The Nature of Mankind How do you react in the face of fear? Do you freeze, not knowing what to do, or suffice and take action? Are you scared stiff or get away from whatever it is? Maybe you’ve never been faced with this kind of situation. Each person has a different response to these types of circumstances. In the book Anthem, Ayn Rand describes a futuristic world in which “I” does not exist and emotions are not understood. Technology has been put back hundreds of year and people don’t know how to react to new ideas. The main character, Equality 7-2521, decides to take a risk against The Society in which he lives in by seeking knowledge and loving the woman of his choice. At first, he is a dedicated and devoted member of The Society, but he emerges as a curious and rebellious man, who leaves the society and creates an independent state. This transformation of Equality 7-2521 illustrates the role, nature, and independence of man which Ayn Rand tries to implement in this book. Equality 7-2521 has grown up knowing only The Society which he has held onto steadfast his entire life. When Equality 7-2521 is in what they call Small School, (school) the Whole has to recite the phrase, “’Mankind is all”’ (Rand 21). …show more content…
After he finds a tunnel from The Unmentionable Times in which he writes, his friend-International 4-8818- decides he wants to tell the Council. Equality 7-2521 responds with the words, “’Keep silent. This place is ours”’ (Rand 34). This is his very first act of rebellion and his first crime. Curiosity leads him to two years of studying and learning in the tunnel. After this time he writes, “And in these two years we have learned more than we had learned in the ten years of the Home of the Students” (Rand 36). He declares he is now smarter than the Society and decided he wants to share it, which is another
The book Anthem by Ayn Rand is a very interesting book. At first it is confusing to the reader because of the use of the words we and us instead of I. The main character, Equality 7-2521 introduces himself in the plural form. The reader takes a while to figure this out. The era that Equality is in, is after the Great Rebirth.
Anthem, by Ayn Rand, is a book that portrays a dystopian world where every day is the same and everyone lives for the benefit of their brothers. Though the world is painted as a perfect society, Equality 7-2521 performs an altruistic act when he illegally makes inventions. This act leads to Equality vanishing from society into the woods for the protection of himself and his invention. Chapters 11 and 12 reveal the reasoning behind the title of the book when he finds the missing aspects of his life. Chapters 11 and 12 show the freedom that was missing in the dystopian society, the importance of love that was forbidden in previous paragraphs, and the importance of individuality that all left something missing from Equality’s life and the book itself.
In the textbook source of American Anthem, Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 2006, p. 441, there are certain specifics that should have been added. The textbook account leaves out details such as certain numbers, what weapons were used, and how the battle went, absolutely. As the first paragraph of the account gives facts, it does not go into detail about how the Natives refused the government’s order, or how they sent it out. Sources among interviews and diary entries from witnesses added to the textbook account would inform the reader more and give more intuition on the battle. The previously mentioned sources being nonbiased would be of greater value, as the writer of the source is not leaning towards one side or having something to protect.
Lily Haghpassand English 9 September 20, 2017 In the book, “The Anthem”, the government has found a way to maintain peace and harmony in society by instilling fear into its constituents. The members of this society are taken from their parents at birth and thrown into a world where differences are frowned upon and sameness is put above all other things, brainwashing each child with the notion that everything the government says is true. When children are born, they are denied bonding time with their parents and placed in the “Home of Infants” with other children their age and the idea of sameness is stressed. By doing this, they take away the emotion of love, among other things, and in turn, create a society of seemingly identical individuals.
How Does One Lead a Rational Life in the Great Rebirth Ayn Rand is an illustrious writer, known for many of her works including the short novella Anthem and her short essay How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society. In Anthem, she speaks of a dystopian world set in the future with primitive technology. The Council expects everybody to look, act, and generally be the same as one another; however, Equality, the main character of Anthem, does not conform to the social norm. He rebels from the cookie-cutter system and learns to see the deep err in the way of the Council and finally realises the effects that the abusive treatment of the citizens creates.
Well-known American author Ayn Rand in her short novel, Anthem, describes a post-apocalyptic world where individualism has vanished. Rand’s purpose is to inspire non-conformity and boldness while educating her readers about the dangers and horrific effects of communism. Rand describes the people she considers ideal in this society and those who are considered anything but idolized. Rand’s tone towards the people who do not fit the mold described is that she feels pity for most of them, but has the utmost respect towards the two main characters, Equality-7521 (Prometheus) and The Golden One (Gaea), the two that have the courage to think differently. Rand wrote this novel in English to emphasize to her probably American audience the reality of communism and why it causes more harm than it could ever help.
