Communist Society in Ayn Rand’s book, Anthem

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In Ayn Rand’s book, Anthem displays the struggle of the individual against a government that refuses to recognize the individual’s value, a communist culture. Equality 7-2521 is an intelligent and determined innovator who challenges to violate the rules of his strangling society and discover the forbidden word, the word that changes everything: “Ego”. By discovering this lost word, Equality rediscovers the idea of the individual, and the worth of the individual outside of the collective group of “we”. Ayn Rand names Equality and Liberty, Prometheus and Gaea because they are very similar to those gods. In recognition of his discovery, Equality renames himself after Prometheus and his love, Liberty 5-3000, Gaea, after the epic Greek myths that the two characters so strongly imitate.

Equality has several understandable comparisons to Prometheus. According to Greek mythology, Prometheus brought fire to mankind, which brightened their path and showed man the way toward civilization. “He took the light of the gods and he brought it to all men, and he taught men to be gods.”(Rand, Anthem pg.99). Also, Equality created a light bulb meant to alter his society’s light and power. Equality’s gift of light was created to illuminate mankind’s path and launch a period of invention and discovery, if it was accepted by the Council. “At first, man was enslaved by the gods.”(Rand, Anthem pg.101). Another comparable thing between Equality and Prometheus was their amazing sacrifices made for their values. Before revolutionizing human technology with the gift of fire, Prometheus knew he would suffer, and still he refused to sacrifice his ideals in the face of authority, for his actions, Prometheus was punished by Zeus for all ...

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...engths of Equality and Liberty, mankind is redeemed from its suffering under the “noble” ideal of communism. Their sacrifices and virtues overcame the instruction of their corrupt society and led them to the discovery of the most important part of the human spirit, individualism. The Prometheus and Gaea of legend revolutionized the world for mankind and founded a new kind of world with success and advancement. Equality and Liberty will find a society that potentially revolutionizes the world for mankind by celebrating the goodness of the individual human spirit, a thing to be set free, not restrained and crushed out of fear. Their discoveries put to rest the corrupt preaching of selflessness and humility in favor of the truly moral philosophies of freedom and, in fact, selfishness. Those are the reasons that Ayn Rand named Equality, Prometheus, and Liberty, Gaea.

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