Literary Elements In Ayn Rand's Anthem

I taught a lesson on theme. In the lesson I talked about what theme is and how a novel can have more than one them. We discussed that some themes are very direct when others are indirect. Connecting this information back to the book Anthem we are reading. We pulled out four major themes such as Conformity, Freedom, Privacy and Enlightenment.

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.

The word contentious means tending to argue or strife; quarrelsome. This connects to what the chapter is portrayed in many ways. In this chapter, Equality 7-2521/ Prometheus go to the council to discuss the light box and all of their discretions. I think that this chapter title is exactly what is going on in this chapter because they spend most of the chapter arguing with Equality. On the second page, Equality tells the council that they are street sweepers.

There are many examples of irony in Anthem that the author uses to carry the plot and deepen the story and an example of irony that some people don't get until later in the book is the idea of "we". Therefore it is ironic that a person wouldn't know the word for one's self. The definition of irony is "the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. " The use of we is to really push the idea that Equality 7-2521 only thinks as a group. This example is dramatic irony because the readers of Anthem know that Equality 7-2521 is an individual yet still calls himself "we".

The Disparity Idiosyncratic happiness is eradicated and individualism has been eliminated. The society exhibited in Ayn Rand’s Anthem is of a dystopian essence, a domain where one must be interchangeable to his brothers. There is a substantial pressure on the locals in which they are expected to conform to the standards of that sector. The objective is complete egalitarianism, this is the “rightful” sense of morality. The protagonist of the novella, Equality 7-2521, is of this collective.

“It is a sin to write this,” begins Anthem, and the digression of the society around him slowly falls. The argument asks if I reason about the Equality’s sins being evil or marvelous. The outtake of his decision decides his fate on the community around him, lifeless slaves being controlled by the government. So, I believe his sins are for the greater good. It shows that he is not a enslaved monkey in a science lab, but the arrogant monkey who refuses to do the tests.

No freedom. No creativity. No individuality. Create a picture, being in a society that strictly imposes a set of rules in which one must obey and carry out to create this “perfect” canvas. This is what is described in Ayn Rand's novella.

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.

Every person is unique and have their own opinions on certain topics. In the novel, Anthem, by Ayn Rand, she talks of the struggles of an egotistical individual with greater curiosity than his society allows. This man, Equality 7-2521, creates the invention of electricity, and instead of being applauded, he is condemned. He struggles through the various rules and laws of his society, for he is completely different from all of his brothers. In an excerpt called “The Soul of an Individualist”, Rand elaborates on the idea of an individualist, and allows the reader to get a better view at how passionate she is about one’s self.

The Great Corrupter “The great corrupter of public man is the ego. Looking at the mirror distracts ones attention from the problem” (Dean Acheson). Anthem by (Ayn Rand) illustrates that people, in general, are egoistic, she demonstrates this through the book Anthem. Near the End of the book Equality uses a new set of rules for him and the Golden One, they just got away from a controlling gov’t, but Equality is now controlling the Golden One. What the Council doesn’t understand is that everyone has a personality, and they often have very different personalities, a few characters stand out, their ego is very large, the world council and Equality.