When knowledge is used it will expand mans' horizon and open his eyes up to a whole new world and create a new perspective never to be dreamed of, There are so many people with great lengths of knowledge and exceptional talents who aren't allowed to share them, because someone or something is holding them back from expressing themselves. Anthem, a page turning novel, written by Ayn Rand is set in the Dark Ages of the near future where everyone is a unified society and is expected to follow a set of strict rules set by the House of Scholars. The power of knowledge is the strongest thing man can have and all Equality wanted was to learn more in a society that forbid any extension of learning. When Equality was younger he had a "curse" that triggered him to want to learn more, and because of that, teachers punished him for having a quicker mind, since he wasn't equal to the rest of his brothers. In addition, Equality mentioned, "This is a great sin to be born with a head which is too quick" (Rand 21). In the society he lived in, to be more intelligent than his own brothers was almost a crime and Equality struggled …show more content…
When he discovered this, he thought that, "The secrets if this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who will seek them" (Rand 52). The things on the earth that man does not know will not just pop out, but rather man has to go look and learn for the unexplained things that roam the earth. Equality worked aimlessly to discover this new power, that was used in the Unmentionable Times called electricity, like the Dark Ages' candles. He thought that if the World Council saw this discovery suddenly they would become engrossed with Equality and move him into the House of Scholars, unfortunately his invention was rejected because nothing good came out of inventions if they were worked on individually and not my a group of
The book Anthem is about a man who is born into a world where he is forced to follow in line and castigated for thing he cannot control, such as his height. The author of Anthem is named Ayn Rand. She was grew up in Russia, when the government had complete control over the citizens, later she moved to the States. After hearing about capitalism she fell in love with the idea that each person is in complete control of their life, and created her own philosophy. She named it, objectivism.
In the book Anthem their society is way different from ours. They are not allowed to be individual or say the word “I”. They can’t have names, instead they are in groups and have group names. They all have a part in society like their jobs and things they do. For example the equality group belong to the street sweepers.
The Anti-Knowledge Collective Society In the novella Anthem, by Ayn Rand, the society is set at an unspecified time period, made into a collective society to survive the dark, and unmentionable previous time period. “We loved the science of things. We wished to know. We wished to know about everything around us.
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".
In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the idea of egoism is addressed. Is it wrong to be an egoist? The philosophy is a controversial subject; however, I believe that is acceptable to be an egoist. It is acceptable to be an egoist because it is the only way you will get anywhere in life, happiness will be more prevalent in our society, and the technology of our society would progress significantly. The Soul Of An Individualist will be analyzed as well to add validity to my opinions.
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.
(Rand 37). This is an internal conflict Equality is facing with himself. Along with internal struggles, there is external struggles.
Equality is something people want till people actually have it. Equality often limits a person’s abilities and disables to do something for themselves or inspire themselves. Equality's, the main character in the book Anthem, the primary motivation is proving that he is smart enough to become a scholar. Equality has a right to be motivated in this way since he believes that he can help the society so he is giving into the collectivism. I think that if everyone was motivated in this way, there would be a more progressive society where people sought to improve themselves and society at the same time.
Judging the morals in life regarding different societies expectations quickly became the focus of Equality’s thoughts, exactly as Ayn Rand had made it the importance of her own efforts. Objectivism is different from what many people live by, but it worked for Equality by the end of Anthem. It is important to realize everybody needs different things, which leads to thinking diversely. Some need self-respect to be able to give respect, and others live their life following instead of leading. It is impossible however, to say objectivism needs to vanish when it never has before, more so, the world would be unbalanced with only equal thoughts from all; there would be no innovation if all thoughts were for the same narrow concept.
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.
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.
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”.
Obstacles of Advancement In Ayn Rand's Anthem, we encounter a very unstable future society. Totalitarianism has overtaken this culture. This means that one group of people rules over society and tolerates no variation of opinion. We find the people in Anthem's society to be slaves to the god "We" and individuality eliminated as much as possible.
Collectivism and Selfishness in Anthem 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.
Objectivism in Ayn Rand’s Anthem Ayn Rand established her philosophy of objectivism in order to eliminate the traditions she experienced while she was growing up under collective governments, and to emphasize the importance of the individual over the collective group. It can be defined as a philosophy for living stating that man himself is the greatest power, and man must decide what is best for himself based on reason. The four basic tenets of objectivism are reality exists as an objective absolute, reason is man’s only method of interpreting his surroundings, man must exist as an individual in order to pursue his own interests, with the ultimate goal being happiness, and the economy of an objectivist society should be laissez-faire capitalism,