Ayn Rand's Anthem: A Collectivist Society

The Disparity Idiosyncratic happiness is eradicated and individualism has been eliminated. The society exhibited in Ayn Rand’s Anthem is of a dystopian essence, a domain where one must be interchangeable to his brothers. There is a substantial pressure on the locals in which they are expected to conform to the standards of that sector. The objective is complete egalitarianism, this is the “rightful” sense of morality. The protagonist of the novella, Equality 7-2521, is of this collective.

In the novel, Anthem by Ayn Rand, conveys a deep understanding of collectivism. Collectivism is when you give a group priority over yourself as an individual. The main character, Equality 7-2521, does not have an identity and cannot express himself as an individual. In Equality’s world they can not be self-centered and always have to think about others. Anthem takes place in the future, and the citizens are unaware of the past.

The Road to Individualism Every great heroin will face a plethora of conflict in their journey. For Equality, it is not any less. Equality faces internal and external conflict in his path to heroism, faces conflict with others, but also himself. As his desire for a new life grows, more problems arise.

In the novella Anthem, the story, told in the eyes of a 21 year old man named Equality 7-2521, not only shows the horrors of living in a dystopian society, but also the naive opinions the people around him have over the ways things are run. With such a society, the reader discovers more of the cities many unique rules and regulations as the early chapters, or journal entries, move forward. By the end of the story, however, Equality has made his way out of the city and dreams of a new society, based off of books he found from the Unmentionable Times, or in other words, before the existence of the city in which Equality used to live. Anthem portrays a dystopian society with rules and regulations unlike any other. This can be seen in everyone

Tohniiya Yazzie per 1 Be unique in your own way, do not let other people tell you what to do. Anthem is a dystopian society. No one thinks for themselves, and there is no individuality, everyone has to think like a group. The leaders are called Council of Scholars and they tell everyone in the society what to think and do. No one is allowed to be different, and everyone is supposed to be the same, which is expected to make the society equal.

Every person is unique and have their own opinions on certain topics. In the novel, Anthem, by Ayn Rand, she talks of the struggles of an egotistical individual with greater curiosity than his society allows. This man, Equality 7-2521, creates the invention of electricity, and instead of being applauded, he is condemned. He struggles through the various rules and laws of his society, for he is completely different from all of his brothers. In an excerpt called “The Soul of an Individualist”, Rand elaborates on the idea of an individualist, and allows the reader to get a better view at how passionate she is about one’s self.

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn said, “The secret of living in peace with all people lies in the art of understanding each one by his own individuality.” To find peace and live in harmony, people need to know and embrace each person’s individuality. Although the people in Anthem are supposed to be happy and peaceful, they are not permitted to have a sense of individualism. Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem illustrates the importance of each person in society having an individual identity to true peace and happiness. Rand expresses this philosophy through the main character Equality who discovers freedom and self-worth for himself.

"If the egotist is weak, his egotism is worthless. If the egotist is strong, acute, full of distinctive character, his egotism is precious, and remains a possession of the race," Alexander Smith. Anthem is a novella by author Ayn Rand. Rand tells the story of a young twenty-one-year-old man, Equality 7-2521, who lives in a dystopian society in an unspecified future. Individualism is not allowed anymore and the society is ruled by the Council.

¨We do not wonder at this new sin of ours. It is our second transgression of Preference, for we do not think of all our brothers, as we must, but only of one, and their name is Liberty 5-300. We do not know why we think of them” (Rand 41). In Ayn Randś dystopian novel, Anthem, the citizens are forced to think that they cannot have any preference, this includes liking someone more than others. Randś protagonist, Equality 7-2521, started the book falling in love with the Golden One, but as he moves toward individuality he begins to be in “love” less as he realizes there’s more than just being in a group.

“The first right on earth is the right of the ego. Man’s first duty is to himself. His moral law is to never place his prime goal within the persons of others.” - Howard Roark, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand Ayn Rand’s Anthem depicts a dim collectivist society in which the people have been robbed of their individuality, independence, and even their own aspirations; occupations are assigned by the Council, and those they feel threatened by are given the job of street sweeper. The narrator, Equality 7-2521, is rich in intellect and curiosity, and he wanted desperately to join the Council of Scholars so he could continue to study the world around him.