Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Dystopian literature examples
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Every story has a quest and every quest has a hero from which one of them included the unconquered, Equality, who starts his journey from birth in the dystopian society of Anthem. Equality faces many challenges throughout the novel to prove and gain his true identity in the society but it does not come without difficulty. He was born different and better than others but in the end this difference became his most dangerous enemy. Equality starts his quest from birth, facing challenges in school because he was much more intellectually advanced than the other students. He always asked too many questions which caused the teachers to start ignoring him and treating him unequally. When he reached adulthood, he became too tall and this statement …show more content…
Equality and the Golden One go far away from the overly controlled society of Anthem and instead try to live with their own free will and individuality in the forest. while they were there, they eventually come across a building very differently built than the ones they had seen where they previously lived while climbing a mountain in search of food and shelter.There they find information regarding the unmentionable times. “ What kind of world did they have, the men of the Unmentionable Times?”(pg 90). There were many books from the Unmentionable Times in the house and this is when Equality stops using “WE” and uses the word “I” which was very significant part of completing the journey of finding his true identity as an individual. Equality renames himself Prometheus and renames the Golden One as Gaea after seeing names from Unmentionable Times. Throughout his life Equality faces many difficult challenges in order to find his individualism especially since he lived in a society where having even the slightest individual thought was a crime. However, he manages to use his talent of curiosity to reach his goals and finds his identity as an individual when he reaches the forest where the secrets to the unmentionable times were hidden away. This is where his journey ends and his life starts with free will by first renaming himself and his
A society where people lack individualism and the government has suppressive control, ultimately restrains its citizens. Those who rebel from oppressive authority and redefine themselves are those who remain unconquered. To be unconquered is to be uncontrollable, undefined, and in no form abide by social normality. In the poem, “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, and the novella Anthem, by Ayn Rand both protagonist, Invictus and Equality portray determination and vigor.
Equality 7-2521 aspires to be a self-proclaimed individual. In the novella, Anthem, Ayn Rand discusses of a dystopian society in which every man and women are set equal to each other. Equality is damned by the World Council after a discovery of light and electricity, and a contradictory belief in individualism. Freedom is an essential factor in the happiness of man. Equality is scorned for his different looks, mental competence, and independent beliefs but laughs when he recognizes that he should be glorified for understanding that his perception of life leads to contentment.
Equality is different from the other men in his world, and because of this he has lived most of his life concealing his emotions, being outcasted and punished by the leaders and teachers of his society, and stripping himself of his talents and uniqueness, therefore he has every right to criticize the leaders who kept the real Equality trapped inside for so very long. Equality expresses his love for science and aspiration to be a Scholar throughout the book and talks of how he wished to be sent to the Home of Scholars so badly his hands trembled under the blankets at night and he had to bite his arm just to stop the pain of wanting something so much (Rand 24). To want something so badly and have to conceal it everyday with no one to share it with is a very difficult thing for someone to have to do. Equality also struggled with concealing his friendship,“International 4-8818 and we are friends.
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
Equality deserves the right to be motivated in his own way, and the people in the world today would or would not benefit from being motivated in all the same ways. Firstly, the main character was creating electricity to finally be added into the House of Scholars. Next, he deserves the right to be motivated in this way because he is his own person. Finally, in today’s world if everyone was motivated in the same way we would not be our own person anymore. In conclusion, every man has his own
At the start of Anthem, Equality is a collectivist who knows there is something wrong with the world he lives in. This allows him to evolve into an individualist. Equality says , “It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own” (Rand 17). Equality admits he has committed a transgression and hopes to be forgiven. Equality, at this moment, is living to the standards of others because he lives in a society where no man is to think differently than another. This contradicts Rand’s philosophy because she says that a man is entitled to his own happiness and that you are in charge of it, but since Equality is living to the rules of his society, he cannot find his own happiness, for he is almost forbidden to do so. Likewise, it states in the text, “I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask none to live for me, nor do I live for any others. I covet no man’s soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet” (Rand 96). Equality realizes that he is not to live nor commit himself to the standards of others. He has come to the understanding, as Ayn Rand says in her interview, “That he cannot demand that others give up their lives to make him happy, nor should he wish to sacrifice himself for the happiness of others.” Equality finds his own happiness because he has found himself, and he has learned that he cannot put his happiness in the hands of others nor put the happiness of others in his own hands. This allowed him to find himself, and to find
... was a time when each man had a name of his own to distinguish him from all other men.” (Rand 98) He is now known as Prometheus and Liberty 5-3000 as Gaea. This is the beginning of a new world for him and those that choose to follow him. This new society will embody the concept of individuality, freedom of choice and preference.
