Finding Meaning In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Some people are filled with an insatiable desire to learn. In “Anthem” by Ayn Rand, the main character, Equality 7-2521, wants nothing more than to study the Science of Things and become a Scholar. Although this is forbidden for a Street Sweeper like him, he does research in isolation. He wants to join the Scholars because he is intelligent, inquisitive, and always driven to learn about the way things around him work.

Equality knows he is smart, because he was constantly reminded of his transgression of having a quicker mind than his brothers growing up. He isn’t quite sure what to do with his intelligence, but he knows that he wants to be accepted into the House of Scholars so he can use it to learn and support his community by making it better. However, being too smart is considered a sin amongst his society, and he is made a Street Sweeper by the Council of Vocations so that he can’t put his gift to use.

His curiosity, despite it getting him in trouble, helps him educate himself about his surroundings. For example, while experimenting with a dissected frog, he discovers electricity through a copper wire and this eventually leads him to create a light bulb

When he says, “I wanted to know the meaning of things... I am the meaning” (94) he is realizing that he has found what he was subconsciously looking for all along: his individuality. His smarts, endless curiosity, and passion for learning are what made him an individual and gave him the ability to start anew. In some ways, one could relate his story to situations we are faced with in the modern world today. People are afraid to show any signs of individualism, and would rather conform to those around them than stand apart from the crowd with their uniquity. If people were motivated similarly to Equality and created their own light bulbs, perhaps society would be more bearable and interesting than it currently