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How does anthem by ayn rand relate to our world today
Importance of personal identity
Collectivism vs individualism easy
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Judy Garland once said, “Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.” This quote supports Prometheus’s beliefs on the importance of individuality. In the dystopian novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, Prometheus and Gaea are the only people who question the suppressive society that they live in. He believes that in his society he is not living to his potential, so he lets his curiosity take control when he is in the underground tunnel. While Prometheus feels that the freedom of being independent and self-reliant is better than the control of a collective government, he shows his glass box to the World Council of Scholars because he is proud of his discovery and he thinks it could help the citizens of his society. The controversy between living to help others and living to help oneself is the main theme of this novel and helps to relay Rand’s belief that collectivist societies cannot succeed.
Prometheus thinks “the secrets of this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who will seek them” (52). He believes that since he “found a secret...
...e the instruction of their dishonest city and directed Equality to the finding of the largest part of the human strength, egoism. “Ego” is the forbidden word that The Transgressor of the Unspeakable Word suffered from. He was burned alive because he was one of little that knew what individualism was. Prometheus and Gaea modernized this human race for centuries and initiated a new kind of success and advancement. Equality and Liberty will make a society that could possibly help the planet for the creation of light by rejoicing the individual human spirit, a thing to be set free, not restrained and crushed out of terror. 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.
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.
Ayn Rand, in Anthem, illustrates a futuristic, socialist society. In the novel, Rand destroys any sense of individuality and describes the social setbacks endured after living ‘only for the brotherhood’. The individual person fails to exist and is but a ‘we’ and recognized by a word and a series of numbers rather than a name. Additionally, she describes the horrors encountered within this different system of life: from reproduction methods to punishments. Through the life of Equality 7-2521, Rand demonstrates a person’s journey from obedience to exile in this socialist society. Throughout the entire novel, Rand criticizes Marxist theory as she demonstrates socialism’s failure to suppress revolution, thwart material dialectic, and its detriment to humanity.
In a year that remains undefined beneath a small city lit only by candles, a young man is working. He works without the council to guide him and without his brothers beside him. He works for his own purposes, for his own desires, for the dreams that were born in his own steady heart and bright mind. In his society, this is the greatest transgression. To stand alone is to stand groping in the dark, and to act alone is to be shamed by one’s own selfishness. The elegantly simple society that Ayn Rand has created in the novel Anthem has erased all segregation and discrimination by making every man one and the same with those around him; only Equality 7-2521 defies the norm with his ruthless
Ayn Rand, a contentious woman, the new favorite author to multiple people’s list. People who have read her magnificent book, Anthem, understand how exquisite and meaningful her words are. Books like Anthem are worth reading because it gives the reader more knowledge about controversial topics and it takes the reader to experience new places and new adventures. Equality, the main character, is a symbol. He represents many people today, living in countries like his society. Equality has to find his true identity first before helping the others. People are not allowed to believe in individualism, they should not have a identity of their own. Each person has a monotone routine to follow every single day of their lives. Each step a person takes
Ayn Rand’s Anthem is a politically satirical novel set in a future society that is so highly collectivized that the word “I” has been banned. The world is governed by various councils who believe that man’s sole reason for existence is to enforce the Great Truth “that all men are one and that there is no will save the will of all men together” (Rand, 20). Any indication of an individual’s independent spirit is swiftly and brutally put down, with the transgressors being punished with severe prison sentences or even death. It is this dysfunctional world that Equality 7-2521 is born into. The novel begins with Equality 7-2521 alone in a dark tunnel, transcribing his story.
...to Prometheus because he considers himself the man who brought light likewise Prometheus the man who stole fire from the gods to provide for the people in the city. He renames himself also because he feels like a new person after his discovery of freedom.
As one reads Ayn Rand’s significant quotes from the story of anthem, there is always a main theme that is trying to escape, just as Prometheus escaped in her story. All three of the listed quotes work as a trio to sing that We; as society, works to defeat individuality. The quotes emphasize that we cannot survive without individualism and being alone brings out our unique personalities. It is true that all the quotes work as one, but at the same time they have their own individualism. Each quote holds a purpose of its own and the author wants to express the quote to each persons understanding.
In summation, Prometheus’ society believes that the “best in him”, his internal curiosity, is a sin, as it makes him different from his brothers. In actuality, his curiosity allows him to see that his totalitarian society has regressed and in doing so, they have lost the ability to give their citizens an independent identity, which could be used to benefit the society.
... his ideas for a much improved future. He describes how his two young sons, his beautiful wife, and his community will create around his philosophy of being an individual and possessing freedom. Throughout the novella, Prometheus painfully breaks his chains of confinement, to find his quest for knowledge. With many painful experiences, he finds out that individuality can never be fully controlled, because freedom is always with him. Rand depicts a society where collectivism is the core belief and anyone opposing it, will be a martyr. But it will be one individual who will rise from the depths of despair and fight for his individualality; and eventually find his purpose in life.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell depict dystopian futures with people being ruled by extremely powerful and oppressive governments. In Brave New World, the government is called the World State, and is led by the World Controller, Mustapha Mond. In 1984 it is called the Party, which consists of the very exclusive Inner Party and the very populated Outer Party. The face of the party is “Big Brother” but the book does not specify whether Big Brother is actually a real person or not. Both novels follow characters trying to escape the twisted society they live in. The main characters in the novels are among the only ones who make any effort to rebel against the totalitarian state
Throughout the course of the novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley generates the theme government dictated states remove individuality, and as a result, stability is sustained due to citizens being identical. Huxley illustrates this in chapter ten when he indicates that:
The closing decades of the twentieth century ushered in the digital age and spelt an end to the Industrial Revolution. At no other period of time in our history of time in our history has there been so much change affecting every aspect of our daily lives. Things that once made each culture unique and different are now being replaced or modified by things that do not. Individuality is out; being part of the ‘global village’ is in. Politically, countries are being forced to change to accommodate decisions imposed on them by international bodies over which they have little
Every day the media emphasizes on what is socially acceptable and how social norms should be perceived. Individuality is no longer viewed as a combination of characteristics that define a person. Instead, individuality is seen as the foundation for public shaming. The internet has become one of the most profound methods of public humiliation. There are nearly 3 billion internet users worldwide. Of those 3 billion users many of them measure fame by the number of followers, post likes, and retweets they can get. Often at times this fame is sought at the expense of others with no thought given to the recipient of the reluctant fame. The cultural emphasis placed on fame is more dangerous than positive because the extent people will go for public recognition.
Many characteristics may create one’s individualism. Personality, appearance, environment, and heredity are the characteristics that make up one’s individuality. One can control the individual he may become with the help of individualism.