ipl-logo

Ayn Rand's Anthem Analysis

725 Words3 Pages

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Sin is “a breaking of a moral or legal code.” Today moral codes could be religious or dictated by the laws of the government. In Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, Equality’s life contains of two completely different legal codes in his life. At the beginning of Equality’s life he lives a collectivist lifestyle, just as Rand did, and once he makes his way to The Uncharted Forest he lives in his free society. Anthem was not written to illustrate Rand’s past, but more to prove to be free is a blessing. In Anthem, Equality’s eventual judgement of his sin is morally correct considering of the way collectivism structured his life, how freedom shaped the cessation of his life, and his finding of his individuality from a simple word. Collectivism structured Equality’s life up to his early twenties, until he realizes that his moral code he has been following has been inaccurate all along. In today’s society, in the U.S.A. many Americans will question how China, Cuba and an abundance equivalent to them can run on a collectivist society, comparable to how Equality questions the world he used to live in. In the text, Equality …show more content…

In the text Equality shares his explanation of freedom and what it is; “It was a long story, and the spirit which moved it was the spirit of man’s freedom. . . . There is nothing to take a man’s freedom away from him, save other men. To be free, a man must be free of his brothers. That is freedom. That and nothing else” (Rand 101). This shows Equality feels freedom is not being controlled by anyone else than oneself. Equality’s confidence and passion he has towards teaching and living the rest of his life free makes the readers agree with his decision. The way the book is written makes the readers feel empathy towards Equality and have no pity towards the collectivist

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Ayn Rand's Anthem '

    414 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anthem is a good book about the future and their own versions of a Utopian society. This novel is all about independence and how options are limited. The question asked is if you think Equality’s eventual assessment of his sins is correct. My answer to this question is, he felt as if his sins taught him more.

    Read More

  • Equality 7-2521 In Ayn Rand's Anthem

    665 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book, “Anthem” we explore inside the mind of Equality 7-2521 and how his mindset changes from “We” to “Me”, making him a very dynamic character. Equality 7-2521 is in a sense a more “Superior” being to his peers and those around him. He possesses a bright and adventurous mind; it’s almost like he doesn’t have any weaknesses at all. The only visible trace of weakness is the guilt inherited from his society about pursuing his own happiness. As the story progresses Equality starts to evolve beyond the guilt which he has endured for so long.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Anthem By Ayn Rand

    1150 Words  | 5 Pages

    From the past to the present, society has struggled with the concepts of conformity and individuality. Often times, people find comfort and safety in being like everyone else because they don’t feel alone. On the other hand, individuality seems to be encouraged by society by telling everyone to be themselves, yet people are ridiculed for standing out. In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, the conflict between conformity and individuality is present in Equality’s quest for freedom when he convinces International 4-8818 not to report their discovery of the tunnel, when Equality meets the Golden One, and when he presents his invention to the house of scholars.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Anthem By Ayn Rand

    1560 Words  | 7 Pages

    Also, through Equality’s view, the reader can hear his voice and the “archaic language” Rand used for a futuristic setting in order to show the regression of humanity by forming to a completely collective society (Short Story Criticism). The importance of “we” becomes especially profound when, near the end of the story, Equality discovers “I”. The reader instantly sees a change when he says, “I am. I think. I will.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Anthem By Ayn Rand

    311 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever felt like a total outsider? In Anthem Ayn Rand shows a perspective from a young boy in a dystopian society. In the far future what lies ahead, no one knows. In this story you get an idea of one scary scary possibility.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Individuality In Ayn Rand's Anthem

    1128 Words  | 5 Pages

    For Liberty is so beautiful and “glowing” that she cannot be ignored. It, however, is against the commandments of Equality’s brotherhood to peruse her, as it would unbalance the mutual emotion between all men by creating preference. In a wretched battle of nature vs nurture, Equality finds that despite these regulations, he cannot stop himself from yearning for Liberty, whom serves as “blade of iron” cutting through to the undeniable truth that Equality is a selfish being, generally motivated by his own personal

    Read More

  • Theme Of Sin In Ayn Rand's Anthem

    609 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sin is one’s belief of wrongdoing. Not everyone’s view of sin is the same. In the novella Anthem, by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521’s believes individualism is a sin (in the beginning). His viewing is wrong because individualism is what drives humans to differ from one another, and is overall a good thing, not a bad thing. However, Equality views it as a bad thing because he has been “brainwashed” through his entire life by society to believe that.

