In the dystopian novel “Anthem” by Ayn Rand, the author uses the Council as an example of those who possess complete knowledge. They lead the community with their wisdom and are always right in their conviction, which is how they manipulate the City. The character Equality 7-2521 is introduced as one who believes that despite the requirements of the Council to obey, he cannot compromise the morals that are significant to him, so he wrote, which he believes “is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others will see. It is base and evil.”(Rand 1) This textual evidence suggests that while Equality 7-2521 sees the Council as the city’s dictators, he has wronged them by committing a …show more content…
We know that we are evil, but there is no will in us and no power to resist it.”(Rand 2) Equality-7-2521 had struggles with remorse across the entire chapter due to the wrongdoing he committed against the supposed mentors in his life. He believes that by biting the hand that fed him, they ended up in the tunnel, penning this letter. Proceeding into the Novel, Equality 7-2521 was viewed as someone with a burning curiosity, so he was sent to the Home of the Sweet Sweepers and that’s when they made a groundbreaking discovery, they saw “iron rings as steps leading down a shaft into a darkness without a bottom.” We shall go down,” said the character International 4-8818.” “It is forbidden,” they answered. We said: “The Council does not know about this whole thing, so it cannot be forbidden.”(Rand 9) Finding an excuse to enter the shaft, Equality disregarded the Council without feeling guilt or ashamed of doing so, illustrating how her perception of the Council had changed over the story, revealing two different characters. Clearly, Equality's quest to discover who she truly is has dug up a huge hole for her, which is enabling her to learn more about the hidden aspects of the society they live
After being told to go back to the House of Corrective Detention he ran the opposite way, toward the Uncharted Forest. The Uncharted Forest was forbidden for anyone to go into, because it was said to be “evil”. When Equality 7-2521 stopped running it was too late and he was already in the Uncharted Forest. He faced everyone’s fears and stayed in the forest, to hide from the guards. After realizing the forest was not as scary as everyone had said he began going further into it.
Equality 7-2521 doesn’t like what the council of vocations assigned his job for the rest of his life. He was always different from his brothers and people look at him like. Equality 7-2521 always wanted to be apart of the home of the scholars and learn more things. While doing his job equality sees an a dark tunnel that lead to thing from the unmentionable. He sneaks off to the tunnel to mess with this box that he found while roaming the tunnels one night.
Equality 7-2521 knew he was gonna get in trouble, but he knew his ways not to get caught. In chapter 6 of the novel Anthem when Equality 7-2521 got stripped and tied to the post and got beat at the Palace of Corrections was the first time he was ever caught. He was so intrigued with the electricity that he lost track of time as to when he needed to get back. The people that work for the Palace of Correction do not really care about their people, so they will hurt the people just to get the truth out. They will keep on beating their people just like they did with Equality 7-2521 just for the truth.
In the dystopian society that Equality 7-2521 lives in he could be punished for thinking for himself. He wanted to leave the society to find his happiness. His two friends wanted the best for him, and objectivism not being selfish. In the society Equality 7-2521 faced the troubles of not being able to to think for himself and have independence. While he is trying to find his own happiness he meets two people who are just like him.
Equality finds a tunnel that he thinks is from the “unmentionable times” is his society while he was street sweeping. He goes down in it and finds smooth hard surfaces which I inferred to be glass, in Anthem all objects are raw materials so it is not possible for there to be glass unless the council was hiding the tunnel so no one could find it. He returns to the house of street sweepers late and the council asks where he has been. He refuses to tell them so he gets taken somewhere by the council and they try to whip the information out of him. “ A grill, a grill, a grill” Equality says.
Equalitys’ Sense of Purpose In the book Anthem written by Ayn Rand, society is now known as “the great WE” (19). Where man may not think as one, but must think as a whole; as it is the law. Even though, there is total equality, there is no right of a free mind.
Though Equality starts Anthem with no knowledge of selfishness, raised in a society that forces all to work for the good of all, he ends Anthem by wishing to liberate those oppressed by the lies of the
The Council of Vocations assigned Equality the job of Street Sweeper in order to allow their collectivist society to continue uninterrupted. Oppressing Equality’s individuality was the means of achieving that end (making said end sinister as well). The right of the people to self-advancement was withheld, and the Council of Vocations achieved their ultimate goal of preserving their
Like when Equality shows his discover the council states “And without the plans of the World Council the sun cannot rise” (74). With that in mind, there is a class system in Anthem making the government being a truly equal society farse told many times by creating higher ups the hold all the power over others. Along with that the council controls the advancements of the world shown with the statement “Many men in the Homes of the Scholars have had strange new ideas in the past,” said Solidarity 8-1164, “but when the majority of their brother Scholars voted against them they abandoned their ideas, as all men must” (73). In light of that quote the council creates a dictatorship of one party rule further planting a sham of an equal society. Finally the council puts themselves above the rest by saying “How dared you.
Throughout the novel Equality 7-2521 had been living a sort of double life. He would work his assigned job as a street sweeper, then he would go and work on his electricity box. He finally gathered the courage to present his great finding to the council. The council looked down upon Equality in disgust one member went as far to say, “And if the Councils had decreed that you should be a Street Sweeper, how dared you think that you could be of greater use to man than in sweeping the streets” (72). This is the council's way of humbling Equality in telling him that he is no use to any of his brothers other than sweeping the streets.
After harnessing the power of electricity, Equality’s sense of pride dramatically increases. Even though the city strictly prohibits new ideas not supported by the majority of the Scholars, Equality, foolishly driven by his newly inflated ego, believes his invention is superior and his intelligence is unmatchable. Therefore, he concludes that when he shows “everything to [the Council], they will see, understand and forgive. For [his] gift is greater than [his] transgression” (Rand 61). Believing his invention is great is not entirely incorrect because it would, in fact, substantially change society; however, he fails to recognize the repercussions of electricity as negative ones.
In response to the choice of Street Sweeper, Equality thinks, “We knew we had been guilty, but now we had a way to atone for it” (26). With his intelligence and curiosity, Equality would do much better as a Scholar. The government punishes him for being different, and as a result, they can’t see him become advantageous. They are blinded by their beliefs on
Equality defies the council of scholars and his government by studying and learning about the world. “How dare you think that your mind held greater wisdom than the mind of your brothers” (Rand 71). Equality goes against
Since this is a safe place, Equality feels peaceful in the tunnel. There are no intrusions and forced thoughts there. Because of this, Equality prefers the tunnel compared to the Home of the Street Sweepers. Equality wishes he was a scholar and to live in the Home of the Scholars more than any other dream. He prefers to have the job of being a Scholar over a Street Sweeper, but in their society it is the Council who determines what jobs.
The council did everything to make him less of a danger to their society, such as leaving him Street Sweeper that requires no knowledge. As a Street Sweeper, Equality 7-2521 is restricted the resources needed in order to reach his goal of learning. The council also turned away Equality’s glass box because it is “dangerous” to the society. The council is Equality 7-2521’s biggest nemesis resorting in him escaping the