Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, follows a 21-year-old named Equality 7-2521 and how he fits into the collectivist society in which he resides. In this society, all men work for the benefit of mankind, from the ages of fifteen to forty. Once somebody turns 40, they are sent to the House of the Useless until they die, usually before age 45. However, the main question is: why it is so unusual to reach the age of 45 in Equality’s society? This essay will present a few possibilities.

One possibility is that the work people in this society have to do for 25 years is incredibly debilitating. On page 28, Equality 7-2521 writes: “At forty, they are worn out. At forty, they are sent to the Home of the Useless where the Old Ones live. The Old Ones do not work… they do not speak, for they are …show more content…
On page 27, Equality 7-2521 writes: “There are Fraternity 2-5503, a quiet boy with wise, kind eyes, who cry suddenly, without reason, in the midst of day or night, and their body shakes with sobs so they cannot explain. There are Solidarity 9-6347, who are a bright youth, without fear in the day; but they scream in their sleep, and they scream ‘Help us! Help us!’ into the night, with a voice that chills our bones, but the Doctors cannot cure Solidarity 9-6347.” Any modern psychologist would diagnose these people with severe untreated depression, which would drastically reduce someone’s life if left untreated. Solidarity 9-6347 seems to also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, with one of the symptoms of this condition being screaming or shaking while asleep, also known as night terrors. These issues would be properly diagnosed and treated if medical care was allowed to improve, however, since modernization is looked down upon in this society, both Fraternity 2-5503 and Solidarity 9-6347’ disorders would be left untreated, thus taking time away from their already short