In Ayn Rand's Anthem and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four it shows how ignorance can be just as powerful, if not more powerful, than knowledge. In the books Anthem and Nineteen Eighty-Four it shows how the government can effortlessly control what people believe. For instance in Nineteen Eighty-Four, it shows how sometimes it doesn’t matter how much knowledge is known, rather how ignorant you choose to be. On the other hand in Anthem, it talks more about how happiness can’t truly be achieved until one gains knowledge.
The Scholars in Anthem can be used as an example to show how the government has the power to manipulate how society thinks, thus having the ability of keeping a society ignorant. The society in Anthem was trained to not ask questions, just to do as they were told: “The secrets of this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who will seek them” (52). As suggested by the Contented Brothers, Ignorance is power means that as long as you believe what you are told, the state has the
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In Nineteen Eighty-Four Syme mentions how “Orthodoxy means not thinking --- not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness” this passage indicates that the Party is able to manipulate vast numbers of people, convincing them that they don’t need to think because the Party can think for them (53). Both books imply that keeping the society ignorant is key to having power, maintaining a society at a low level of enlightenment gives the government the power of control. Winston’s case for example, is very unique because Winston had knowledge, he did rebel, and because knowledge only hurts the Party, the Party had to go to extreme measures to insure Winston would no longer remain a threat to the Party’s power’ “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shopes of your choosing”
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.
Anthem, by Ayn Rand, is a very unique novel. It encircles individualism and makes the reader think of how people can conform to society and do as they are told without knowing the consequences and results of their decisions. Also, it teaches the importance of self expression and the freedom that comes along with being your own person and having the power to choose what path to take in life. Figurative language is used often in this book and in a variety of quotes that have great importance to the theme, plot, and conflict of the novel.
Ayn Rand wrote Anthem as a critique of Communism, yet along with that she demonstrated her own belief system of individual ideals. Objectivism was aptly shown throughout the entire novella with the thoughts and actions of the main characters, Equality and Liberty in contrast with the universal thought of the city and society. Rand clearly showed her philosophy well in this story.
Anthem and Fahrenheit 451 both hit a very similar theme. The theme in Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, and Anthem, by Ayn Rand can be connected to a universal theme, Equality has limits. Both books support this theme by supporting an idea of a utopia, and both failed in its own way.
The dystopia depicted in Anthem could quite easily be considered Ayn Rand’s commentary on society. It puts into perspective the downfalls of societal trends and putting others above oneself. The novella itself is a satire of Collectivism, which can be seen in examples of Communism. Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism includes ideas of immutable facts, rationalist mentality, self-prioritization, and a capitalist society (ARI, n.d.). Her ideas are shown in a variety of aspects throughout the novella. Oppression felt due to the collective mentality is the most prominent of the ideas shown. Another aspect that is important to note is Equality 7-2521’s natural tendency to struggle against the restrictions set upon
“That is what has brought you here. You would not make the act of submission which is the price of sanity. You preferred to be a lunatic, a minority of one. Only the disciplined mind can see reality, Winston. […] Reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes: only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be the truth, is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party.” This is how O’Brien, a high-ranking official of the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four, describes the worldview forced into the minds of its citizens. Demonstrated by Winston Smith’s nonconformist thinking, his unorthodox actions, and the deconstruction of his individuality, it is this world of O’Brien’s with which the concept of the individual is incompatible.
Ayn Rand’s Anthem is about a man who overcomes the pressures of society to remain uniform, and breaks barriers in technology thanks to his individuality and hunger for more knowledge. The theme of the value of individuality in Anthem is developed through Equality 7-2521’s desperate need for knowledge, Equality 7-2521’s creation of the lightbulb, and Equality 7-2521 discovery of the word “I”.
The values at risk in Anthem are not merely those of the central luminary; they are the ostensible values of an entire civilization—our own. Our society is founded upon the notion of individual rights; its existence, as Ayn Rand depicts, cannot be conceived on any other grounds. Anthem, Rand’s dystopian novella, is about us, and about what will happen if we do not follow alongside Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000 in their discovery of the importance of individualism.
