At the end of Anthem by Ayn Rand, Prometheus understands he is different than all other humans, which is a sin in his society, but is actually acceptable. Even when Prometheus was young, he was different, “This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick.” (p21.) Not only was he physically different, by holding himself up and having eyes different than their bothers as expressed by Gaea on page 44, but he is also mentally different. He feels so much more than fear; he is curious, smart, and almost everything his brothers are not. He acted on his affection for Gaea when her name was Liberty back in their society. When Prometheus said, ““You are beautiful, Liberty 5-3000,”” (42.) it was shocking because this society scorned upon individual thought. It was against rules to believe something others did not, and it was unheard of that someone would actually saying something like this to another. Prometheus’s curiosity led him to explore the Uncharted Forest a place that people are forbidden to enter. In the tunnel he found, he rediscovered electricity. “We put a piece of co...
Many people seem to get entangled into society's customs. In the novel Anthem, the protagonist, Equality 7-2521, lives a period of his life as a follower. However, Equality eventually, tries to distant himself from his society. He is shaped to be a follower, but eventually emerges in to an individual and a leader. On his journey, he discovers the past remains of his community. Ayn Rand uses Equality's discoveries of self to represent the importance of individuality in a functional society.
He is positive that with his quick brain he can uncover the Unmentionable Times and live the way they should have all along. His thoughts are identical to Ayn Rand advice in her short essay “How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?” since he is the one to lead a rational life in Anthem. In a house that belongs to the Unmentionable Times holds Prometheus, a new name that Equality has given himself, meaning a god who took the light of the gods and brought it to men and taught men to also be gods. Within those walls, he plans to be like Prometheus that the books state: Taking the light to men and teach them how to live a rational
Prometheus’ lack of guilt towards his transgressions and sins are due to his discovery of individualism and free will. “I am. I think. I will.” (Rand 94) are words that Prometheus cites after he discovers the word “I” in Chapter 11. This declaration represents his understanding of his own individuality and his understanding that he was created to think. The beginning section of this quote illustrates his struggle with accepting himself as an individual while the second section of the quote shows his ability to reason for himself. The third section of the quote, “I will” shows his ability to act on his thoughts/reasons. The society considers this belief to be a sin; for the society promotes the idea of collectivism, and it is forbidden to speak the unmentionable word known as “I”. Throughout his life, Equality 7-2521 referred to himself and others as “we” due to the society’s intolerance of individualism and the support of collectivism.
In Anthem there are so many rules and controls, yet there is one that truly rises above it all. And that word is “I”. There is no “I” only “We”, for the great “We” is what they follow. And they are one not individual, they are one. And poor Equality can’t seem to understand that the rules are rules, but in a way he’s making his own rules. And he is mistreated for his looks and appearance and dosen’t seem really one with his brothers. And he’s curious and most don’t even question life, and he notices the little things, “Yet as we stand at night in the great hall, removing our garments for sleep, we look upon our brothers and we wonder. The heads of our brothers are bowed. The eyes of our brothers are dull, and never do they look one another in the eyes. The shoulders of our brothers are hunched, and their muscles are drawn, as if their bodies were shrinking and wished to shrink out of sight. And a word steals into our mind, as we look upon our brothers, and that word is fear.”(Rand 46). He has a wanting to learn and build his knowledge, but the rules don’t permit his decisions.
Before he went on his endeavor to start a new society, Prometheus used to live in a society that worshipped collectivism and the mindset that being as your peers is crucial. Prometheus even quoted himself, "We strive to be like all of our brothers men, for all men must be alike." Although this was a value instilled in Prometheus since he began living in the Home of the Infants, he still felt the drive to be independent. Even though Prometheus had this drive of independence, he still refused to start his society and tried to allow his intelligence to be bound again. Prometheus offered his invention to the world council, who reacted poorly to his invention. One of the
Each one believed that the other one was committing blasphemy. Ayn Rand clearly portrays Prometheus as the protagonist, but she is not the only one who believes that Prometheus’ philosophy is correct. The United States’ Constitution is a document which was written to outline and sanctify the rights of individuals in our country. For example, the First Amendment guarantees that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech” (Amend. I.
In Anthem, the narrator, Prometheus, lives in a community in which all of the children born that year live in the same house until they turn fifteen. Then they are assigned a job and live with the people that share that occupation. This keeps the people from having an emotional attachment to someone like they would have with a family. Totalitarian rulers often control the thoughts and beliefs of people as well. The citizens of the community are forbidden to question or explore things that are unknown to other citizens.
