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.
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
Moral Assessment of Anthem In Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, Equality lives in a communist society that believes everyone must work for and be exactly like one another. For much of the novel, he believes what the Council of Vocations tells him, despite his intelligence and independence. By the end of the book, he realizes that the idea that everyone is the same and must work for each other is flawed. He deserves to live his own life and enjoy himself.
Anthem Argument Essay While reading Anthem, a very collective society was shown. But how different is the life depicted in the book compared to the style of life in America? Is America like the cut throat collectivist society shown in Anthem or is it more individualistic? Overall, America is a more individual society because the First Amendment promotes individualism, people in The United States can choose their own career and our government, which is a democracy, is created through individual ideas and opinions.
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.
Rules, some people follow them, others do not. Many people ask why these rules exist, or what they even mean. In Anthem, the rules of their society were created to assure that society would not have another catastrophe, like the one before the Unmentionable Times, when the Evil Ones wreaked havoc on the World, destroying everything in their path. Many of these rules limit one 's capabilities to think independently. Failure to follow these rules result in harsh punishment. One man, by the name of Equality 7-2521, has defied a numerous number of these laws. This man has made a monumental discovery that could advance mankind. Unfortunately, due to the World Councils stubbornness, he was rejected of his idea. In this moment, Equality finally realized how cruel his world really was. Equality escaped the persecution offered by the World Council and retreated into the Uncharted Forest. Therefore, being met with these unfair rules, Equality invisons a society that would flourish under one idea: Individualism.
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.
Anthem is a very symbolic novel that reinforces and expresses Ayn Rand's beliefs. The novel Anthem focuses on collectivism which is the thought that everything should be done for the good of the group. Great examples of symbolism is the uncharted forest, the name prometheus and the light bulb.
What does the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance mean to you? Land of the Free? Is America the Land of the Free? This has been a question that has been uprising lately as everyone is thinking about the importance of standing for the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance recently. Do you have to stand for the National Anthem? Are you not allowed to emphasise any part of the Anthem and sing the anthem how it is? Are you allowed to do what you want? Ever since the infamous kneel by San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick during the first preseason game of the 2016-2017 season these questions have been going through a lot of American’s head of how should you treat the National Anthem. In the Newsela article “Sports events have a way of sparking
Now that we know the textbook definitions of these words, let 's bring them into perspective in the setting of Anthem and “The Soul of an Individualist.” Prometheus is an egoist, but not in an unpleasant way. He has lived in a collectivist government for his whole life, this government taught that you could only be happy if you were working for your brothers. They also believed that the group mattered more than each individual in it. During the story, Prometheus begins to realize that individualism is not a bad thing. Individualism is the principle of being independent and self-reliant. He believes that he, himself, matters individually, not just the group as a
Robert Frost once said, “If society fits you comfortably enough, you can call it freedom”. Most people can relate to this quote, but what if an individual does not agree or feel comfortable in his or her social system? In the novella Anthem, Ayn Rand shows her willingness to leave an unjust society through Equality leaving his community, purposefully breaking laws, and pursuing his discoveries.
Collectivism, or group prioritized decision making, is widely regarded as a negative attribute when isolated. The world of Anthem is an example of a world based off of collectivism, where the most recent technology developed is a candle, which recently replaced torches. The world is undeniably primitive in some areas, but is clearly not in others. Almost all economic and social aspects of the society seemed to have been developed years ago, yet almost no progress has been made in scientific areas. Science isn’t likely to be a large or common factor in collectivist societies, and scientific research has a positive correlation to technological advances resulting in the lack of development in technology. This impoverished technology likely occurs
In the article, “What I Pledge Allegiance To” by Kiese Laymon. American people are blind when they see injustice and condemn people who question how this country is being run. If we can all learn to accept people ideas and believe we can move forward as a nation.Every American is born with a right to free speech, which should give the person the chance to speak their respective mind without the fear of prosecution. It is our social responsibility to keep hate from infecting this nation, we need to understand that if we accept every type of person who lives in the United States. We can address the problems we face as human beings, we can move forward to a better future for this country.
It has become common to hear reports of schools that have banned the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, a neighborhood association that prohibits the American Flag to be flown, or someone that is offended by our stars and stripes. Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is an opportunity for citizens to stand up for the American way of life. When given the opportunity, Americans should stand up, place their hand over their heart and remind themselves how blessed they are to live in the United States.
When the six major powers of Europe get in war, it is not like any other war. Early in 1914, France, Britain and Russia formed the Triple Entente, and declared war against the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy), which was later known as the World War I. The Cultural Impact of World War 1 during the war and immediately after it, was more significant than any other war. The Horrific and senseless World War I reported around 37,468,904 casualties (Encyclopedia Britannica), this seriously influenced talented artists, writers and musicians around the world who had answered their nations' call to join the Army, or suffered directly from war terrors at their hometowns.