Equality Quotes

Equality lives in a collectivist society, which is a society that believes, “that man must be chained to collective action and collective thought for the sake of what is called “the common good.” Therefore, Equality being the person he is, struggles with being an individual. He knows it is against the law but he enjoys knowledge so much, it confuses him. He states, “And in our heart-strange are the ways of evil! - and in our heart there is the first peace we have known in 20 years.”

If Equality didn’t commit those sins, he wouldn’t be so happy at the end of this novel. For example, if he didn’t find that underground tunnel, he wouldn’t be in the Uncharted Forest with Liberty 5-3000. Or when he got chosen by the Council of Vocations. He would’ve never had met Liberty 5-3000. They would’ve even been able to meet if Equality had a different job.

Prompt: Explain the following quote: “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.” How does this quote exemplify a theme of Anthem? In the novel “Anthem” by Ayn Rand, the main character Equality 7-2521 expresses his own individuality. Through the challenges that he was faced with, he learned many way to express himself differently.

This made Equality find out who he is and gave him the chance to be an individual. Equality’s views and mindset changes through out the book. He was born in a society where people are named by numbers. A world where people are used as machines. In this world the word “I” is out of existence.

In Ayn Rand's Dystopian/Philosophical novel “Anthem” we are given the chance to witness Equality 7-2521 flourish and bloom as a character in the first chapter alone. Despite living in a society where his rights as a human being are overly oppressed, Equality began to bring forth his uncoerced mind by the end of chapter 1 through his desire to know more about himself and the world around him. At the beginning of the story Ayn Rand portrays Equality 7-2521 as a defiant yet compliant person, Accordingly Equality states that “... there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone … The laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocations bid them so. May we be forgiven!”(Rand 3).

As the novella progresses Equality transforms into an individual who isn’t afraid to flaunt his individuality. “When I shall have read all the books and learned my new way, when my home will be ready and my earth tilled, I shall steal one day, for the last time into the cursed City of my birth.” (Rand 101). Thus doing so Equality wants to educate himself and bring the others to his new home in order to create his own society where people are free to be themselves. There he and the others will embrace the word “I” and be free to become

Equality truly believes in what he is told, and he accepts it. He talks about how he feels that he is cursed, and that he is a bad person, “Such would have been our life, had we not committed our crime which changed all things for us. And it was our curse which drove us to our crime. We had been a good Street Sweeper and like all our brother Street Sweepers, save for our cursed wish to know. We looked too long at the stars at night, and at the trees and the earth.”(29).

However, since the council fails to recognize this idea, Equality has two options: either face imminent execution or flee. By choosing the latter and fleeing into the Uncharted Forest, Equality finally is, in a physical sense, free from the rule of collectivist society. Now he is alone in the forest, alone with his thoughts. He decides where he goes, when he sleeps, what he eats. However, he is still not fully

Later in the novella, Equality does not care what laws he breaks because he knows that he is different and he is starting to realize that being different is not something to shelter and be ashamed of. “We have stolen candles from the Home of the Street Sweepers, we have stolen flints and knives and paper, and we have brought them to this place” (Rand 35). This shows that for Equality to fulfill his curiosity, he will go against his society and do what he feels is right. “We lunged against the door and it gave way. We stole through the dark passages, and through dark streets, and down our tunnel” (67).

Throughout the book Equality 7-2521 challenges the idea that everyone is and must be the same. Instead he acts on his own. In the book everyone is supposed to be equal alongside their brothers. That means that no one is more important, intelligent, and so on than their brothers and by being so it is an evil in the world.

With all of his experience that nobody has known in at least a century he is extremely capable of deciding whether of his choices are right. His personality keeps him from giving up hope and giving up on his society and his companion but keeps him curious enough to keep searching for something better in life. Equality has aged to the point where he thinks he needs to change the world and will try to do so. Most would believe that Equality’s actions were righteous and could not contemplate that his actions were

From the very beginning, Equality had known that he was different, he had an inimitable mentality from his brothers. As long as he could have remembered, Equality was shunned for being unequal from his brothers, when asking questions or wanting to discover new things. “Your eyes are as a flame, but our brothers neither hope not fire. Your mouth is cut out of granite, but out brothers are soft and humble. Your head is high, but our brothers cringe.

There's so much emphasis on putting others before oneself that people often forget to look out for their own needs, as shown in this book. Ayn Rand successfully captures the negatives of an overrated ideology and presents an unorthodox perspective on the matter. In conclusion, Equality's true motives behind his work are much more selfish than they first appear to be. Equality strives to fulfil his own personal desire rather than contribute everything to society, and this isn't necessarily a negative thing.

Toward the end of the novel Equality figures out that he can have a future as an individual by making his own decisions. He will have a house of his own “I shall live here in my own house” (99). Also in Equality’s future he will have a the choice to learn and accomplish what he wants in order to make him feel proud within himself. “ I shall learn many secrets from my books” (99). “I shall rebuild achievements from the past” (99-100).

To start, Equality feels it is important to be true to himself. He grew up in a strict community