An anthem is a sacred composition set to words from the Bible. This may have significance with the title that Ayn Rand has given the book by paralleling the story of Prometheus and Gaea to that of Adam and Eve. In the bible, Adam and Eve were given everything that they needed by God with the one exception of not to eat from a specific tree. They were told by the devil that this tree was the tree of knowledge and to eat of it would give them knowledge equal to God’s. In Anthem, Prometheus and Gaea are told that they have everything that they will ever need or desire by the council. They are forbidden to gain knowledge that is not permitted by the council but only to do as they are told. Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the pursuit of knowledge and ate of the tree in order to gain equality to God. When they did this God found out and so condemned them and punished them for all eternity. God banished them from paradise in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were no longer given anything as they were in the garden but instead were forced to suffer and survive on their own. In Anthem, Prometheus and Gaea go against the will of the council and Prometheus yearns to gain knowledge that he realizes is being hidden from him. Prometheus hides his studies at first but then wants to share them with the council for the betterment of society but is instead condemned.
Rand’s quote, “The word ‘We’… crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the tray of it,” implies that the black and white are the independent people in society. It is shown that as people are made on in society by gathering they lose their independence. As one all the minds of the people mix their black and white paint to produce a lost tray. They no longer have their own ideas, but now they have a conclusion of everyone’s ideas All the unique qualities of the people are crushed and the group gets all the credit for being unique. People do not want to be put together and treated equally. People want to be treated with respect for what they have done. In the novelette, Prometheus invents electricity by using his own mind. He wants credit for this invention and wou...
Life has fared well since Gaea and I have lived in this house. There are now others in houses surrounding us. These are my friends that I returned to rescue, International 4-8818 being one of them. He is now called Apollo. We are happy here, all of us. The others are learning, albeit rather slowly, yet they learn to say I instead of we. It is my hope that, before my first child is born, they will all say I so that he or she may only know this and not the cursed we.
In the end of "Anthem", Prometheus comes to the realization that his society's teachings and ideas were not helpful in advancement to the society. Ideas like individuality, that the society tried to squash out of its people, is beneficial to the society as a whole because men are meant to think for themselves. In the book Prometheus made the light bulb back when he was in the society, but once he showed it to the World Council, they but him in jail. After this incidence he realized that no matter what brilliant things he invents, it will never be something that particular society can use. At first he is confused, but realizing that he was acting like an individual made him see that maybe society is the evil one and he is the good one. All of this made him realize that maybe he is not meant for this, and he is thrown out into the uncharted territory. He learns that men are meant to think for themselves, and that if they do society will become more advanced and they will be able to move forward instead of staying at the same spot forever. This is how he realizes his "sins" were actually good and that men are supposed to think for themselves.
Hemmingway has a unique style of writing. It works on multiple levels. A person could read Farewell to Arms and enjoy it as a tragic love story. Hemmingway’s concise writing style allows a literal interpretation. At the same time a reader could get involved with the various symbols that he has placed in the novel. In a way everything he has can be used as a symbol depending on a person’s biases. This is what makes Hemmingway’s writing even more unique. He can have what seems to be a straightforward sentence have multiple meanings. The transcendentalist and romantic writing styles leave ideas vague so the reader can reflect on his/her own thoughts. Hemmingway is pragmatic in the sense that his writing can be read literally, but also romantic if you read his work more in depth.
On the other hand, Zeus is a strong, albeit authoritarian leader for both the other gods and mortals. Zeus is required to rule, sometimes absolutely, and when someone under his rule commits an act of treason, he is required to address the issue. When Zeus the leader acts forcefully, the rest of those under his reign will get the message. Prometheus’s act of handing o...
Rand’s novella, Anthem depicts a dystopian society where an individual struggles against the society’s core beliefs. The individual named Prometheus stated “The secrets of this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who will seek them.” Meaning knowledge is for the men who search for it; if the individual doesn’t search for (secrets of the earth) knowledge, he won’t appreciate the great beauty of it. Knowledge is not automatically expressed in the world; it is like the pieces of a puzzle, where an individual decides whether or not to put the pieces together. Only those who figure out the puzzle, find their answers. Rand depicts a society, where the main character’s thirst for knowledge push him to painfully break free of his chains of confinement by society and to finally reach his highest level of understanding reality.
Equality invented something that no ones ever seen before. He built something to make a difference in society and to brighten the world, light. Light is what he invented and it was a miracle when it worked. Another similarity between Equality and Prometheus was their sacrifices for their values. No matter what circumstances they both went through, they stuck with it and did not give up because they believed that they could make a difference in society. They did not want to give up because it was something that they believed they could do to make the world a better place for themselves and others. All though Prometheus was punished by Zeus for all time. Equality knew that if he was discovered he would be punished for what he invented but he didn’t care if he got punished or not. When Equality brought his invention to the C...