Rebirth In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Unlike during the Unmentionable Times, when men created “towers [that] rose to the sky,” it is an

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.

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

Society is fundamentally built upon rigid structure and control using rules to attempt to maintain order amongst a society comprised of many individuals. Inherently rules put at expense the freedom of individuals to achieve personal happiness in order to build a society comprised of more equally achieving individuals. Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem builds a society in which rules restrict all individual freedoms and force a more collective ideal. The rules put in place by the society are meant to make everybody collectively more happy and prevent inherent human subjectivity; however, inherent to human nature, rules can be subjectively interpreted. In contrast to the pre-existing society presented by Rand, Equality 7-2521 seeks

This essay will be discussing whether or not the character Equality 7-2521’s assessment of his sins towards throughout of the book he’s from, Anthem. His assessment (that he doesn’t care about his sin, as it was decided a sin by a government he sees as immoral and corrupt) is in my opinion, correct. This thought stems mainly from the fact he documented his thoughts throughout the book, and the documents could potentially inspire other people to do the same thing he did, which Equality would probably like.

“No one should part with their individuality and become that of another” (BrainyQuote 5). William Ellery Channing, a poet and preacher, stresses the significance of staying true to oneself and not being succumbed to be another being. Similar to Channing’s statement, Equality 7-2521 found the importance of embracing the freedom to think, isolation, and individualism in the midst of being in a collective society. In the end of Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Equality 7-2521’s assessment of solitarily expressing his thoughts is that it is not a sin anymore; he is correct because he is free to believe whatever he wants to, learns that he is an individual with purpose, and realizes that no one can control him.

“If there is a way to do it better…Find it” (Thomas A. Edison). Certain humans in the world are born with the trait of resilience, a trait seen in Anthem’s main Equality 7-2521 and Thomas Edison, the talent to leap back after an obstacle falls in the way. Thomas Edison failed thousands of times trying to create the modern day light bulb. During his creation people scrutinized him, and when he failed told him that he was uneducated. “This was the only thing which moved, for the lips of the oldest did not move as they said: “Street Sweeper.”(1.29). In the novella Anthem the main character receives his job or calling that he will do for the rest of his life (till he’s old). He receives the job of street sweeper because of a punishment for stealing

The critical flaw in the collective state that Equality capitalizes on to escape lies within its very foundation. Anthem best exemplifies this flaw through Equality’s escape from the Palace of Corrective Detention, as he describes “It was easy to escape the Palace of Corrective Detention. The locks are old on the doors and there are no guards about. There is no reason to have guards, for men have never defied the Councils so far as to escape from whatever place they were ordered to be” (66-67). The Council believes the fallacies it espouses, making it easy for Equality to escape. They believe that no one would ever defy a direct order from them, so they never accounted for the possibility. Another flaw of the collectivist fallacies lies in its inability to match the technological development of Equality. The Council rejects the lightbulb because it “would wreck the Plans of the World Council … and without the Plans of the World Council the sun cannot rise” (74), and by the end of the novel, Equality’s scientific skill advances enough to construct an electric fence around his home in the woods. As Equality says, “[the Council] has nothing to fight me with, save the brute forces of their numbers. I have my mind” (100). No matter what, until the Council begins to accept changes to their “Plans”, Equality’s society will outmatch theirs. The final fallacy weakening the collective state renders itself in the Council’s inability to care for the individual needs of its

The city that is portrayed in the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand relies heavily on its strict rules and regulations. Some of these rules are put in place to protect the wellbeing of the citizens, where others are to prevent the citizens from living happy lives. In a way, every rule in Anthem is needed or has a specific reason however some of the rules are simply in place to keep away individuality.

Ayn Rand in her novel Anthem exhibits a society where people only purpose is to serve and better the community. Rand was writing Anthem, while World War 2 was emerging and she was watching countries change their views on society and the citizens in it. Some of these countries started to force their citizens into a mold. Thinking that society would be benefit if everyone was like-minded. Rand wanted to show these views in an extreme situation to demonstrate what could happen in the future if countries continued to do this. In her book Rand created Equality 7-2521 which is a 22-year-old male who dares to break away from the mold his society has created and be himself. He has the potential for so much and yet his society keeps him from it. Rand uses Equality 7-2521 and his society to illustrate that if society tries to push

Ayn Rand’s Anthem is the story of a man’s journey to find freedom in a world based on equality. The novel’s protagonist, Prometheus, tries to find the meaning of his life. As he obtains independence and begins to care less about the laws, Prometheus also uncovers the power of his own mind. Prometheus learns the turpitude of the city and escapes from it. By the end of the novel, Prometheus becomes a true man. In leading Prometheus on his journey to find freedom, Anthem accompanies the inferior side of collectivism by depicting a society of people, subdued under the needs of the common good. The rejections in his idea of electricity powering the city led to Prometheus to the path of independence. Prometheus always broke the laws of the city. His work finding electricity was denied because of the city’s laws. And at the end, he even used first person pronouns. As a result, in his new community, I don’t think he would include any of the rules of the city.

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.

In the novel, Anthem by Ayn Rand, conveys a deep understanding of collectivism. Collectivism is when you give a group priority over yourself as an individual. The main character, Equality 7-2521, does not have an identity and cannot express himself as an individual. In Equality’s world they can not be self-centered and always have to think about others. Anthem takes place in the future, and the citizens are unaware of the past. Equality 7-2521 is unique and different than everyone else. He believes there are greater things in the earth yet to discover. Ayn Rand focuses this book towards the future, but makes connections to the past.

The dystopian society depicted in Ayn Rand's novel “Anthem” is a dark and dour world where the people of the world stand as one, and . Although the world is a dark and ominous place, main character Equality 7-2521 seeks out elation with his rediscovered technology “artificial light”. He seeks this with not pride or dignity in his technology but almost a sense of wanted to break free from the binding chains of the dystopian society, as if he was doing a favor to not only to himself but also to society. However; he also knew what he was doing was very sinful, and it could land him in The Palace of Corrective Detention.

The society in Anthem, by Ayn Rand has many oppressive rules that control the people living in it. These rules exist to repress people from feeling anything special for someone else, to cover up the past world, and to keep everyone completely equal. These horrible rules would certainly not exist in the world that Equality envisions creating at the end of the story. Clearly the rules put in place by The Council decrease the quality of life for everyone living in that society, and can give someone a new appreciation for the freedoms they have as individuals.