protagonist also responds to human rights violations by progressively becoming aware of things that are dehumanizing. From toddler to adult every moment is shown and brings us into his world, one with many restrictions and unhappiness. A world of the great ‘WE’. Many struggles are depicted throughout but are, without a doubt, followed by a positive outcome. At the very beginning, after being introduced to our protagonist, it is discovered that from a young age Equality 7-2521 was never like the other kids. He wanted to learn...
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...Anthem takes place in the future yet it seems the city is still stuck in 3000 BC. The community still uses candles, there is no fast food and worst of all no technology. The government is of tyranny rule and have taken away people's freedom and liberty, and swapped it out for safety. The word “I” has been outlawed and replaced with the word “we”. The choice of the path someone could take has been taken away and force is the new way. Equality 7-2521 goes on a path of self discovery and discovers some of the forbidden secrets of the government. Nomatter what his path to freedom is he will not be pulled back by the darkness and tyranny of the government. Equality 7-2521 has many trails and exploratory journeys. There will be joy, sadness, hate and a whole jumble of emotions in the book for the main character and the reader....
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...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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...In Ayn Rand's dystopian, novel Anthem, the author shows that society or individuality is not acceptable. Neither is personal freedom and independent thinking. This is shown throughout the book as the characters are assigned numbers not names, and individualism is forbidden. They are not allowed to call each other by pronouns. The world depicted in Ayn Rand's Anthem can be seen as just a book, but not a direct production of the future. “There's nothing to take a man’s freedom from him, save other men. To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.”(Rand 92) In this quote Equality 7-2521 says that individuals are free on their own unless another man disrupts them with the man's expectations based on their life. The author sees this brotherhood...
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...Compare and Contrast Anthem with Night Even though books come in many genres, they can still be compared and contrasted. This applies to almost all books. For example, Eliezer Wiesel’s Night and Ayn Rand’s Anthem are different genres. However, the similarities and differences between these author’s works are definite and deserve analysis. Such similarities include how the societies handle the executions of criminals. In Anthem, Equality has to stand “...in the great square with all the children and all the men of the city, sent to behold the burning” (Rand, 38). During Elie’s experience in the Holocaust, he and everyone else in his camp has to walk “...past the hanged boy and stared at his extinguished eyes, the tongue gaping from his mouth. The Kapos forced everyone to look him squarely in the face” (Wiesel, 63). Also, both Elie and Equality receive messages from watching a public execution. When the pipel is hanged, Elie thinks that God is no longer with the Jews and takes it to...
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...Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem connects to our society and history. The novel and our society both have groups of jobs and laws that have to be followed. Also, the novel and our history both involve communism. To begin with, Anthem and our society both have groups of jobs. Equality 7-2521 states, “They called the Students’ names, and when the Students stepped before them, one after another, the Council said: “Carpenter” or “Doctor” or “Cook” or “Leader.”” (Rand 10). This quote shows that the group of jobs in the novel, are present in today’s society. In conclusion, this quote supports the idea that Anthem has a connection with our society. In addition, Anthem and our society have laws that have to be followed. Equality 7-2521 says,...
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...What is the future going to be resemble? Will it resemble The Jetsons from 1960’s TV? Or will it be closer to Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables? In Anthem, Ayn Rand depicts a world void of modern technology set in a new dark age. Anthem proposes a different school of thought when it comes to our future. When juxtaposed with other stories set in the future, Ayn Rand’s world is drastically different. Anthem’s school of thought is based on the prospect that technology is a cycle, freedom of thought is necessary for technological advancement, and, in Anthem, totalitarian governments will purposely try to hinder technological advancement. In our current world, we view technology as an ever progressing entity that will either allow us to live forever,...
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...Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that emphasizes the moral worth of the individual. Individualism is something thats makes a person one, giving them the right to be an individual, the freedom to equality. In the novel Anthem By Ayn Rand individualism is a central idea explored through the story. The main character Equality 7-2521 is living in a society where the concept of individuality is non existent, he is very curious about the world he lives in and the science and nature that surrounds it. But unfortunately it's a sin to think/wonder such things and that it's not good to be different from his brothers but it is evil to be superior to them. According to the text it states (Rand 6) “We...
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...Equality’s discovery of electricity was an incredible feat considering the complexity of society Ayn Rand depicted for Anthem. Rand’s portrayal of society contrasts with the quintessential dystopian society portrayed in many novels such as The Giver and Fahrenheit 451. The civilization in Anthem exists some time in the future, however, the intricacy of technology had declined to the point where citizens were using candles and torches as methods of illuminating their surroundings. The cause of this decline traced to the development of an intolerance towards individualism. Equality never fit in his community because of his strong nonconformist personality. He had preferences and objects of joy, a sin he called “the great Transgression of Preference” (6). He had a bias for science during his schooling and had a tendency to commit transgressions, which foreshadow his experiments in the tunnel. His...
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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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...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 disobedience being the foundation to human progression. “Human history was ushered in by an act of disobedience according...
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...In Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem, she chose to have odd personal pronoun usage. In the novel, Rand used the pronouns “we” and “our” instead of “I” and “me”. Ayn Rand chose this pronoun usage because she wanted to demonstrate how in 1938 it was shamed upon to have your own thoughts and opinions. In Anthem the scholars stated that it is a sin to refer to themselves as “I”. It is even said that they would be punished for using the word because it would be a “great transgression”( ). In the novel, the people are so used to only using the pronouns “we” and “our” that it is considered not normal to use other pronouns. Equality did not like this and slowly started to break away from what the scholars were telling them. Today, some could even say that we...
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