Anthem was written in 1937 by Ayn Rand. The story is about a young man, Equality 7-2521 who is appointed to sweep the streets and he finds a tunnel that sets off his curiosity about the unmentionable times where he invents a light bulb. Ayn Rand expresses many themes in this novella such as: freedom, identity and happiness. The government controlled the population by brain washing the people and enslaving their mind and making them think rebellion is wrong. The government influenced the people into thinking that being curious or being smarter than anybody else is sinful. Therefore, they brainwashed people into thinking that learning is evil and that made people believe that everyone should be the same. “So we fought against this curse. We
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.
Aristotle's assertions that the worst form of inequality Is to make unequal things equal is correct because forcing people to be the same in all ways can lead to restricting people to accomplish their full potential, People are also able to combine their unique talents for the betterment of all and are not restricted by everyone being the same limiting their abilities. To begin, the ability of people to be different allows them to use their minds in different ways and have the freedom to create and discover new things. In Ayn Rand's book Anthem, the protagonist of the book Equality 7-2521 lives in a world of equality where no one is allowed to be alone or explore their brains. Equality having a more Kean brain than the others starts to explore
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn said, “The secret of living in peace with all people lies in the art of understanding each one by his own individuality.” To find peace and live in harmony, people need to know and embrace each person’s individuality. Although the people in Anthem are supposed to be happy and peaceful, they are not permitted to have a sense of individualism. Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem illustrates the importance of each person in society having an individual identity to true peace and happiness. Rand expresses this philosophy through the main character Equality who discovers freedom and self-worth for himself.
In the reading “Anthem” author Ayn Rand protests objectivism and individualism from a world based off of collectivism. The story is based in the future, however the society in the novella goes back to the old ways of living due to the Unmentionable times. The fictional yet a psychological view of Communist Russia, which the author is from, tell a story about a character Equality 7-2521 quest in finding his individuality in a world of Dystopia. During his quest the main character finds love, the villain prevails, and helps the innocent youth. Equality 7-2521 is the hero of the novel because of his differences in the society and his quest in the novel.
In the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand, there are many quotes that have a very significant meaning in the story, as well as in the real world. Equality lives in a society where everyone does, says, and thinks what they’re told to, having no sense of being their own person. Equality eventually gets tired of all of these rules, spoken and unspoken, and decides to defy his society. Throughout the novel, Equality was able to find who he was and what his purpose was by challenging his society, and it’s rules. One of the first quotes that has a more significant meaning is when Equality says, “
Anthem is a story written by Ayn Rand as a propaganda piece portraying the evils of communism. The book takes place in the future in a undisclosed city surrounded by forest. In this city a collectivist society dwells. The conflict of Anthem is character vs. society where one man by the name of Equality decides to go against his broken government. Equality took a stand against his broken society, he has defied the council of scholars and his government, had a relation with a women, and escaped the city to The Uncharted Forest.
According to John Rohn “Life does not get better by chance, it gets better by choice.” Life does not just get better, there must be changes. Each day people make choices in order to better their life. In Anthem, this never happens because the Council makes choices for everyone. When Equality 7-2521 is punished he is banished from the society and experiences what it is like to be an individual.
As hateful as the world is, humans tend to admire one another. Whether it is because of beauty or positive character traits, most people have role models. An excellent example of a role model is Liberty 5-3000, a primary character in Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem. She is pursued by the main character, Equality 7-2521, and they share a forsaken bond in spite of their society’s laws. While Liberty is a criminal in her society, she is a beautiful, resilient hero in modern society.
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 .
If they don’t like what somebody does, they push them deeper, until they cannot see who they are. For an example let us go to page 63. Equality hides a secret from a council member, and through the bare of bickering, Equality is then sentenced to being lashed bare. Because a person utilizing what would be known as freedom of speech, they get whipped? What world is this to ask for the basic human right to be stripped from the humans themselves?
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.
Why is being your self harder in the community where government establishes a set of rules? In the novel, the main character discovers something new and the government rejects it thinking it is an unacceptable idea. Anthem was first written in 1937, and published in 1938. Ayn Rand, who is a Russian-American novelist and philosopher, wrote it. Anthem takes place in a dystopian society in where the main character seeks for individuality, which is rejected in their community.
Ego is a weed we cultivate for it to ultimately be destroyed. It is said to be the root of our sins, but is really the cause of individuality in this world. Egoists tend to separate themselves from others; we made egos to experience ourselves as different, rather than the ordinary being. Egos are depicted to reflect a bad connotation. In the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand, the protagonist, Equality 7-2521, is an egoist, but not in the way expected.
The proper definition of motivation is the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. In the novel Anthem, Ayn Rand presents the character of Equality as a solution to the evils of Collectivism. Rand uses this character and story as an outlet of her thoughts and solutions. Somewhat covertly, Equality’s motivation from an author’s standpoint is to inspire readers to have the will and drive to stand up to corrupted governments and societies. On the other hand, from a character standpoint, Equality’s motivation is to prove to himself that he can make a difference in his society.
“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.