Dystopian Setting And Criticism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Unlike during the Unmentionable Times, when men created “towers [that] rose to the sky,” it is an

Anthem is a story written by Ayn Rand as a propaganda piece portraying the evils of communism. The book takes place in the future in a undisclosed city surrounded by forest. In this city a collectivist society dwells. The conflict of Anthem is character vs. society where one man by the name of Equality decides to go against his broken government. Equality took a stand against his broken society, he has defied the council of scholars and his government, had a relation with a women, and escaped the city to The Uncharted Forest.

In the book Anthem their society is way different from ours. They are not allowed to be individual or say the word “I”. They can’t have names, instead they are in groups and have group names. They all have a part in society like their jobs and things they do. For example the equality group belong to the street sweepers. Children get taken from their mothers when they are young and get split up into their groups.

How could losing individuality affect a society? The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is about a guy named Equality 7-2521 who is trying to find himself in a society where everything is controlled and different. Later, he finds himself even though he will have to go through many obstacles to get there. The process behind losing individuality in an Anthem’s society are in forcing strict laws, brain washing of their citizens, and removing of family.

Ayn Rand’s Anthem starts by Equality 7-2521 saying “It is a sin to write this.”

Collectivist Society: The idea that people should prioritize the good of society over the welfare of the individual. Collectivism-- relating closely to the word collection—has to do with the political theory that put the group before the individual.

Society is fundamentally built upon rigid structure and control using rules to attempt to maintain order amongst a society comprised of many individuals. Inherently rules put at expense the freedom of individuals to achieve personal happiness in order to build a society comprised of more equally achieving individuals. Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem builds a society in which rules restrict all individual freedoms and force a more collective ideal. The rules put in place by the society are meant to make everybody collectively more happy and prevent inherent human subjectivity; however, inherent to human nature, rules can be subjectively interpreted. In contrast to the pre-existing society presented by Rand, Equality 7-2521 seeks

“...For I have lived in the city of the damned, and I know what horror men permitted to be brought upon them.” (103) In the novel “Anthem” by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 has been raised in a totalitarian world. Everyone thinks of the whole, never themselves. It is forbidden to do otherwise. Equality has always struggled with fitting in. He’s always been different. He’s tried to go along with it all. Yet in the end he winds up leaving, and discovering a new way to live, the old ways. How people lived in the “unmentionable” times. He tells how the leaders are wrong, and how people shouldn’t have to live the way they do. That it is wrong. That the word “we” is the route of all evil.

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. Despite government regulations, Equality’s individuality and intelligent characteristics combined lead him to rediscover the lightbulb.

The passage, Anthem, is a science fiction novel written by Ayn Rand. It is mainly about the protagonist, Equality 7-2521's, futuristic journey on rediscovering various aspects of human’s nature. Concepts such as individualism and freedom have been lost due to the oppressive rule of the government, serving as the main antagonist of the novel. Throughout the passage, Anthem, the author uses the literary element of theme. The theme is the main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work. The author uses a theme to convey the central idea of the importance and effects of a person’s individuality on both their freedom and euphoria.

In Ayn Rand's Anthem, we encounter a very unstable future society. Totalitarianism has overtaken this culture. This means that one group of people rules over society and tolerates no variation of opinion. We find the people in Anthem's society to be slaves to the god "We" and individuality eliminated as much as possible. One major way Anthem differs from most books placed in a future time period is the absence of scientific and technological advancement in this society. In fact, there is scarcely any technology in this society at all! Ayn Rand was trying to illustrate certain ideas to the readers about discoveries that are made, particularly in these areas. Let's delve into her ideas presented regarding these

Utopian societies aren’t always as they seem. The author of the book Anthem grew up in a collectivist society and is voicing her opinion through the character Equality about individualism. The book Anthem can be classified as a dystopia, because the government is trying to force everyone to be equal, people are miserable, but don’t want to say or do anything about it, and not everyone knows the truth about the unmentionable times.

In the novel Anthem the author, Ayn Rand discusses the ways Equality 7-2521’s world is a dystopia because independent thought, information and freedom are restricted, the natural world was banished and distressed, a concept is worshipped by the citizens and the society is an illusion of a perfect , utopian world.

In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, mankind is a philanthropic machine. The brotherhood nobly works together to achieve a common goal. In doing so, each man is asked to disregard his own personal means and goals. For every decision must be a collective thought and every advancement, a joint action. However, one man in this machine malfunctions. Equality-72521. With an inquisitive nature, an innovative mind, and latent desire, Equality withholds the traits of a visionary who advocates for individuality. Every step Equality takes, is one away from the public-spirited system. Another towards personal identity. Each step is an internal struggle, due to the communist machine’s brainwash and eloquent reprogram of Equality’s instinctive mind. But nature tells Equality that his DNA is nothing save himself. Nature tells Equality that individuality is man’s birthright. Man’s one true victory. It

"We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever’”(Rand 19). In Ayn Rand’s dystopian novel, Anthem, the citizens are trained from birth to think only in the plural, to the point where they cannot even conceive of individuals, but only see each other as part of the whole group. Rand’s protagonist, Equality 72521, begins the novel as a street-sweeper who is devoted to the group, but begins to move towards individuality as he progresses towards pure selfishness, as Rand believes we all should. Rand uses the words “we” and “I” to represent Equality’s journey from being dependent on the group, to being utterly independent of everyone.