Ayn Rand's Anthem shows us her view of our world united under what seems to be communist rule. For example their view of right and wrong; which Anthem portrays is a system of very strict rules which mainly make sure that everyone is involved in a collective role within the society in this system no one is considered an individual or that they can even think as an individual.
Winston is confronted with struggle throughout the entirety of George Orwell`s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Living within a totalitarian regime subsequently causes Winston to seek approaches for dealing with such abundant oppression; he finds liberation through self-awareness, understanding and ultimately rebellion. First, Winston realizes that “if you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself”, alluding to the notion of thoughtcrime (162). This recognition exemplifies the complete cognizance that Winston has regarding the oppressive society displayed throughout the novel. Next, Syme states “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words”, alluding to the idea of Newspeak (28). This statement directly correlates to Winston speaking with other party members to gain knowledge about how others feels about policies deployed by the government. This information-seeking also connects with Winston`s rebellion, as he actively searched for others to join his uprising, which is shown when Winston tells O’Brien “We want to join [The Brotherhood]” (171). Winston’s attempt to join a rebellious organization exhibits his evident desire to release his suppressed emotions. Winston devises a very methodical approach to deal with the problematic society he resides in.
“He declared to all his brothers that a man has rights which neither god nor king nor other men can take away from him… for his is the right of man, and there is no right on earth above this right,” (Rand 101). The books Animal Farm by George Orwell and Anthem by Ayn Rand vary in different ways as a result of the contrast in the time they were written. While the allegory Animal Farm was written in the 1940’s and the novel Anthem was written in the 1930’s, the works are similar in a dystopian theme, a simple presentation of plot, and mood.
“The first thing you must realize is that power is collective. The individual only has power in so far as he ceases to be an individual. You know the Party slogan: "Freedom is Slavery". Has it ever occurred to you that it is reversible? Slavery is freedom. Alone—free—the human being is always defeated. It must be so, because every human being is doomed to die, which is the greatest of all failures. But if he can make complete, utter submission, if he can escape from his identity, if he can merge himself in the Party so that he IS the Party, then he is all-powerful and immortal. The second thing for you to realize is that power is power over human beings. Over the body—but, above all, over the mind” (Orwell 273). O’Brien argues that the Party and “Big Brother” had control over reality externally due to the fact that nothing exists outside the mind, and in cases of freethinkers, they would be taken care of by the teachings of “doublethink”. Doublethink is the power to hold two completely contradictory beliefs, for example holding up four fingers and claiming that you have five up, and simultaneously making one accept both of them. So if a society was entirely based off of the idea of doublethink as it’s way of forcing lies and reasons of hate on people, then it could work. But the one counter-argument to that
If one does not have the capability of controlling what they think, do, or even what they say then, according to Orwell, they cannot possibly remain “human”. However, according to Winston, staying human was possible. There were ways in which a person could refrain from falling into the clutches if the Party. In 1984 Winston says, “’They can’t get inside you. If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can’t have any result whatever, you’ve beaten them’” (Orwell, pg.166). Winston is among one of the only people to believe that there is still hope for the world. He wholeheartedly believes that there is a way to beat the Party; that there is a way to survive and hold on to whatever makes someone human. In 1984 free will and free thinking were extremely hard to come by. The Party was in control of every single thing their citizens were exposed to. They controlled the past, the present, and the future. Whoever is in control of the past; what is being said of the history of the world
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.
In the novel 1984, George Orwell predicts the world’s future, when human rights, such as freedom of speech, do not exist anymore. Everyone has to obey the government. The government controls its citizens’ lives. No one speaks up against the government yet because they do not even have a chance to make up a thought about it. The government dominates the citizens’ thoughts by using technologies and the thought polices to make sure no one will have any thoughts, that is against the government. George Orwell wrote:“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows,” (Orwell.2.7.69) the government tries to control Winston knowledge and change it to fit into the purpose of the Party. To Winston, O’Brien said: “Whatever the Party holds to be truth is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party.” (Orwell.3.2.205). As a citizen, no one get to look at or tal...