...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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...Equality’s discovery of electricity was an incredible feat considering the complexity of society Ayn Rand depicted for Anthem. Rand’s portrayal of society contrasts with the quintessential dystopian society portrayed in many novels such as The Giver and Fahrenheit 451. The civilization in Anthem exists some time in the future, however, the intricacy of technology had declined to the point where citizens were using candles and torches as methods of illuminating their surroundings. The cause of this decline traced to the development of an intolerance towards individualism. Equality never fit in his community because of his strong nonconformist personality. He had preferences and objects of joy, a sin he called “the great Transgression of Preference” (6). He had a bias for science during his schooling and had a tendency to commit transgressions, which foreshadow his experiments in the tunnel. His...
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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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...Objectivism rejects this false alternative and offers an entirely different view of the world. Equality 7-2521 lives in a society where he has to follow rules and everyone has to be the same person. In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, it shows that Equality’s views have changed when he leaves that society. In the old society he had to use “we” to refer to himself. He can never be recognized as an individual. Equality had to respect everyone and stay where he was put. If he was not a scholar then he could not learn. He is sent to be a street sweeper so that is what he had to be. Ayn Rand’s philosophy ties into Equalitiy’s life because he is in a society and it is all he has ever known for a way of life but then he goes out of that society into...
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...Underlying Motives in Anthem Oscar Wilde said, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” His quote explores how a person's personality is shaped by the personalities of others, and this sometimes makes it hard to find one's self-identity. Ayn Rand’s book Anthem explores this topic through the eyes of Equality, a man who was solely raised on the belief that he is to serve his fellow citizens, his brothers. But he alone discovers electricity, and he finds joy in his discovery. Even though he wants to help his brother men, Equalitie’s primary source of pride and joy from his work is caused by his discovery of how self motivation and perseverance can pay off while...
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...ANTHEM QUESTIONS Chapter I – Response 1 In a well-organized paragraph, describe the society in which Anthem is set. Some areas to consider are the political structure, degree of technology, social relationships, quality of life, and education. ALSO comment on the following: ➢ Would you want to live in this society? Explain why or why not. ➢ How would your teachers react if you had Equality’s “curse”? ➢ Why do Equality’s teachers disapprove of his quick mind? Chapter II – Response 2 . Re-read the account of Liberty 5-3000 on or around page 38. Which character traits are revealed in this brief description? . Find several examples of the ways in which this society tries to obliterate each individual’s mind (and self!) by quashing personal choices, desires, and values. . Of the whole range of feelings possible to man (joy, excitement, anger, embarrassment, etc.) why is fear the prevalent emotion in this society? Explain the following terms-- WHAT do each of these terms symbolize? If you think about it, they are easy to label. The Great Truth, the Unmentionable Times, the Uncharted Forest, the Evil Ones, the Great Rebirth Chapter III – Response 3 Clearly, up to this point and beyond, Ayn Rand intended Equality to stand out from his “brothers.” Explain how she accomplishes this by contrasting Equality’s physical qualities and character traits to those of his fellow men. . What...
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...A dystopian society from our point of view, portrayed in Ayn Rand’s Anthem, promotes collectivism, or the practice of valuing the group over the individual. To maintain this mindset, there are numerous rules and restrictions that must be enforced to prevent the people from discovering individualism. These include being prohibited from valuing yourself over others, bonding with the opposite gender, and traveling to the uncharted forest. The most severe crime is articulating the unspeakable word, which is revealed at the end of the novel: ego. The first mentioned sin is to have private thoughts, which supposedly reduces the companionship of the group. Next it is mentioned that no citizen must ever be alone, as this is the root of all evil, because...
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...aspect to a successful society because individuality reflects strength in a community as a whole. Self-reliant individuals together create a capitalist society in which people are forced to compete for success. Individuality spurs progress, originality, and self-sacrifice. However, expressing individuality is a weak action if it cannot be maintained in the real world. Upholding this is Ralph Waldo Emerson who states in his essay Self Reliance, “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude” (Emerson 146). Society and individuals are bound by a harmonious union in which the productive outcomes of individuals who spend time alone collectively lead to a progressive civilization. Although Emerson’s nonconformist ideals may come off as selfish when he declares, “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think,” the principle of self-reliance is a significant and valuable asset to have for a gratifying life. The more self-reliant people are, the more they can help others. Justified by the fact that those who are incapable of being independent often have a difficult time offering assistance to anyone else. If perceived differently, Emerson has a moral argument for self-reliance because he proposes self-reliance and spending time alone has a later effect of being generous, charitable, and actively compassionate...
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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 himself Prometheus, similar to the being who stole light from the gods and gave it to mortals, and calls Liberty 5-3000, Gaea, mother Earth and mother of the Titans. Just the idea of picking a name for one’s self is a giant step at cementing someone’s selfhood. By unearthing the word, I, Prometheus was able to see the world for he chose to see it as and it became a gateway for possibilities seeing as he could now consider his thoughts his...
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...alike”(Rand 19). In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the society lacks individualism. However in Equality’s case he constantly feels that “we were born with a curse. it has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden”(18). Equality only feels that he is cursed because of the standards in the society. The true reason for the “sin” Equality committed was due to the pressure of collectivism from the society he lived in. Although the actions he committed were seen as a sin in his society, Equality has a correct moral assessment of these sins because of his self-individuality and egoism in his own pursuit of happiness. Equality has always stuck out among his brothers when it came to his wits. In...
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...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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...-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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...Anthem by Ayn Rand Author's Foreword |F.1 |This story was written in 1937. | |F.2 |I have edited it for this publication, but have confined the editing to its style; I have reworded some passages and cut | | |out some excessive language. No idea or incident was added or omitted; the theme, content and structure are untouched. The| | |story remains as it was. I have lifted its face, but not its spine or spirit; these did not need lifting. | |F.3 |Some of those who read the story when it was first written, told me that I was unfair to the ideals of collectivism; this | | |was not, they said, what collectivism preaches or intends; collectivists do not mean or advocate such things; nobody | | |advocates them. | |F.4 |I shall merely point out that the slogan "Production for use and not for profit" is now accepted by most men as | | |commonplace, and a commonplace stating a proper, desirable goal. If any intelligible meaning can be discerned in that | | |slogan at all, what is it, if not the idea that the motive of a man's work must be the needs of others, not his own need, | | |desire or gain? ...
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