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 struggle for people not to be able to think freely. However, the Council in Anthem has forbidden individual thoughts. They worked to create a society where everyone is supposedly defined as equal. These rules cause Equality to believe he is evil for not being able to prevent his individual thoughts. Equality thinks he is a sinner for thinking outside of his …show more content…
Once Equality read the books, he learned about Gaea and Prometheus. They renamed themselves those names, which shows that they will allow individual names in their new society, rather than keeping the names they were given in their old society, which were ordinary names to make sure nobody was more important than the other. Originally, Prometheus was named “Equality 7-2521” and Gaea was named “Liberty 5-3000.” The numbers suggest that other people had the same names, which means that they didn’t have their own individual names while living in their society of total equality. For the future generations, Prometheus had created a new way to live--a better, more equal way of life. Since Prometheus and Gaea chose their own names, they started to create a new sense of individualism for the future generations to come. Here, it is proven that Prometheus will not have the rule of being assigned ordinary names, because he changed his name and Liberty’s to represent their
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Show MoreFrom this quote, Equality recognized the freedoms he didn’t have, creating a turning point for the story to unfold. “The sacred word: EGO”(105) is represented as a word for greed, glory and the reason for living throughout the story. The term “ego” doesn’t always mean pride, it means
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.
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.
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.
Ayn Rand’s Anthem starts by Equality 7-2521 saying “It is a sin to write this.” Throughout the story, Equality’s views and mindset changes, he realizes that he is different from his brothers and its ok to be different. He discovers that if something is legal it is not certainly right. His eager for knowledge taught him the word “I” abandoning the word “We”.
Ayn Rand’s Anthem is a creative novel about a society limited by a dictating government that only permits certain thoughts, words, and actions for it’s people. In this society, all of the citizens are given a role from age 15 are are expected to follow that role with passion. However, Equality 7-2521 is a citizen of this totalitarian society who feels he must take action to break free. It is ironic his name is Equality 7-2521, because the society revolves around equality (Jones). The dystopian world Equality 7-2521 lives in causes great conflict (internal and external), which forces him to learn many new things and grow as a person throughout the novella.
“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 Anthem, a science fiction novel, by Ayn Rand, the society believes in this philosophy. They believe one’s personality is not their own but a group’s identity, collectivism. In Anthem, Equality 7-2521 lives in a society that is restricted with rules that limits them from finding themselves.
The novel “Anthem” by Ayn Rand was a short heartwarming story that was set in the future presumably after World War 3. In Anthem the society uses Collectivism; they live in groups and put the group above individuals. These people live similar to an ant colony their only purpose for existence is for the overall good of the whole. With this being said, people are not to see themselves as anything more than part of the group.
It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.” (Rand 1.1) So ends the end of this essay, Equality’s moral assessment in his life was worth the risk he took to be independent. His name is Prometheus, and his girlfriend’s name is Gaiea.
Equality 7-2521 can free himself from collectivism because he was independent. In the novel Anthem Ayn Rand makes us comprehend that Equality had and inner struggle and
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. The Anthem society in forcing of strict laws made it easy for everyone to lose their individuality.
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
However, when the story's protagonist, Equality, makes a huge scientific discovery, his intentions are more selfish than that. Rand's universe presents extreme collectivism. Through job assignments, clothing, names, and the like, individuality is completely stripped from citizens.
In the final chapters of the book, after Equality and The Golden One have discovered their new house and proposed to build a new life, they read books in its intact library and so discover the forbidden word, “I” (94). This discovery prompts Equality to radically overhaul his entire way of going through life, aligning it to Rand’s Objectivist philosophy. His focus on himself, illustrated through his obsession with the word I is show in the last two chapters of the book, where he latches on to the idea that devoting one’s life to only oneself is the only appropriate way to live life. Rand shows this with statements from Equality such as, “I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them”(96). Equality is proclaiming that his life will be best lived in a purely selfish manner, where he will not take care of anyone else, but will not ask anyone to take care of him either.
“The Unconquered” (56). Equality, received a new name from Liberty. Equality receives a new name and it shows individualism because his new name has meaning. The Unconquered one is a perfect name for Equality because he walks up straight with confidence and thinks about the best. There is also individualism for Equality when he felt pride and satisfaction.