...Ayn Rand’s Anthem focuses on a society in which individuality is crushed and conformity is the source of survival. A citizen of that society by the name of Equality has been punished all his life because of his differences, those being his outstanding intelligence and physique. He and his peers are taught at the same pace in school, and potentially looked down upon if one did any better than the person next to them. On page 21, Equality says “We tried to forget our lessons, but we always remembered. We tried to not understand what the teachers taught, but we always understood it before the teachers had spoken.” It was the obvious superiority which brought the job of Street Sweeper to Equality, in an effort to restrain his mind usage and brain...
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...I think. I will.”, as the title of chapter 11, because Equality 7-2521 has finally discovered the word I. First and foremost, it isn’t until one reads Anthem that they may truly discover the importance of a word as simple as I. Equality 7-2521 has found a house from the old civilization with books and normal things found in a house. He decides to build is life with Liberty 5-3000 there and also decides to read all the books found there. It is in one of those books that he discovers the beauty of individualism. He is then able to properly tell Liberty 5-3000 that he loves her and it means something to them because she tried to tell him that before and it didn’t quite feel right. It’s understandable how it doesn’t feel due to the fact that, we mean everybody and it isn’t quite genuine because everybody may love her but it is he who loves her by himself. Finally, Equality 7-2521 chooses to call...
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...-Conformity and Rebellion: In my analysis of Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” I would tend agree that people are divided based on their roles and functions in society. This division of people may be outside of an individual’s or group of people’s control. This division of people may be driven by socioeconomic, geographic, political, ideological or technological reasons. There may be individuals in power that will dictate where classes of people should live and work. The divisions of people into classes can be seen in both the real world and fictional writings. There may be divisions of classes within the same group of people based on power and influence in that group. Some of these individuals in these groups may also consist of those rare individuals with a conscience, that Thoreau speaks of, who can influence change or incite a rebellion. If the actions of these rare individuals incites a revolution and takes down those individuals currently in power then I would agree they would be considered an enemy of the state. People can also be divided based on their roles and functions in society without force or coercion. Their culture or customs of a society may dictate roles and functions. An individual may be born into this society with fixed expectations of their roles or functions. This agreement can be the seen in the case of Changez, in the Reluctant Fundamentalist. Changez was born into a caste system where his family held some form of power and influence based...
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...Unlike during the Unmentionable Times, when men created “towers [that] rose to the sky,” it is an affliction to be born with powerful intellectual capacity and ambition in Ayn Rand’s apocalyptic, nameless society in Anthem. Collectivism is ostensibly the moral guidepost for humanity, and any perceived threat to the inflexible, authoritarian regime is met with severe punishment. The attack on mankind’s free will and reason is most evident in the cold marble engraving in the Palace of the World Council: “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever” (6). Societal norms force homogeneity and sacrifice among all people. Laws and rules are crafted to prevent advancement and preserve relentless...
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