He presents himself and the light to the Council, hoping for forgiveness and understanding. Yet, all he receives is disdain and condescendance. He calls the Council fools, and takes his light with him as he heads for the Uncharted Forest, which no man may enter. Equality finally feels true happiness when he hunts his own food and
However, he fails to realize that collectivism still exists outside his tunnel of intellectual and individualistic refuge. Thus, the council is horrified by his invention using personal thought and they mock and ridicule him, even threatening to burn him at the stake. One member of the council, International 1-5537, points out the major issue with Equality’s invention, saying “what is not done collectively cannot be good” (Anthem 73). The Council fails to understand the basic idea that Rand proposes in “The Soul of an Individualist” in which she says that “no work is ever done collectively, by a major decision. Every creative job is achieved under the guidance of a single individual thought” (Rand).
This girl helped Prometheus become an individual because believed in his creation and that belief pushed Prometheus to show his invention to the world council. Even though Prometheus’s gift ended in him being lashed for creating it, but those lashes helped him to discover that he could escape his society to become an individual. Once Prometheus was able to escape with Gaea into the uncharted forest they were both able to discover what individuality means to them. Prometheus and Gaea knew for themselves that they were individuals once they found their own house and started their lives together as the family that they wish to become. In Anthem, Ayn Rand, expresses that individuality is something that is taken for
From when Equality begins to commit transgressions, ranging from stealing candles and manuscripts to being alone, he finally feels that, “in our heart there is the first peace we have known in twenty years” (37). Equality’s peace exhibits that fact that even though he has committed numerous transgressions, he is not at odds with himself because he is doing what he personally wants to do, under his own power and will--not stemming from the will of his brothers. The concept of Equality and his individuality continually appears throughout the story, but is clearly evident when he, “wish[es] it were possible to us to know the likeness of our own person” (62). Equality realizing that he strives to know what he looks like pushes him farther from his brothers and their ideals of collectivism and signifies the next step on his journey to discovering the true value of individuality. Finally, at the conclusion of the story, Equality decides that his, “home will become the capital of a world where each man will be free to exist for his own sake.” For one to exist for themselves, by their own wishes and desires, they must first free themselves from the suffocating ideals of collectivism.
He is the one, put in the book to break all the rules and bring the life of knowledge and ideas back to where they belong. At first Equality felt awful for many of the things he had done for example; “each night […] we, Equality 7-2521, steal out and run through the darkness to our place.”(35), but sooner or later it didn’t matter much to Equality anymore. When Equality worked in his place (a dark hole in the ground from the unmentionable times) he worked on a box that made electricity when he finished it he brought it to the home of the scholars, who rejected it. This was the last straw for Equality and that’s when he lost it; “You fools! You fools!
When he goes to the World Council, he presents his box of light to them. The council unfortunately rejects it and orders his and the box’s destruction, they describe it “was evil” saying that “what is not down collectively cannot be good” (72). The box actually represents himself, not only that but it is an extension of Equality and so we can see that the Council, and the society, have rejected him, called him evil and that he cannot be good. His sense of self is so high that he won’t allow them to oppress him any longer and breaks out through the window. Later he decides to free the world of collectivism by conquering it and destroying collectivism (104).
Anthem is a novel about a man, Equality 7-2521, who has been different from everyone else ever since he was a child. Equality has more ambition than the other people and he also breaks some of the laws. such as using the word "I" and keeping secrets from the council. But, his collectivist society taught him that being different is a sin so, he tries hard to suppress his curiosity and his desire of wanting another job than what the council assigned him. One day, as equality is working , he sees the beautiful Liberty 5-3000 among the peasants.
The names reveal the oppressive collectivism in the society of Anthem. Individuals just have stock names which reflect the collectivist social ideals, and then are literally given a number, following their stock name. Nothing in these names are expressive of individuality, which is a personality of a collective society. Furthermore, as the story
He began to fall in love with The Golden One, even though it was forbidden. He refused to give up the light that he discovered, because he knew the leaders of the society would destroy it, and his view of the leaders in the society changed as he began learning about the outside world. The more he learned about that world, the more he realized how limited and unfair the society he lived in truly was. Towards the beginning of the book, Equality 7-2521 followed the rules of the society and did not question his leaders. However, towards the end of the book he started denouncing them, and began to rebel.
In both communities people are forced to live exactly the same and not have any thing unique about them. In Anthem the community is taught this by being told, “We are nothing. Mankind is all” (Rand 20). This shows that they were told from day one that they should never think about themselves in life, but instead think only about the community and what is best for all. They believe that the community being exactly the same is alright, because they are taught that it is all for the greater good.