Themes in Ayn Rand's Anthem

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Anthem Themes
“My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose” (Rand, 95). Anthem is written by American author Ayn Rand about Equality 7-2521 on his quest for happiness. The novel is set in an unspecified time and place in the future. Years after human civilization has gone through a deconstruction in which all knowledge was lost and a new society established with no concept of the individual. “The novel describes the efforts of the main character, Equality 7-2521, to reestablish a sense of personal identity and restore the knowledge of the past by objective scientific inquiry. In doing so, he must face many dangers and privations” (Anthem). Anthem is a dairy of the Equality 7-2521 including themes of equality, love, courage, adventure, individuality, and postmodernism.
Ayn Rand was born on February 2, 1905 in Russia. She was twelve years old when the Bolsheivik revolution took place. She also witnessed the early establishment of the Soviet communist state but then moved to United States in 1926. Rand hoped to become a screenplay writer she moved to Hollywood; there she met her husband Frank O’Connor. Rand had her first successful screen play Night of January 16th which led to her first novel We the Living. The next novella Anthem was first published in Great Britain after American publishers rejected Rand’s work. Rand became a well known philosopher and novelist.
All men are equal. “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” (Rand, 21). Equality is a main theme in Anthem. In this society the word “I” is forbidden. The humans refer to themselves as “we” ...

... middle of paper ...

...see a different side of Equality 7-2521 and helps him rediscover his soul and true meaning in life.

Works Cited

“Anthem.” Novels for Students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. Vol. 29. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 45-65. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
"Ayn Rand." DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 1 May 2014.
" Ayn Rand." 2003. Books & Authors. Gale. Gale Internal User 1 May 2014 http://bna.galegroup.com/bna/start.do?p=BNA&u=gale
Rand, Ayn. Anthem. New York: Dutton, 1995. Print.
"Ayn Rand as Creative Writer." Ayn Rand. James T. Baker. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1987. 29-64. Twayne's United States Authors Series 501. Twayne's Authors on GVRL. Web. 2 May 2014.
"Rand, Ayn (1905-1982)." Modern American Literature. 5th ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: St. James Press, 1999. 61-63. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 May 2014.

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