Water spans over approximately seventy-one percent of the Earth’s surface. It is vital to the survival of every species, and serves as a passage way between societies. Likewise, “The Path of Water”, in the novel, The Seven Paths, can meaningfully connect to other texts, today’s world, and my life. For instance, this passage can correlate to the community within Anthem. The narrator of The Seven Paths hunts for water.
Anthem Anthem is a fascinating insight on individualism and collectivism. Ayn Rand’s book is a hyperbolic example of today’s society. The novella demonstrates how “we” and “us” are shoved among humanity just as a wild animal is forced into a cage; also known as collectivism. The concept of collectivism is reciprocated into individualism throughout the narrative. Rand made Anthem extraordinary by exaggerating the extremes, writing in Science Fiction format, and gradually familiarizing individualism among the characters as the pages became fewer.
Literary Analysis of Anthem One could say that a woman that grew up in a strict, un-individual society would be all for gender equality, but that is not the case for Ayn Rand’s book, Anthem, which shows a very primal, sexist, view of women. Rand shows this view as it evolves throughout the story when Liberty first meets Equality and is a cold, merciless, and unkind woman, to becoming a completely obedient, submissive, servant. The ongoing relationship between Equality and Liberty shows Ayn Rand’s viewpoint on women, that when they are in the presence of an independent man, that they will become submissive. “We found garments and the Golden One gasped at the sight of them”(Rand 91). This is an example of a typical stereotype, that all women are obsessed with clothing and their appearance.
Matched And Anthem Dystopian books are very popular among teenagers right now. Many people may ask why this is. Most likely, this is because teens feel connected to the characters and the way they go through things. you can tell alot about a person by the books they read. Slews of teens would agree that they can relate to the setting or character on a personal level.
In the final chapters of the book, after Equality and The Golden One have discovered their new house and proposed to build a new life, they read books in its intact library and so discover the forbidden word, “I” (94). This discovery prompts Equality to radically overhaul his entire way of going through life, aligning it to Rand’s Objectivist philosophy. His focus on himself, illustrated through his obsession with the word I is show in the last two chapters of the book, where he latches on to the idea that devoting one’s life to only oneself is the only appropriate way to live life. Rand shows this with statements from Equality such as, “I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them”(96). Equality is proclaiming that his life will be best lived in a purely selfish manner, where he will not take care of anyone else, but will not ask anyone to take care of him either.
honor is a thing to be earned.” Ayn Rand weaves her idea of objectivism and that people choose others relying on their own needs into her connection with Equality. In the beginning of Anthem Equality did not think of himself, but what the society wanted everyone to do as a whole, contrasting towards Ayn Rand’s beliefs (Rand, Anthem 96).When people come to the realization that no one is equal, it is easier to realize that neither are needs, making choices involving circumstances like relationships depend on a person’s thoughts and
With these points, Ayn Rand also creates a fearful and suspenseful atmosphere and tone by pointing out the law breaking of Euqality 7-2521 and their possible punishments. In this Ayn Rand states that Equality 7-2521 has “broken the laws” and that the “Council of Vocations” did not beg them to write, alongside this Equality 7-2521 also asks “may we be forgiven.” With these points, Ayn Rand conveys a sense of fear, where Equality 7-2521 has broken the laws of the council of vocations and this adds a sense of fear and suspense of what may happen to Equality 7-2521 into the overall tone of the chapter. This sense of fear and suspense continues to build into the tone from Equality 7-2521 also asking for forgiveness from the council, this proves Equality 7-2521 knows what they’re doing is wrong in their society and they may be punished for it adding onto the suspense of this chapter. Overall Ayn Rand’s elements contribute to building suspense and unease in the tone
Intelligence. Something that Equality 7-2521 has a great deal of. Ayn Rand, the author of Anthem, suggests that Equality 7-2521 knows that he is too intelligent to be a street sweeper, and he tries to prove his intelligence through his experiments so he can be “willed” into the Home of the Scholars. She shows this through his time in the Home of the Students when Equality is punished for his quick head, his love for learning, and the idea of learning, and when he escapes to the tunnel to work on his invention. Equality knows he is intelligent when he is punished in the Home of the Students because of his quick head.
There's so much emphasis on putting others before oneself that people often forget to look out for their own needs, as shown in this book. Ayn Rand successfully captures the negatives of an overrated ideology and presents an unorthodox perspective on the matter. In conclusion, Equality's true motives behind his work are much more selfish than they first appear to be. Equality strives to fulfil his own personal desire rather than contribute everything to society, and this isn't necessarily a negative thing.