...Imagine being in a world where everyone is stripped of individuality and viewed as evil if him or her even show the slightest bit of vanity. In the book Anthem, this is reality. The main character, Equality 7-2521, is smarter than most people, yet he is forced to dumb himself down and is put into the job of an inferior street sweeper. The human race has replaced the words I and me with we and our. Anyone who speaks the word ego is burned at the stake in the name of equality. Ayn Rand, the author of Anthem, wrote the book in first person major for the purpose of better showing how this book’s society worked and how it influenced how the characters behaved. The book is written in first person major to further convey to the reader how the concept...
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...The world described in Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem is technologically primitive, which Equality 7-2521 attributes to mankind’s absence of individuality. Society believes that “‘We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE,’” which displays the extent to which men have lost their individuality. Equality 7-2521 blames this “worship of the word ‘We’” as the reason that “all thought, all science, [and] all wisdom perish[ed] on earth.” When men are no longer able to pursue their ideas, but rather comply to the wishes of mankind, there is a distinct absence of science and technology. The government in Anthem strives to maintain the status quo, which is displayed during Equality 7-2521’s presentation to the Council of Scholars, where the Scholars explain their reason for a lack of new inventions: “Many men in the Homes of the Scholars have had strange new ideas in the past. . . but when the majority of their brother Scholars voted against them, they abandon their ideas, as all men must.” The Council of Scholars then describe how Equality 7-2521’s invention would “wreck...
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...Anthem Contest Essay Within the dystopian setting of Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the human spirit is enslaved and oppressed. Living under a totalitarian dictatorship, all people are obligated to live unselfishly. Beneath this collectivist regime, everyone lives a life of servitude and dependence on one another. There is no individuality, no identity, no sense of self, no word “I”. Taking its place is the word “WE”, emphasizing the collective body that encompasses all. In order for the State to maintain control over its subordinates, it has meticulously brainwashed all to believe that it is wrong to be different, to have a preference, to be superior, and to think or act independently from the collective. With these rules as the moral doctrine, each person is...
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...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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...To imagine a society without individuality is difficult. A world without the clothes, food, and activities that make us distinct and different from others, perhaps seems implausible. However, in Ayn Rand’s novelette Anthem, this peculiar world without separateness is brought to our attention through the eyes of a protagonist who feels neither equal nor one with his brothers. Equality was motivated by selfishness, which is a prime incentive in human nature. Nevertheless, with his selfishness, he held a certain care for humanity and his brothers, making it moral for him to think this way; if the world were motivated by the same feelings, such as selfishness, or even love, the individuality that is sometimes taken for granted might be lost....
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...electricity pulsing through a copper wire. His vision for the society in which he lives is innovative, yet it is not for others that he conducts his experiments. Ayn Rand conveys that Equality’s primary incentive in the novella Anthem is to unearth his individuality and re-affirm his self-accomplishment, while partaking in an activity that brings him joy. Yet, Although expressive self-exploration traces to his direct motivation, Equality’s discoveries could benefit humanity greatly. Insubordination --disdained in our society,...
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...Anthem Anthem written by Ayn Rand is a novel written to show that individuality is important in life. It takes place in a dystopian like society, and everyone is nameless. The people in this society aren’t allowed to show any emotion or affection to the people outside of the “we”. The topic of this book is mostly individuality leading the theme to be that one’s individuality is stronger than any group, or one person trying to bring one down. The main character in this book Equality 7-2521 demonstrates plenty of individuality. He demonstrates it when he is described in the book as taller and smarter than everyone else. “I stand here… I wish to know the meaning of things. I am the meaning. I wish to find a warrant for my being. I need no warrant for my being, in no word or sanction upon my being, I am...
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...Imagine a world where a group of people control your entire life. In this world you aren't curious, nor have a mind of your own. Individuality does not exist and Independence is a burden to a society where free will does not prevail. A society that is abound by Ayn Rand exists in the novella, Anthem. Anthem depicts a society that controls not only the decisions of its citizens, but also every occupation, mating ritual, and early retirement of anyone who lives in the aftermath of this fictional society. Place man in the shoes of Equality 7-2521. Growing up in this world Equality, the story’s protagonist, starts off in the Home of Infants. He is with others kids who were born the same year. When he turns five he is sent to the Home of Students, living there until he is fifteen. He wakes up, goes to school, then goes home every day for the next ten years. School is gruesome for the students. When he is in class, every person recites the pledge, “We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen” (Rand, 21). This pledge is a couple sentences that every student is forced to recite, regardless of its meaningless recitation. The pledge is saying how men are worthless...
