The Importance Of Equality In Anthem By Ayn Rand

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.

In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, mankind is a philanthropic machine. To achieve a common goal, the brotherhood disregards personal ambitions and nobly collaborates. Each decision of the mechanized society is compelled by spurious collective thought, and their so called advancements, by joint action. However, one man in this machine malfunctions: Equality-72521. With an inquisitive nature, an innovative mind, and latent desire, Equality possesses the traits of a visionary.

Make the most of yourself because that is all there is for you. This is a famous quote by Ralph Emerson and it is also very relevant in Anthem by Ayn Rand. In the society that equality lives in there was no tolerance for thinking of yourself everything is for your brothers. Equality then learns to start thinking of himself more through creating the light because he is motivated to create by self improvement. It can be concluded that equality 's main motivation in Anthem is self-improvement because when you read Anthem he is always striving for something better an example is when he says my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it.

An egoist isn’t just one who is motivated by self-interest, but one who has the superior mind, one who can break free from the chains that their society cruel fully locks them in on. Prometheus is locked in this headspace, thinking that “[He is] nothing. Mankind is all. [He] exists through, by and for [his] brothers who are the state” (Rand Anthem 21). He believes that everyone in his society is on an equal playing ground, not one person is inferior or superior.

All people are given the numbing safety of having no talents, no favoritism, and no ego. “Preach Selflessness. Tell a man that he must live for others. ”(The Soul of a Collectivist) By being one and the same, everyone is promised a sense of equality, something mankind fights over relentlessly.

The quote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ” summarizes what Harrison is fighting for. The year 2081, there is finally equality, but to be made equal there are many individuals that are made handicapped because they are better than everyone else. Harrison is one that is made handicapped and tension arose between the handicap general and Harrison. Harrison believed that being handicapped stops him from showing his full potential.

They both concur heavily that humankind displeased God’s honor by not obeying his predetermined boundaries. The arrogant approach Beatrice takes is enough to convince Dante of her theory. She formats her argument beautifully including a well described creation story depicting the humans as rational creatures God created to love and worship him. Her explanation after reading Dante’s mind in regards to earth, fire and water is superior to Anselm. Both preach humans were crafted to live forever originally, but the trespassing demanded compensation to reinstate God’s dignity as the greatest conceivable being.

Foremost, Ralph’s logical reasoning and interest in the betterment of the people demonstrates how Golding uses him to symbolize a democratic leader of society. Whereas Jack, arrogant and crude with no respect for the individual, clearly represents a totalitarian dictator with no remorse. Critics or analysts such as Samuel Hynes and Björn Bruns pick apart the symbolic features and qualities of the characters to understand the meaning of the allegory. Each may take a different spin on the images in the novel, creating different perspectives, or present the same ideas solidifying one central message.

Thus, both men would evaluate the statement that “in a legitimate state all men are free and there is no inequality,” differently. Rousseau would mostly disagree, holding that the state itself is the impetus for inequality. Hobbes would largely agree, contending that men are equal both in a primitive state of conflict and under a sovereign’s awesome power. These different responses result from the philosophers’ opposing views on fundamental human nature, civil society’s raison d’etre, and government’s inevitable form. --- Rousseau begins his

In contrast, More’s ideas on a flawless civilization have the superior framework for a happy, comfortable, and stable society. In Utopia, the avoidance of war showcases true internal strength. Even though Machiavelli states, “war can’t be avoided, and putting it off will work to the advantage of others,” he fails to notice the strategic ways More describes in his preventions of war. Machiavelli’s brutish method to win wars leads to the downfall of his own population which More evades.

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.