Anthem Essay 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. To begin, the city of Anthem has several rules and guidelines. Some of them can seem harsh and a little bit unnecessary. For example, there is one rule that prohibits citizens from choosing their own occupations. Equality 7-2521, the main character of Anthem, grew up dreaming of being a member in the House of Scholars. He was extremely intelligent and always eager to learn. Instead of being praised for his knowledge as he would be in our society he was scolded for it. Although he was capable of being a scholar, he was assigned the job street sweeper. Another rule in the city of Anthem is the rule against love. The rule is that you shall not favor one person over another. Equality breaks this rule when he meets Liberty. He falls in love with her the first time he sees her. Their love eventually leads to them running away and starting their lives together. After Equality sees Liberty for the first time he thinks “Liberty 5-3000… We wish to write this name. We wish to speak it, but we dare not speak it above a whisper. For men are forbidden to take notice of women, and
Anthem is a good book about the future and their own versions of a Utopian society. This novel is all about independence and how options are limited. The question asked is if you think Equality’s eventual assessment of his sins is correct. My answer to this question is, he felt as if his sins taught him more.
Anthem begins by introducing what is immoral in the dystopian society written before the reader. This type of world the main character resides in is intricate and far too uniformed for modern life. Equality 7-2521 is the turning point for this civilization -he is the outlier of the painstakingly ordered community that was made. However, before this, he was just another ordered and uniformed pawn in the eyes of the Council. He exists in a world where everyone is raised in collectivism- Equality maneuvers his will to contrast the rules of which he has always lived by and toils against his own mind with feelings that he has against his own society, Ayn Rand creates a character that carries a prominent personality to advance the unchanging world
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.
Utopias are Dystopias To what lengths will people go to create the “perfect” society? In the novel Anthem Equality 7-2521 (main character) lives in a society where the government controls everything from school to technology. Speaking of technology, the latest technological achievement is the candle. While the rest of the world outside of the society is way past the candle. Another weird thing about Anthem’s society is that it is totally equal…But how?
In this society, one of the major rules in this book made by the council is you are not allowed to go anywhere unless told to by the society. Equality finds a subway tunnel from the unmentionable times this is a crime in their society. He comes to this tunnel daily for 3 hours. “Sitting in the tunnel for three hours each night and studying.” (Rand 35) If he is caught going to this tunnel every night for three hours he will be sent to prison.
Love is a concept missing from the majority of the book. The word love is mentioned numerous times but is not meaningful until Equality and Liberty bond over the understanding of the word and how they share the feeling of love with each other. When the word love is mentioned in chapters 1-10, it is used as a way of life, in the way that you are meant to love your brothers and the society you live in without question. It is not until chapter 11 when Equality realizes the importance of the word and how it is you who chooses the ones you love. In Equality’s words, “I shall choose only such as please me, and them I shall love and respect, but neither command nor obey.”
Later in the novella, Equality does not care what laws he breaks because he knows that he is different and he is starting to realize that being different is not something to shelter and be ashamed of. “We have stolen candles from the Home of the Street Sweepers, we have stolen flints and knives and paper, and we have brought them to this place” (Rand 35). This shows that for Equality to fulfill his curiosity, he will go against his society and do what he feels is right. “We lunged against the door and it gave way. We stole through the dark passages, and through dark streets, and down our tunnel” (67).
In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand takes place in the future at an unspecified date and place. The humans in Anthem live in a dystopian society where the word I is erased entirely. The current government they live under has a number of rules and regulations that if broken can get you killed in many ways. However why do these rules exist, What is their purpose and does the society that Equality envisions created at the end of the story would include any of these rules and controls?
"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.
You walk, but our brothers crawl” (page 82-83). Even though Equality put effort to become equal to his brothers and not feel the guilt of being different, he expected the dissimilarity between him and his brothers. Liberty 5-3000 admired the unique traits that made Equality a distinctive character, as the story went on, Equality accepted the fact that he will always be out of the ordinary. He wants to advance his knowledge about the world around him and answer the questions he has always pondered. “We have some to see how great is the unexplored, and many lifetimes will not bring us to the end of our quest.
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.
At the beginning of Anthem Equality has changed his mind about a lot of things in the beginning of the story. Equality got picked to be a street sweeper by the government, but he really wanted to be a scholar but couldn’t because of the government. Equality had a rough life. Well he was a street sweeper but he was smart enough to be a scholar the government did not think he was. In the book anthem by ayn rand Equality was not good for any body or anything at the beginning he had a rough start to his life.
Utopias converting into Dystopias Rules are going to exist no matter what world you live in, Dystopian worlds have their own laws which doesn't make them good but utopian worlds. A world without rules, a dystopian or utopian world? Does having rules make a society an equitable place to live? having order in your society only makes the place more organized In the book “Anthem” by Ayn Rand , the narrator named Equality 7-2521 describes the place where “they” live in a very strict place. The narrator as you may see doesn't have a proper name and only uses the pronouns, they , we, and them.
Justice Cook 803w indian creek Trafalgar 46181 9th Grade In Anthem, the City has numerous rules and controls. Why do these exist? What is their purpose? Do you think the society that Equality envisions creating at the end of the story would include any of these rules and controls?
Ayn Rand’s Anthem starts by Equality 7-2521 saying “It is a sin to write this.” Throughout the story, Equality’s views and mindset changes, he realizes that he is different from his brothers and its ok to be different. He discovers that if something is legal it is not certainly right. His eager for knowledge taught him the word “I” abandoning the word “We”.