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The Role Of Morality In Ayn Rand's Anthem

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The Impact of Beliefs Contrast Equality’s view of morality at the end of the novel to the morality exemplified by his society’s institutions, practices and officials. In your essay, consider what Ayn Rand has to say in these excerpts (Hyperlink on One Note) from her writings. The collectivist society created in Anthem by Ayn Rand, rules with a strict hand condemning anyone who chooses to speak out against it to harsh punishment, or worse, death. Equality 7-2521 lives his early life without understanding what individuality is and being entirely oblivious to emotions that are meant to be present in each human life. Through recounting his life, Equality 7-2521 is able to recognize how he always had an inner voice that was suppressed by his society because it was telling him to be an individual and put his personal wants above the wants of his fellow brothers. In a world where no one is able to think privately, Equality 7-2521 breaks away from the only moral belief system he has ever been taught and …show more content…

Constantly being told how to feel, think, and live can create a world of rebellion as people fight for their rights and beliefs. Equality 7-2521 is proof of the fight that happens in one’s mind and how it is often translated into a conflict with others of different morality. Since the society Equality 7-2521 lived in had a more “popular” morality than the one he created, he was seen as an outcast and never fit in with his brothers. Leaving everything he knew, Equality 7-2521 risked his life to be different from others and was finally able to feel emotions that were trapped in him. He lived with confliction throughout his life trying to understand the morals he was unknowingly creating for himself, but in the end fought for a cause that meant something to him and impacted his world

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