    Read More

  • Individualism In The Book Anthem

    686 Words  | 3 Pages

    As he gains independence and freedom, Equality also discovers the beauty of the power of his mind. By the end of the novel, Equality has become a true man, proud, fearless, cheerful, and independent. He has also learned the wickedness of his society and in addition to rejecting them. In following Equality on his quest to find himself, Anthem illustrates the wrongs of collectivism

    Read More

  • The Role Of Individualism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

    1714 Words  | 7 Pages

    Anthem’s society is dystopian world where all human advancements and technology are absent. Individualism is seen as a sin and is shunned by the citizens. The citizens have been stripped of any solitary rights and only live to serve their brothers around them. Equality was a City Street Sweepers that had always been told that he was different from his brothers; both mentally and physically. Nevertheless, he still worshiped the principles of his world like the people around him.

    Read More

  • Ayn Rand Anthem Analysis

    517 Words  | 3 Pages

    Anthem is a science fiction which is written by Ayn Rand. It tells the shoking future were people have no freedom of speech,act or do watever they want to do there is one guy who’s name was equality he is a street sweeper and very smart. Who had great pation to be a scholar (scientist) in those times but most of them didn’t want him to become a scholar because his teachers thing he is so smart kind of our opposite world now and they think we are unmentionable time which was very dangerous to them they always thought what we left behind was dangerous but equality thinks opposite he thougt the stuff we left behind can help there world so he go inside a tunnel and so some bulb and wire he connected the wire and at last it lit up and he made it ready for showing this invention to scholar

    Read More

  • Ayn Rand's Anthem: Living Life Through A Mask

    646 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning, he reveals the unique features that make him an outlier in society and how these features and thoughts are not accepted. Equality 7-2521 begins by talking about how in his society, “it is a sin to think words no others think,” in addition to how it is not allowed to “put them down upon a paper no others are to see” (Rand 2). Equality 7-2521 reveals how the society he is living in has no freedom or individualism for people, and they must abide by society’s rules, or otherwise, they are punished. Equality also shows how society believes in conformity rather than individuality, and has taken freedom away from the individuals living in society, brainwashing them into society’s values. Later on, in Anthem, Equality brings a new concept to the World Council of Scholars, which is against the law but uses society’s ideas to brainwash them into listening to him plead for acceptance.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Equality In Anthem

    586 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Path Towards Equality In Anthem, Ayn Rand creates a world where unbroken laws erase individuality and displays the plea for control against anarchy in the world. The laws created prohibit individuals from standing out from one another, prevent individuality, and create a uniform “we” in order to keep people from thinking about themselves. Equality envisions a society that will not only destroy this “we” but it will also create a world of choice from the individuality gained with the word “I”. The pride that Equality grained throughout the story and his numerous transgressions will help direct his society in the direction he wants it to go.

    Read More

  • The Value Of Freedom In Anthem By Ayn Rand

    921 Words  | 4 Pages

    This shows Equality distancing himself from the dystopian society and gaining greater freedom. Equality does this through his constant resistance and rule-breaking tendencies when searching for his own freedom. Freedom is something that both Equality in the Anthem, as well as its author Rand valued, as it is a frequent and recurring theme in the

    Read More

  • Anthem Essay On Equality

    488 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine living in a society where you had to be the same as everyone else, risking your life to fight for individuality. In the life of Equality 7-2521, that is exactly what he has to live through. The book Anthem by Ayn Rand, is about a young boy who goes by the name of Equality 7-2521 that is commonly referred to as just “Equality.” Equality is a little different than everyone, as he is taller than everyone else, smarter, and breaks the rules. Equality lives in a society where everyone is the same, and no one is to be different than one another.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Anthem By Ayn Rand

    1067 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Ayn Rand's Anthem Analysis

Open Document