Theme Of Individualism In Anthem

Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise. In a society that functions by this proverb, wisdom is hard to come by. However, for a being longing for this wisdom, with a natural urge of curiosity, this “bliss” is hell. Equality, a being longing for the validation of his differences in a society of group mentality, is spare of individual morality. He accepts the ignorance of total equality that is forced on him, but is contrastingly different from the image of a part of a communal whole. He searches for development of individual morality, but is struck dry by the restrictive society, by which he is forced to be, think, and live like everyone else, average and accepting. However, throughout, Anthem, by Ayn Rand, Equality’s view of morality transforms from group mentality and collectivism to individualism and independence due to the discovery of his true purpose for living; himself.

The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is set in a dystopian society where the idea of collectivism is prevalent. Collectivism is the idea of a group having more priority than any of the individuals in it. Throughout the novel, the characters refer to themselves as “we” instead of “I” and refer to each other as their brother men. Equality 7-2521 tells the reader that whenever they feel tempted, they are to repeat the phrase “We are one in all and all in one.There are no men but only the great, WE, One, indivisible and forever.” (Rand, p.19)

Nature was introduced in romantic novels and poems. In the poem ‘’Thanatopisis’’ by William Cullen Bryant he described death to something that was peaceful and to be embraced. He believed that you become one with nature, one with earth once you die. But in the poem ‘’Devil and Tom Walker’’ by Washington Irving he described death to be evil, sinful. He believed death to horrifying and something to not be embraced. Here are some examples of elements.

How do you react in the face of fear? Do you freeze, not knowing what to do, or suffice and take action? Are you scared stiff or get away from whatever it is? Maybe you’ve never been faced with this kind of situation. Each person has a different response to these types of circumstances. In the book Anthem, Ayn Rand describes a futuristic world in which “I” does not exist and emotions are not understood. Technology has been put back hundreds of year and people don’t know how to react to new ideas. The main character, Equality 7-2521, decides to take a risk against The Society in which he lives in by seeking knowledge and loving the woman of his choice. At first, he is a dedicated and devoted member of The Society, but he emerges as a curious and rebellious man, who leaves the society and creates an independent state. This transformation of Equality 7-2521 illustrates the role, nature, and independence of man which Ayn Rand tries to implement in this book.

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

During the 20th Century, communism was the main source of government in Russia. Ayn Rand opposed everything that Communists stood for. She believed in individualism and wanted to express her own thoughts. She based her book, Anthem, on her life in Russia and the struggles she endured. When she came to America she wanted to show people what life in Russia was actually like. She parallels her life to the life of her character named Equality. Throughout the book Equality and his love Liberty, have multiple names each representing how they progress from collectivism to objectivism. These names change from being standard names that represent a society that is based fully on the idea of collectivism towards names

Transcendentalism has been embraced by society through the movie The Lion King. The Lion King is a story about a young cub, Simba, who is born son to the king in a thriving kingdom. Simba goes about his days playing and enjoying life until his uncle, Scar, decides to plot a scheme to overthrow the throne. When Scar puts his plan into play, Mufasa, Simba’s father and king, dies. Due to the circumstances, Simba is led to believe it was his fault and runs away to hide from this accident. Consequently, Scar takes over the kingdom and brings it to ruins. During this time, Simba has found two new friends, Timon and Pumbaa, while hiding who take him in and teach him ideals very similar to that of transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is a philosophical belief system in which nature and personal thought of one’s self is believed to be the most important keys to life. The Lion King displays

Individuality allows every person to be themselves and be different from each other. However, In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Rand describes a society where the people were not allowed to openly be themselves, or else they would be punished for being different. The main character, Equality, notices he is different slowly throughout the novella, but kept continuing to be like everyone else for awhile. These rules exist in this society to strip human individuality in order to achieve total equality.

Tohniiya Yazzie per 1 Be unique in your own way, do not let other people tell you what to do. Anthem is a dystopian society. No one thinks for themselves, and there is no individuality, everyone has to think like a group. The leaders are called Council of Scholars and they tell everyone in the society what to think and do. No one is allowed to be different, and everyone is supposed to be the same, which is expected to make the society equal. Despite government regulations, Equality’s individuality and intelligent characteristics combined lead him to rediscover the lightbulb.

The utopian society in the Brave New World can be compared and contrasted between our contemporary society using individualism, community and the human experience. The fictional novel by Aldous Huxley, published in 1932, is about a utopian society where people focus stability and community over individuality and freedom, but an outsider is introduced to intervene with the operation of the utopian state. In the contemporary world, people need to show individuality in their communities in order to survive, and to be human, one must show emotion, which is the opposite in the Brave New World.

Individualism is when a person has achieved non-conformity, self-reliance, free-thought, confidence, and finding one’s self through nature. Although individualism may be achieved in society, it cannot be fully achieved until one removes himself from society. Chris McCandless did exactly that; he removed himself from society by backpacking and hitchhiking throughout the United States to test and achieve individualism. McCandless’s last great adventure was to Alaska to fully obtain individualism, unfortunately, he died trying to find his spiritual belonging and individualism. Many people would think it was absurd that Chris left his family and threw his life away, and they would think that he was not justified in leaving society, however, Chris McCandless was justified in leaving society because by doing so he could achieve non-conformity and self-reliance without being oppressed.

How could losing individuality affect a society? The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is about a guy named Equality 7-2521 who is trying to find himself in a society where everything is controlled and different. Later, he finds himself even though he will have to go through many obstacles to get there. The process behind losing individuality in an Anthem’s society are in forcing strict laws, brain washing of their citizens, and removing of family.

Collectivism, or group prioritized decision making, is widely regarded as a negative attribute when isolated. The world of Anthem is an example of a world based off of collectivism, where the most recent technology developed is a candle, which recently replaced torches. The world is undeniably primitive in some areas, but is clearly not in others. Almost all economic and social aspects of the society seemed to have been developed years ago, yet almost no progress has been made in scientific areas. Science isn’t likely to be a large or common factor in collectivist societies, and scientific research has a positive correlation to technological advances resulting in the lack of development in technology. This impoverished technology likely occurs

While reading Anthem, a very collective society was shown. But how different is the life depicted in the book compared to the style of life in America? Is America like the cut throat collectivist society shown in Anthem or is it more individualistic? Overall, America is a more individual society because the First Amendment promotes individualism, people in The United States can choose their own career and our government, which is a democracy, is created through individual ideas and opinions.

Equality 7-2521 thought individuality was a sin, but later on knew it was not a sin. This is correct; not everything people do affects others in a way. In the book Anthem, by Ayn Rand, in a story where everyone is the same and no one is allowed to be different, there was one person named Equality 7-2521 who dared to be different. Equality discovered that is is okay to be an individual.