Individuality In Society

Throughout Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem, numerous objects and occurrences symbolize much more than what they are presented as. Of the more obvious symbols, light has the largest impact on the course of the story. The most important instance of light centers around Equality 7-2521’s re-invention of the light bulb. Rand uses light to provide a religious, mythic feeling to the acts of Equality 7-2521 and how he symbolizes light himself. In a society where all men and women are one equal and single minded being; Equality 7-2521 becomes the lone source of individuality and a beacon of light to the people of this oppressed civilization. When the Golden One gives Equality 7-2521 the name Prometheus after the Greek deity it symbolizes his heroism and gift

Ayn Rand’s Anthem starts by Equality 7-2521 saying “It is a sin to write this.”

The passage, Anthem, is a science fiction novel written by Ayn Rand. It is mainly about the protagonist, Equality 7-2521's, futuristic journey on rediscovering various aspects of human’s nature. Concepts such as individualism and freedom have been lost due to the oppressive rule of the government, serving as the main antagonist of the novel. Throughout the passage, Anthem, the author uses the literary element of theme. The theme is the main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work. The author uses a theme to convey the central idea of the importance and effects of a person’s individuality on both their freedom and euphoria.

"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 Ayn Rand’s dystopian novel, Anthem, the citizens are trained from birth to think only in the plural, to the point where they cannot even conceive of individuals, but only see each other as part of the whole group. Rand’s protagonist, Equality 72521, begins the novel as a street-sweeper who is devoted to the group, but begins to move towards individuality as he progresses towards pure selfishness, as Rand believes we all should. Rand uses the words “we” and “I” to represent Equality’s journey from being dependent on the group, to being utterly independent of everyone.

If Equality 7-2521 would have stayed, he would be executed. He wants a fresh start in which he can make his own rules. The first rule Equality 7-2521 made was, “For the word ‘we’ must never be spoken, save by one’s choice and as a second thought. This word must never be placed first within man’s soul, else it becomes a monster, the root of all the the evils on earth, the root of man’s torture by men, and of an unspeakable lie” (97). All of Equality 7-2521’s life he has called himself “we,” but now he realizes that he is his own individual. Also, he realizes that his inventions are more advanced than his brothers. Equality 7-2521 should not be ashamed of this because everyone different and not one is the same as another. He plans on carrying these rules into his new and improved society. Equality 7-2521 states in Anthem, “Gaea is pregnant with my child. Our son will be raised as a man. He will be taught to say ‘I’ and to bear the pride of it. He will be taught to walk straight and on his own feet. He will be taught reverence for his own spirit” (100). This shows the readers that Equality 7-2521 is going to teach his son to be himself and to never let anyone tell him that he is not capable of conquering his dreams. This is what the new society will look like, a place where everyone can do whatever they

In Ayn Rand's story Anthem, the protagonist Equality 7-2521 has a power unlike no other within their collectivist society. One day when Equality was working as a street sweeper, he finds an old abandoned underground railroad tunnel from the Unmentionable Times long ago. This is where he conducts his experiments that fill him with pride and joy. Equality dreams how his new invention that he brought into existence can change the world, but helping mankind is not his true motivation behind his passion to create. Throughout the story, Equality's true motivation is him trying to find his inner self and his identity as an individual.

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 the novel, Equality 7-2521 learned that to be your own person you must first stop trying to be like someone else.

When one is confined to society and held captive against their ego, it is imperative that they learn to eulogize their own individuality, and learn to improve themselves. In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, Rand uses Equality 7-2521 to communicate the importance of the individual. Equality has always had his own sense of individuality that causes him to stand out and defy the social norms. His individuality allows him to persevere and diverge from collectivist society.

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.

This essay will be about a book with a very different world from ours. In Anthem the "Normal" day is very opposite from ours, in many ways physically and mentally main character Equality is a man very much like us in a society that shuns him for being so. His average day consisted of waking up, eating breakfast and working until it was time to attend the theater. Then inevitably starting the process over each day until the age of 40. For them in their age of evolution the age of forty is the verge of the end for them and they sit in a retirement home till the end. In this society, technology has been lost through the "rebirth" of the world in an effort for a perfect and peaceful world. The availability of technology isn't much more than what you could compare to an Amish village. The basic necessities are met and not much more is given to them.

“I”, one of the only one-letter words in the English language. Yet its power and meaning do not match its quantitative value. In the collectivist dictatorship found the in the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, this word has disappeared and consequently, society has fallen into a dark age, all because of the loss of a single-lettered word. However, the hero of this time, Equality 7-2521, breaks down the barrier of the collectivist society and allows him to make advances that show him the power of the word “I” and the idea of individualism in government and in society. Although the word “I” has vanished from society, Equality is able to free himself from the collectivist government through the use of science and free thought,

Intelligence. Something that Equality 7-2521 has a great deal of. Ayn Rand, the author of Anthem, suggests that Equality 7-2521 knows that he is too intelligent to be a street sweeper, and he tries to prove his intelligence through his experiments so he can be “willed” into the Home of the Scholars. She shows this through his time in the Home of the Students when Equality is punished for his quick head, his love for learning, and the idea of learning, and when he escapes to the tunnel to work on his invention.

Ayn Rand is an illustrious writer, known for many of her works including the short novella Anthem and her short essay How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society. In Anthem, she speaks of a dystopian world set in the future with primitive technology. The Council expects everybody to look, act, and generally be the same as one another; however, Equality, the main character of Anthem, does not conform to the social norm. He rebels from the cookie-cutter system and learns to see the deep err in the way of the Council and finally realises the effects that the abusive treatment of the citizens creates. Rand’s short essay speaks simply of speaking out about evil when you see

Anthem a dystopian fiction, by Ayn Rand takes place in what seems like the future. Equality 7-2521 is surrounded by plain old buildings, in which contain certain types of councils. Equality bent the rules, he was different and did not know how be like his brothers. Thinking alone and thinking outside the box were prohibited. When Equality and International 4-8818 went out one day they stepped upon a underground tunnel, and for the first time experiencing the works of electricity. Running into a problem he soon finds himself in the Uncharted Forest, unsure of what to do while alone. During his time of exploring he is found by the Golden One Equality learns to explore the greater things and be an independent person.

Imagine general uproar, mass confusion, and uprisings that were daily parts of the Russian Revolution. Visualize a young girl growing up in the midst of utter chaos. These events did indeed happen to a woman named Ayn Rand. Conflict and anger caused Ayn Rand to become very opinionated; hence, she authored the book Anthem. Making waves in the view of the public, Ayn Rand used extreme situations to illustrate the difference between the Collectivism and Individualism in her book. After the concluding paragraph of this essay, you will understand the void between individualism and Collectivism, and appreciate the depth of the severe scenarios Ayn Rand composed. Ayn Rand was justified when she authored Anthem and included extreme scenarios for the reasons of her personal opinion, the understanding of readers, and the effect of proving a point.