...Imagine being in a world where everyone is stripped of individuality and viewed as evil if him or her even show the slightest bit of vanity. In the book Anthem, this is reality. The main character, Equality 7-2521, is smarter than most people, yet he is forced to dumb himself down and is put into the job of an inferior street sweeper. The human race has replaced the words I and me with we and our. Anyone who speaks the word ego is burned at the stake in the name of equality. Ayn Rand, the author of Anthem, wrote the book in first person major for the purpose of better showing how this book’s society worked and how it influenced how the characters behaved. The book is written in first person major to further convey to the reader how the concept...
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...In Ayn Rand’s “Anthem”, a plethora of themes is presented. Ayn writes about a collectivist society at an indeterminable date in the future, but the residents ae lead to believe by the government that this is a utopia. They had lost all individuality and free will to collectivism. So, the main character, Equality 7-2521, tried to change this and instead got cast away by his brothers. He wanted them to thrive. Collectivism is detrimental because human nature is to be selfish, self-reliant, and independent. Through characterization, Rand’s character Equality 7-2521 learns that selfishness is not a sin, but a right. Since Rand grew up in a Communist government she could accurately model Equality off a common citizen under collectivist...
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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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...Anthem Writing contest I am. I think. I will, when these words are thought nothing out of the ordinary comes to mind. According to Ayn Rand’s book anthem, mine, my, and I are all taken for granted. Ayn Rand was born in 1905 and her book Anthem, published in 1938 kick started a all new genre of dystopian society books. In Anthem a future world has lost technology and all knowledge of individualism. They have abandoned the thought of themselves and now “worship” the word we. Equality 7-2151 breaks we’s invisible bond made by us and we then created a brand new utopian society, that thrives on individualism. The perfect society equality created at the end of the book will include little to no rules from his past home because, he ran away from these rules, equality knows the unspeakable word, and the leader of his land is himself. Equality 7-2125 grew up just like everybody else. At age five left for schooling then at age fifteen got a job as a streetsweeper, doing everything as a whole with no thought of themselves whatsoever. Then years later his world changed when he found a grate within the outskirts of the colony and ventured inside. In the tunnel he was in awe at the sophistication of everything the tunnel...
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...Ego is a word that can be considered good or bad. In many ways, it can inspire a sense of individualism in a person. However, too much egoism can make someone into a narcissistic jerk. In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the main protagonist Prometheus is not an egoist because even though he is thinking of his own wants and needs, he is also always thinking about how he is going to help the others in his society. In a way, it was bad that he thought of his own wants so much, because he ended up getting severely punished for it. However, if he hadn't gone through those struggles then his life wouldn’t be the same. Like in the speech the “The Soul of an Individualist,” from one of Rand’s other books The Fountainhead, Prometheus wanted to show what he made for the good of everyone, but ended up being shunned for being an individual. Even from the very beginning of the novel, Prometheus always seemed to pay attention to others, giving the reader little notes about who they were or what was...
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...A dystopian society from our point of view, portrayed in Ayn Rand’s Anthem, promotes collectivism, or the practice of valuing the group over the individual. To maintain this mindset, there are numerous rules and restrictions that must be enforced to prevent the people from discovering individualism. These include being prohibited from valuing yourself over others, bonding with the opposite gender, and traveling to the uncharted forest. The most severe crime is articulating the unspeakable word, which is revealed at the end of the novel: ego. The first mentioned sin is to have private thoughts, which supposedly reduces the companionship of the group. Next it is mentioned that no citizen must ever be alone, as this is the root of all evil, because...
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...our destination we slump in our rickety suede chair. As we turn to the side and glare at the newcomer, memories flooded our mind of the 43 years we have held this position of factory manager. He is slow. He is smart, we think knowing that regardless of how much work is done, the pay will remain the same. As a result of this, motivation is lost, dreams are crushed, and aspirations fade away. The sense of individualism is forgotten, as the word “I” has no meaning, it is erased from dictionaries and brainwashed from minds. Ego is lost. This collectivist society along with its impact on a person’s thoughts is portrayed in the works, Anthem and “Soul of a Collectivist” by Ayn Rand. Through reading the novel, the text made me realize if in the future our civilization would be similar to what it portrayed in Rand’s works. Inspiring me to discuss how ruler of the civilization justified their way of ruling, how civilizations today are slowly turning into a collectivist society, and my thoughts and reflections on Anthem and “Soul of a Collectivist”. Anthem...