“An inventor is a man who asks ‘Why’ of the universe and lets nothing stand between the answer and his mind”( Ayn Rand). In the novel Anthem, by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 is seen as an outcast compared to his brothers; different. Equality is the inventor, he questions the council and the world around him. When we take a closer look at the protagonist of the novel, Equality, we can see that he is intelligent, unique in his own way, adventurous, and curious. Some might say his curiosity is what drives him to to be the way he is and seek out the unknown. To most, these characteristics, proves Equality a prophet that stresses the idea of Equality for all.
Equality 7-2521 struggles in the Home of the Students because he is too intelligent and deft at absorbing information. The ability to think quickly and easily was looked down upon by the teachers and the government. Equality notes, “It was not that the learning was too hard for us. It was that that the learning was too easy. This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick. It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them. The teachers told us so…” (21). The students are taught that being intelligent is evil and that they cannot be superior in knowledge than the officials in the government. Equality’s intelligence leads to his job as a Street Sweeper because the government wants to suppress radical ideas by assigning him to a socially lower job and authoritative status. As literary critic Tore Boeckmann states about Anthem, “[Equality] belong[s] at the pinnacle of any rational social hierarchy, yet [he is] thrown (at least temporarily) to the very bottom” (135). Overall, the public citizens in Anthem are extremely selfless and lack a sense of self-worth because the government wants them to put the good of the community above the
Why can a plant not grow in the shade? When a population is kept in the dark, no progress is made. One example of a community kept in ignorance is from the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand, a place where there is total control by the government. This technology deprived world insinuates that science and technology can spur rebellion, division, and change, showing that technological progress develops from the freedom of oppression.
The beginning of the story opens with Equality being chastised because he is too tall and too smart. He noticed that “to be free, a man must be free of his brothers” (Rand 101). This quote shows that when society controls him, and he relies on everyone else, a lack of progress is inevitable. Even the higher powers control their city with aggressive strength; the Council of Vocations assigns Equality to be a street sweeper even though he wants to be a scholar. Out of curiosity, he finds a tunnel while on duty. He begins to write about himself, even though “it is a sin to think words no others are to see” (Rand 1). Having no obligation to others allows one to work towards their own goals, Equality is able to pass his previous instinct where “all men are one” (Rand 20). With the revelation of himself as being a separate indiv...
Anthem by Ayn Rand is a soul-shifting and mind-blowing novella that explores the dangers of a collective, dystopian society. As a man named Equality 7-2521 stumbles through life, he realizes that he has a burning desire to learn and explore, traits discouraged by the society he lives in. In the City, there are many rules, and all of them shadow the idea that “we are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE. One, indivisible, and forever.” (3) Equality 7-2521, with his passion for learning and science, slowly breaks away from this iron rule set by society, and in doing so, learns of the importance of individualism and freedom. In Anthem, Rand’s use of literary devices such as symbolism, characterization, and imagery help develop and present the tone of the importance of individuality and the dangers of a collective society.
He was able to say that he alone did this or whatever he put his mind too. He did not have to associate himself with others but could say he did it alone. He also realized that he did not have to worry about his other brothers because he that it is more to a brother than just following their rules but being able to discuss things went them and being able to make your own decisions. His also changed his name from Equality 7-2521 to Prometheus and Golden Ones’ to Gaea. Equality learned what it means to have something that yours. He proved that it does not take everyone to do something. a. He had to accept his way of thinking and turn it into something that he thought could make things better. That took determination to stay strong and the diligence to keep going. That why you have to keep your mind open and do not give up when it seem people are against
In Anthem, famous Russian-American novelist Ayn Rand , describes Equality as being young, beautiful, tall, strong, fearless, and brilliant, which would be great characteristics to have if it weren’t for the upside down , dystopian world that he is forced to be a part of. The people in this world like to live by one quote: “ WE ARE ONE IN ALL AND ALL IN ONE. THERE ARE NO MEN BUT ONLY THE GREAT WE, ONE, INDIVISIBLE AND FOREVER.” This quote suggest that this society is to live as one which seems like a really great idea until you start taking peoples individual rights away. Equality 7-2521, who is the protagonist of the story, defies this quote by being his own person, or individual . Equality has a brilliant mind but because of this mind, he was “lashed more often than all the other children.” Although equality views this world of being negative he does find a couple of positive aspects of life , one of these being the Home of Scholars. The Council of Vocations quickly
Equality has always been “odd” in his society. He was tall and better looking than his “brothers”