Theme Of Equality In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Experiencing society being completely obliterated and reborn is immensly traumatic, and Russian-born author Ayn Rand experienced this when her world turned upside down at the start of the Bolshevik Revolution. This Civil War killed as many as ten million people and Russia transitioned into a communist country. Her dystopian fiction novella Anthem portrays a future where communism never ceased and mankind was reborn into a collectivist society. The main character, Equality 7-2521, curiously questions his society and its structure and redefines it through invention and exploration. Although seemingly heroic, Equality 7-2521, in actuality, represents many flaws.
One of Equality’s primary flaws is his complete disregard for societal rules by letting

When Equality and his friend International 4-8818 discover a hole covered with a metal grate, Equality insists that, even though it is forbidden by the laws, they shall nevertheless explore it (Rand 31). Throughout his underground exploration, Equality comes across tools of the Great Before, and through tinkering with the objects, invents electricity, which should represent a positive milestone; however, his achievement’s value diminishes as he lets his curiosity get the better of him. Regardless of the type or time period of society, stealing is immoral, unfair to others, and simply not allowed; yet Equality pilfers nightly to appease his curiosity. He steals “candles from the Home of the Street Sweepers [...] flints and knives and paper [...] glass vials and powders and acids

After harnessing the power of electricity, Equality’s sense of pride dramatically increases. Even though the city strictly prohibits new ideas not supported by the majority of the Scholars, Equality, foolishly driven by his newly inflated ego, believes his invention is superior and his intelligence is unmatchable. Therefore, he concludes that when he shows “everything to [the Council], they will see, understand and forgive. For [his] gift is greater than [his] transgression” (Rand 61). Believing his invention is great is not entirely incorrect because it would, in fact, substantially change society; however, he fails to recognize the repercussions of electricity as negative ones. Introducing electricity would eliminate the years of planning and building it took to reach the current structure of society. Moreover, it would lay off thousands of candlemakers, destroying their livelihoods (Rand 74). Nevertheless, Equality’s intractable ego prevents him from imagining those consequences. Not only does Equality’s ego blind him to consequences, but it also obscures his perspective on his purpose of existence. He no longer requires knowledge once he discovers the word ‘I’ in old books and realizes the error in the thinking of men: individuality is not evil, but rather individuality is a window to greatness. As logical as this thought may be, Equality becomes too enveloped in this idea. He is