Sin In Ayn Rand's Anthem

What is the nature of sin? According to Merriam-Webster dictionary sins are “an offense against religious or moral law”(***). Some collectivist societies including, China, North Korea, Cuba, people that live in these countries are controlled by the way they think, act, believe. In Anthem by Ayn Rand there are some characters that create sins according to the World Council, some sins consists of love, speaking forbidden words like I, creating new items. One character in particular is Equality 7-2521 whose moral thoughts causes him to create sins, for instance love for Liberty, the Unmentionable Times, freedom, but Equality 7-2521 ends up living his life to the fullest the way he wants. According to the World Council in Anthem, Equality

The hidden tunnel is from the Unmentionable Times. Rand states, “Since the Council does not knows of this hole, there can be now law permitting to enter. And everything which is not permitted by law is forbidden”(Rand 31). If the World Council did not discover it no one in the society can claim the hole as one’s discovery. Another sin that the Unconquered transgress is that he discovers a new power called Electricity. The author states, “A Street Sweeper! A Street Sweep walking in upon the World Council of Scholars! It is not to be believed! It is against all the rules and all the laws!” (Rand 69). Since Unconquered is a street sweeper he is not welcomed by the World Council of Scholars because he is low class. Lower class citizen are not allowed to create something or discover something and call the discovery theirs unless they belong to the World Council of Scholars. In the end Equality 7-2521 changes in his moral assessments of sin to the way Equality thinks is

To Equality 7-2521 freedom is very important to him. Rand states, “But what is freedom? Freedom from what? There is nothing to take a man’s freedom away from him, save other men. To be free, a man must be free of his brothers. That is freedom. This and nothing else” (Rand 101). As a ruler the ruler should not be able to take away one man’s freedom just to save another man from something that he did and punishment the rest of society because of it. Now that Equality 7-2521 is in the Uncharted Forest he feels different about himself. To show that Equality is different Rand states, “We awoke when a ray of sunlight fell across our face. We wanted to leap to our feet, as we had too . . .but we remembered suddenly that no bell had rung and that there was no bell to ring anywhere”(Rand 78). Here readers see that Equality 7-2521 is overjoyed with being free and doing whatever he wants to do with his life. At the end of the book Rand uses a special word with being free. In Anthem Rand states, “The word which can never die on this earth for it is the heart of it and the meaning and the glory. The sacred word: EGO”(Rand 105) The sacred word “EGO” shows the importance of a person or individuality can never be lost it might just be used from time to time person to person the wrong way. Equality finds individuality to be a right that should be