Anthem Essay On Equality

In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, mankind is a philanthropic machine. To achieve a common goal, the brotherhood disregards personal ambitions and nobly collaborates. Each decision of the mechanized society is compelled by spurious collective thought, and their so called advancements, by joint action. However, one man in this machine malfunctions: Equality-72521. With an inquisitive nature, an innovative mind, and latent desire, Equality possesses the traits of a visionary.

Ayn Rand’s Anthem starts by Equality 7-2521 saying “It is a sin to write this.” Throughout the story, Equality’s views and mindset changes, he realizes that he is different from his brothers and its ok to be different. He discovers that if something is legal it is not certainly right. His eager for knowledge taught him the word “I” abandoning the word “We”.

All Equality has known from himself is that he was an outcast to the society. As many people feared Equality’s differences, they told him lies. Equality’s assessment of his sin is correct because at the end of Anthem, Equality now sees his so called curse as a gift and plans to show the society how it is a great thing to be different. “We were born with a curse.”(18) Equality is gifted with knowledge and curiosity but through his life, people have taught him that he had a curse because he wasn’t

Everyone is born with independence, but imagine a society where this virtue is ceased. In the novel “Anthem” written by Ayn Rand, she describes a society in which everyone is the exact same. Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000 are two characters that live under a strict and controlling rule, in which they make decisions for you. As they story goes on, the two characters discover love, freedom, liberty, and independence. To Equality, being similar to his brothers was not equal, he believes that the meaning of “I” celebrates joy and peace within a society.

A Correct Transgressor “It is a sin to write this.” Is the quote used to begin the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, and the start of its symbolic story. Which now is also how this analysis will start, to explain how Equality changed his mindset about his first words in the novel, and how his eventual change is the correct one.

In response to the choice of Street Sweeper, Equality thinks, “We knew we had been guilty, but now we had a way to atone for it” (26). With his intelligence and curiosity, Equality would do much better as a Scholar. The government punishes him for being different, and as a result, they can’t see him become advantageous. They are blinded by their beliefs on

Equality is right to be motivated by curiosity. Yearning for the answers to his constant questions are what motivates his creativity and discovery. The constant curiosity is what leads him to dissect animals, melt metals, mix acids, and rediscover electricity. His individuality motivates him to do what he wants even though it is not allowed by society. He knows that he is quicker minded than the rest of his brothers, “It was not that the learning was too hard….

Anthem is an Anti-Utopia and Ayn Rand describes what a world would be without individualism. In Anthem, Equality’s major decisions lead him to freedom from his brothers, being able to be independent, and the right to make his own choices. During his time in his hometown of Anthem, Equality and his brothers were not free, but only Equality knew it. Equality mentioned that everything smelt of fear except for his tunnel which was cleansed.

What the society doesn’t know is that there are problems in Anthem. Equality sees these problems and will not implement them in the world that he envisions. Rules, regulations, and controls all have a purpose and a reason as to why they exist. No matter how outrageous

The Word ‘We’ is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it” (Rand, 1946, p. 97). Equality 7-2521 words generate the notion that a collective society destroys humankind 's potential, while avoiding others gifted personalities. Equality is a 21 year old who defies societal norms and grabs tightly on to his curse of individualism, while living in a collectivist society that demands obedience from the group. Throughout the story, Equality progresses, as he reaches for his independence and rebel against the dictatorship of the government. As a result, Equality is faced with conflicts, internally and externally. By doing so, he captures his freedom from the detrimental and contagious dictatorship.

Equality has always stood out because of how smart and different he was. He was always interested in learning science and the pursuit of knowledge Equality’s primary motivation is to self achieve and find the true meaning of “I”. He wants

When one is confined to society and held captive against their ego, it is imperative that they learn to eulogize their own individuality, and learn to improve themselves. In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, Rand uses Equality 7-2521 to communicate the importance of the individual. Equality has always had his own sense of individuality that causes him to stand out and defy the social norms. His individuality allows him to persevere and diverge from collectivist society.

The critical flaw in the collective state that Equality capitalizes on to escape lies within its very foundation. Anthem best exemplifies this flaw through Equality’s escape from the Palace of Corrective Detention, as he describes “It was easy to escape the Palace of Corrective Detention. The locks are old on the doors and there are no guards about. There is no reason to have guards, for men have never defied the Councils so far as to escape from whatever place they were ordered to be” (66-67). The Council believes the fallacies it espouses, making it easy for Equality to escape. They believe that no one would ever defy a direct order from them, so they never accounted for the possibility. Another flaw of the collectivist fallacies lies in its inability to match the technological development of Equality. The Council rejects the lightbulb because it “would wreck the Plans of the World Council … and without the Plans of the World Council the sun cannot rise” (74), and by the end of the novel, Equality’s scientific skill advances enough to construct an electric fence around his home in the woods. As Equality says, “[the Council] has nothing to fight me with, save the brute forces of their numbers. I have my mind” (100). No matter what, until the Council begins to accept changes to their “Plans”, Equality’s society will outmatch theirs. The final fallacy weakening the collective state renders itself in the Council’s inability to care for the individual needs of its

Equality 7-2521 can free himself from collectivism because he was independent. In the novel Anthem Ayn Rand makes us comprehend that Equality had and inner struggle and

Later in the novella, Equality does not care what laws he breaks because he knows that he is different and he is starting to realize that being different is not something to shelter and be ashamed of. “We have stolen candles from the Home of the Street Sweepers, we have stolen flints and knives and paper, and we have brought them to this place” (Rand 35). This shows that for Equality to fulfill his curiosity, he will go against his society and do what he feels is right. “We lunged against the door and it gave way. We stole through the dark passages, and through dark streets, and down our tunnel” (67).