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...ANTHEM QUESTIONS Chapter I – Response 1 In a well-organized paragraph, describe the society in which Anthem is set. Some areas to consider are the political structure, degree of technology, social relationships, quality of life, and education. ALSO comment on the following: ➢ Would you want to live in this society? Explain why or why not. ➢ How would your teachers react if you had Equality’s “curse”? ➢ Why do Equality’s teachers disapprove of his quick mind? Chapter II – Response 2 . Re-read the account of Liberty 5-3000 on or around page 38. Which character traits are revealed in this brief description? . Find several examples of the ways in which this society tries to obliterate each individual’s mind (and self!) by quashing personal choices, desires, and values. . Of the whole range of feelings possible to man (joy, excitement, anger, embarrassment, etc.) why is fear the prevalent emotion in this society? Explain the following terms-- WHAT do each of these terms symbolize? If you think about it, they are easy to label. The Great Truth, the Unmentionable Times, the Uncharted Forest, the Evil Ones, the Great Rebirth Chapter III – Response 3 Clearly, up to this point and beyond, Ayn Rand intended Equality to stand out from his “brothers.” Explain how she accomplishes this by contrasting Equality’s physical qualities and character traits to those of his fellow men. . What...
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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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...In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, the main character is Equality 7-2521. He lives in a society in the far off future after a major war that tore the world apart and so started the Great Rebirth. In these times, citizens of this society must follow rules so that another war will not happen. These rules state that all men are equal and no man is better than another. There isn’t just one man, only we. The citizens cannot say the word “I”. If they do, they will be punished in front of everyone in the City. Equality 7-2521 must live in the Home of Infants until age five. Once he has reached the age of five, he will be sent to the Home of Students until he reaches the age of fifteen. Once students have reached fifteen, the Council of Vocations come...
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...The literal first words of the book are “It is a sin to write this.”, and more than likely leaves the reader perplexed. As one advances through the book, Equality 7-2521’s growth can be seen throughout the book. In the beginning, he’s trying his hardest to fit in with the society they live in, but towards the end he questions the beliefs of the brothers and goes as far as to maligning them as well. Equality 7-2521’s final assessment of his so called ‘sin’ is indeed correct because individualism a key factor in growing as person due to everybody in the world being their own person so trying to confirm people as one is profoundly useless. “We are one in all and all in one”, is basically the prayer they’re told to repeat to themselves when they’re...
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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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...“We strive to be like our brother men, all men must be alike”(Rand 19). In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the society lacks individualism. However in Equality’s case he constantly feels that “we were born with a curse. it has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden”(18). Equality only feels that he is cursed because of the standards in the society. The true reason for the “sin” Equality committed was due to the pressure of collectivism from the society he lived in. Although the actions he committed were seen as a sin in his society, Equality has a correct moral assessment of these sins because of his self-individuality and egoism in his own pursuit of happiness. Equality has always stuck out among his brothers when it came to his wits. In...
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...Anthem by Ayn Rand Author's Foreword |F.1 |This story was written in 1937. | |F.2 |I have edited it for this publication, but have confined the editing to its style; I have reworded some passages and cut | | |out some excessive language. No idea or incident was added or omitted; the theme, content and structure are untouched. The| | |story remains as it was. I have lifted its face, but not its spine or spirit; these did not need lifting. | |F.3 |Some of those who read the story when it was first written, told me that I was unfair to the ideals of collectivism; this | | |was not, they said, what collectivism preaches or intends; collectivists do not mean or advocate such things; nobody | | |advocates them. | |F.4 |I shall merely point out that the slogan "Production for use and not for profit" is now accepted by most men as | | |commonplace, and a commonplace stating a proper, desirable goal. If any intelligible meaning can be discerned in that | | |slogan at all, what is it, if not the idea that the motive of a man's work must be the needs of others, not his own need, | | |desire or gain? ...
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