Example Of Individualism In Anthem

Could you imagine living in a world where you were not your own individual? In the book Anthem, by Ayn Rand, everyone is the same and no one can be “better” or more intelligent than each other. In this book, the characters can not even speak the word “I” without getting executed. Think about having rules that restrict individuals from having their own thoughts, ideas, and opinions. In the book Anthem, the readers will discover that these rules and restrictions become a reality.

“We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, one, indivisible and forever.”(19) The leaders of the society in Anthem enforce the idea of all men being one, true equality where all work for the good of their fellow men. In this society no one is capable of being hurt by another's pride or abilities. All people are given the numbing safety of having no talents, no favoritism, and no ego. “Preach Selflessness. Tell a man that he must live for others.”(The Soul of a Collectivist) By being one and the same, everyone is promised a sense of equality, something mankind fights over relentlessly.

Individuality allows every person to be themselves and be different from each other. However, In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Rand describes a society where the people were not allowed to openly be themselves, or else they would be punished for being different. The main character, Equality, notices he is different slowly throughout the novella, but kept continuing to be like everyone else for awhile. These rules exist in this society to strip human individuality in order to achieve total equality.

“It is a sin to write this,” so begins Anthem. But by the end of the story, Equality 7-2521 has a different moral assessment of his action. Do you think Equality’s eventual assessment of his sin is correct? Why or why not? Explain with evidence from the story.

Are you currently bombarded by rules set by your parents or boss’? Imagine all the rules you currently have and then times them by ten! It might seem like it’s hard to imagine but the book Anthem by Ayn Rand takes place in a very controlling city. In the city of Anthem, they have a numerous amount of rules and controls set on the city and the people. Anthem has put multiple rules into action so that everyone is “equal” and there are “less” problems. What the society doesn’t know is that there are problems in Anthem. Equality sees these problems and will not implement them in the world that he envisions.

Imagine living in a world where everybody's lives are completely mapped out by the government. Where every decision is made without the input of the citizens it affects. In the novella Anthem, Ayn Rand depicts a completely collectivist society, where every idea, action, and invention is purely for the benefit of society as a whole. Everything is done with the entire population in mind, and individuality is extremely frowned upon. However, when the story's protagonist, Equality, makes a huge scientific discovery, his intentions are more selfish than that.

Ayn Rand uses her novela ANTHEM to explore the theme of individualism by having Equality discover light, by defing society, and discovering that ones self respect is the most important thing in the universe.

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.

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

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

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

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

Anthem is a book that makes oneself contemplate the future and what evils are bestowed upon it. In this novel, the reader is caught in the life of Equality. Equality’s life is placed in the future, where the feared reality of communism has conquered all but the souls of few weary men. Equality is one of those few men who have a light that is invulnerable to a ravaging wind. Equality’s time captive before his extraordinary escape has taken a toll on his body and mind and now at the end of his journey forces him to question whether the decisions he’s made are full of sin or teeming with righteousness. Most who read this book would not come close to thinking these actions were wrong only the numbers of people in Equality’s generation would think this.

You are not important, you are alive only to serve your fellow brothers, you must not be different. In Anthem, Equality 7-2521 lives in a collectivist society with these rules, these boundaries and others like them.”We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, Once, indivisible, and forever,”(19). Individualism is a forgotten concept, hidden from the people. Equality grows up with a superior intellect and ambition than all others around him, so the Council of Vocations assign him to street sweeper in the hope that Equality will give up his thirst of knowledge. He starts becoming self-aware and everyday for three hours he sits in a secret tunnel accumulating new knowledge. He

Far into the future, the society in the book Anthem forms a dystopian civilization where individuality is nonexistent. The civilization frowns upon anything individual, as it is against the laws set by the “Brotherhood” which consists of every man on Earth. They allow no one to be alone even in words such as the singular pronoun “I”, people cannot even have ideas of their own. They sleep in groups where nights are horrible, and people wake up screaming and sobbing. People assign other’s jobs because it is illegal to have choice, or show preference. Equality 7-2521 says on the day that the council chooses the young boys’ line of work, “We were guilty and we confess it here: we were guilty of the great Transgression of Preference. We prefered some work and some lessons to the others.” (Rand 22). Equality 7-2521 is different, and he is punished for this. When Equality 7-2521 breaks the law by being alone, he discovers electricity all over again, but the Council rejects his ideas because he worked alone on them. This hurt Equality 7-2521, and causes conflict in the lives of many in their society. So many people have ideas, and could better the human race, but if they are not agreed upon by a majority of others then they are immediately rejected. The person cannot even propose the idea without the assistance of another because it will lead to people thinking that they had worked alone, and