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...Timmy Liska Cool title Is there any way that same one can keep their individuality in Anthem? The author of Anthem is Ayn Rand, she lived in communist Russia and escaped. This story is set in the future after a big war, now all that is left is a society with extremely basic technology. The purpose of this story was to warn people about how bad socialism can be. The process behind loosing individuality in Anthem’s society is brain washing, enforcing laws, and removing passion. To brainwash whole society one must get everyone to belief in the same morals. Brainwashing is the first step of losing individuality. Equality is telling us what * they are supposed to do when they feel tempted. “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but...
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...In a strongly dictatorial community, one finding success through personal identity was strenuous but proven possible. Rand provided a message of distinctiveness and individuality in Anthem, where motive and going above one’s believed and allowed abilities accomplishes true freedom, colliding selflessness and selfishness. This society convinced those living in it that the only way they will survive was to feed off of the minds of others, which was explained in The Soul of An Individualist. The promotion of altruism in this society created a challenge for those who allowed their own vision to advance ahead of what they have been trained to believe, but Prometheus proved it possible to challenge rules as harsh as death for going against collectivism. It is one threat to society to understand and think about going against the law, but allowing oneself to act upon those thoughts is straining and extremely unacceptable. Prometheus had a compelling motive pushing him...
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...In the novel, Anthem, the author Ayn Rand expresses many different thoughts relating to the central theme of individuality, the idea of how one can be independent and different from others. She allows the reader to view this idea by describing the character Equality 7-2521 as someone who believes that there is more out there for himself and reaching for the highest standards in the context of the novel. The author uses the characterization of Equality 7-2521 to support the theme of individuality. This theme affects the route of the novel by showing that the main character wants to become his own individual and will do whatever it takes to break away from the conformity, including working in tunnels from the forbidden times to sharing his personal...
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...Free Will in Ayn Rand’s “Anthem” Ayn Rand’s short novel, “Anthem,” depicts a collectivist society where any thoughts are only considered good if they are thought by everyone. Individuality is considered a sin. Children are taken from their parents and raised in a collective unit. One’s vocation is not decided by the individual, but rather appointed to them by a group. The main character, Equality 7-2521 (Prometheus), is a free thinker who longs to learn all he can in hopes of making a contribution to his town, and being promoted to one of the scholars. However, when he presents his discovery (electricity) to the “World Council of Scholars” the group is terrified because they have never seen anything like it before. Prometheus is scorned, rejected, and sentenced to be burned at the stake because of his choosing to think as an individual. Free will is something that many people take for granted these days, but in the world...
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...In Ayn Rand’s “Anthem”, a plethora of themes is presented. Ayn writes about a collectivist society at an indeterminable date in the future, but the residents ae lead to believe by the government that this is a utopia. They had lost all individuality and free will to collectivism. So, the main character, Equality 7-2521, tried to change this and instead got cast away by his brothers. He wanted them to thrive. Collectivism is detrimental because human nature is to be selfish, self-reliant, and independent. Through characterization, Rand’s character Equality 7-2521 learns that selfishness is not a sin, but a right. Since Rand grew up in a Communist government she could accurately model Equality off a common citizen under collectivist...
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...to their society; inevitably, however, Equality recognizes the impossibility of his situation as the council berates him and denounces his invention, claiming that since it had not been devised in cooperation with his brothers, it was a sinful abomination that needed to be destroyed. Utilizing her characters as a means for presenting her ideas about morality, Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem illustrates a fundamental truth about the necessity of an objective moral framework within a society. Similarly, in her essay How Does One Live a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?, Rand poses her ideology that morality is objective and an absolute essential to a functional society. In both her essay and in Anthem, Rand explores the necessity for an objective morality in society, blah blah blah, and blah blah blah implications of a society....
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...Society tends to enjoy belittling those who do not meet the set “norm.” Ayn Rand’s Anthem expresses the alienation of the individuals who fail to be homogenous to their coexisting society. Ayn Rand’s society provides characteristics such as punishing people by making them feel as if they are alienated, subjecting individuals to segregation or accepting them, as well as providing escape routes. Such humans who are alienated are considered to be “the other” in this society. Rather than promoting differentiation and diversity… Rand’s society strongly rejects it. The character in Anthem who is especially subjected to alienation and the title of “the other” is a man named Equality 7-2521 a.k.a. Prometheus. This character feels as if he is a target of alienation due to his height, intelligence, and ability of preference. Although Prometheus as said in the novel strives to be one with his “brothers,” he is unable to overcome his “sins” of inequality. Characteristics such as being six feet tall, smarter than the average Joe in his society,...
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