Example Of Individualism In Anthem

What would life be without evil in the world? Many optimists believe there is an inherent goodness gifted to all people at birth and fundamentally embedded in us that dictates our actions, but the reality is exactly the contrary. People are evil, not because of a desire or choice but out of absolute necessity on account of none of the things we enjoy today would be available or even invented without some evil. Evil, within limitations and with restrictions, is productive for a group of people. Society, with all its art, culture, music, and glory, was created because there was evil present and now works to destroy its very creator through police departments and social initiatives.

“The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It 's people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages.” -- Banksy, Wall and Piece. A society cannot function without a system of rules to create order and morality. However, the creators of the nameless, collectivist community in Anthem took this concept too far with the complete removal of individualism—the root of ego.

Despite the obvious genius of the invention, they completely disregard it. International 1-5537 tells Equality that, “‘What is not done collectively can not be good’” (73). The concept that individuality is evil is so deeply ingrained in the morality of the society that the World Council of Scholars, who should be the smartest people in the society, don’t realize how senseless it is to disregard the lightbox simply because it was created by an individual. The institutions in Anthem are so extremely devoted to altruism, that any idea of doing something for the benefit of oneself is considered morally wrong and unlawful.

“An irrational society is a society of moral cowards – of men paralyzed by the loss of moral standards, principles, and goals” (86) says Rand, and I feel that too far have the men in the society sunk away from moral standards, like putting their knowledge to use and expanding it, simply because they do not believe in judging others for fear of what others may see in them, especially Equality since he always abides by the strict standards with fear of the civilization itself. Equality would certainly agree with Rand’s advice, “One must never fail to pronounce moral judgement”, as Equality did by leaving the controlled society that brainwashed

He was going to get the people who were not completely defeated by the rules. He wanted to show them the words “I” and “ego”. This was the biggest transgression you could commit, although he didn't care. Equality came to the realization that this society that they had been living in didn't benefit the people. He knew that they never really were equal despite all the rules.

When Americans stopped fearing the British government, they were able to overcome them. In Anthem, Equality realized he wasn’t happy with the world he was living in. “My happiness is not the means to an end. It is the end. It is its own goal.

There is suffering in the world, because life is unfair and always has been. Good people are harmed by evil people, who do not care about the wellbeing of others. Life for some people is about honoring family and tradition for others it is about gaining power over others. Death is a natural occurrence and some people are able to accept this, some cannot accept the fact that life is not eternal and seek ways to artificially elongate their lives even if it means harming or killing others in the process. All people are different and while some are righteous and will stand by their beliefs even if it means death they will, others are cowards driven by greed and power and will destroy anything and everything for it.

For this reason, Herold did not deserve a conviction with a capital sentence; the punishment was far too severe, and does not fit the crime. Herold’s actions are understandable; he was stressed to Booth out of fear and pressure from him, he didn’t

He continued to learn, which eventually lead to his demise. He was exiled from the society for an invention he created alone, yet again another transgression broken. Therefore the Transgression of the Unspeakable Word has great significance in the story, due to the fact that Equality is an individual and the author uses this transgression to limit individuality. Martyrdom also plays an important role in the work Anthem. Martyrdom is the act of suffering greatly for a religion, or cause.

Even though the truth is revealed, people are already are getting executed. And as being all for perfection (which is what we will talk about next), is very bad because the sins are over the authorizes. SO in a way they are just scared to hear another outcome to the situation. Danforth especially, does not want his image to be torn over a numerous execution of innocent people over nothing. And will destroy his perfection as a Puritan.

In the novella Anthem, individual rights and freedom do not exist. The word “I” is prohibited to be spoken by men. Equality 7-2521 is a street sweeper of the city and he is different from the others in the society. Equality is more intelligent, taller, learns quicker, and he enjoys learning about science; especially how things move and work. Since the word “I” is the unspeakable word, Equality uses the word “We” to resemble that he is doing these actions .

The Road to Individualism Every great heroin will face a plethora of conflict in their journey. For Equality, it is not any less. Equality faces internal and external conflict in his path to heroism, faces conflict with others, but also himself. As his desire for a new life grows, more problems arise.

“Many men in the Homes of the Scholars have had strange new ideas in the past . . . but when the majority of their brother Scholars voted against them, they abandoned their ideas, as all men must.” Equality presents the council his invention of the lightbulb showing technological progress from the candle. The Council doesn’t care to advance technological progress but only to control it. All the members of the council must agree to approve an invention and that has not happened in a hundred years.

Everyone is born with independence, but imagine a society where this virtue is ceased. In the novel “Anthem” written by Ayn Rand, she describes a society in which everyone is the exact same. Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000 are two characters that live under a strict and controlling rule, in which they make decisions for you. As they story goes on, the two characters discover love, freedom, liberty, and independence. To Equality, being similar to his brothers was not equal, he believes that the meaning of “I” celebrates joy and peace within a society.

“The question isn’t who is going to let me, it’s who is going to stop me”(Ayn Rand). When The Council tried to restrict the narrator, Equality 7-2521, from being different from his brothers and everyone else in the society, he still continued to think and experiment on his own. Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem, takes place in a future, dystopian society, where the idea of individualism is no longer accepted by society. Throughout the plot, Equality 7-2521 is breaking away from the rules of The City and he works as a street sweeper trying to make up for his sins. He makes some discoveries and strengthens relationships along the way.