The book called Anthem is a book about a dystopia in the future. It is a realistic fiction book that was written by Ayn Rand. In this dystopia there is no such thing as one man. There is only men. Everyone lives for their brothers and not for themselves. Nobody knows about the words I, me, or my. The government decides who they are, everything they do, and every move they make. The character who tries to resist the government is named Equality. He is bigger and smarter than the rest of his brothers. Which is why the teachers lashed him. However, the government should not be able to have control over the people because everyone is their own person. First of all, everyone has freedom. In this society you have to be what the government wants you to be. You have to know what they want you to know. Which is the opposite of freedom. But Equality is able to break away from the government. He runs into the uncharted forest and finds a house full of books and learns the words he was never supposed to know. Then he says “I am, I think, I will, my hands, my spirit, my sky, my forest, this earth of mine. Equality completely ignored the government and said what he felt. He showed the freedom has. …show more content…
They are even taught by the teachers that “ We exist through, by, and, for our brothers who are the state. That is the only thing they know. Nobody knows who they are. They have no regard for themselves and have no self-awareness. The people are just following a voice in the dark. Except for Equality, he is smarter than the others and did not follow their instructions. In the end of the book he learned the words he was never supposed to know and found out that he was a different person. Then realized how for so long he felt bad that he was better, but now that he knows what words the government was hiding, he feels no
In the book Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 had never seen his physical appearance. He was surprised to see such a strong individual staring at him. One day after escaping into the woods, he finally met himself at a flowing stream and gained new confidence. This was an essential part of the theme of "Anthem." This shows how Equality finally found himself as an "I" in order to help others see themselves as an "I." This is an important part of "Anthem" since it reveals Equality 7-2521's determination, bravery, and development as a person.
Equality eventually escapes from the place that never felt like home, and runs off with his love, Liberty 5-300, who he calls the Golden One. After learning about the men from the Unmentionable Times, Equality would agree with Ayn Rand’s words in her short essay, “How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?”, where she not only talks about the importance of having moral judgment, but also about being brainwashed by your leaders and government. Equality can relate because, for his whole life, he was in a society where their version of wrong and right were opposites to what they should have been. Individualism and moral judgement weren't encouraged, they were prevented, and that is where the society became irrational.
Equality lives a great amount of his life as a follower because his conforming society establishes him to act a certain way. In fact, Equality follows the rules of his society as most men do. He follows the laws
In Anthem there are so many rules and controls, yet there is one that truly rises above it all. And that word is “I”. There is no “I” only “We”, for the great “We” is what they follow. And they are one not individual, they are one. And poor Equality can’t seem to understand that the rules are rules, but in a way he’s making his own rules. And he is mistreated for his looks and appearance and dosen’t seem really one with his brothers. And he’s curious and most don’t even question life, and he notices the little things, “Yet as we stand at night in the great hall, removing our garments for sleep, we look upon our brothers and we wonder. The heads of our brothers are bowed. The eyes of our brothers are dull, and never do they look one another in the eyes. The shoulders of our brothers are hunched, and their muscles are drawn, as if their bodies were shrinking and wished to shrink out of sight. And a word steals into our mind, as we look upon our brothers, and that word is fear.”(Rand 46). He has a wanting to learn and build his knowledge, but the rules don’t permit his decisions.
People in every Society are placed in categories according to gender, religion, race, and age from which one of these categories includes social class. In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, people are placed in social classes according to the government's liking and instead of race, age, gender etc their social class depends on the job they are given by the government. This was done to treat everyone equally in order to keep peace in the society. However, sometimes equality can cause rebellion and this idea is portrayed through the protagonist of the novel, Equality 7-2521. Ever since the unmentionable times had caused destruction to the society of Anthem, the government had taken away all the free will and individuality of its people.
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
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...
The word collectivism often makes people cringe. Overall, there is a general fear of not being able to make personal decisions in America. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, collectivism can be defined as; emphasis on collective rather than individual action or identity (“Collectivism”). In Anthem, Ayn Rand describes an extreme collectivist society. Although Anthem’s society seems extremely surreal, aspects of its collectivist society closely mirror today’s society.
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.
in his world it was believed that ?What was not thought by all men cannot
“The creator served nothing and no one. He lived for himself” (Soul of an Individualist). The novel, Anthem written by Ayn Rand, creates a dystopia where individual impression is prohibited, and all citizens are forced to put their fellow citizens, called brothers, before themselves. In this strictly collectivist society the word ‘I’ is replaced with the word ‘We’, and personal thought is considered a transgression. Anthem follows the life of the main protagonist, Equality on his journey to break free from this society. To liberate himself from his collectivist society and altruistic way of life, Equality must think only for himself, and become an egotist.
Equality discovers electricity, one day, and through this he recognizes the importance of intelligence, determination, and most of all, Equality learns that being different is not a transgression, but an essential part of life. Equality learns that he is the only one that can say if something is beautiful, if something is good, if something is bad, if something is ugly, and no one else can form his opinion for him, because he is an individual (94).
Anthem by Ayn Rand tells the story of a dystopian society in which individuality is prohibited: “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, one, indivisible, and forever” (19). The main characters in the book are Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000. Both are very original characters with constant, well-developed traits. Throughout the story, Equality is curious, mindful, courageous, and independent.
In a word where the past is the future and every individual strives to be like all their brother men, there is no room for difference. From the time he was five, Equality knew he was different from his classmates. However, he was not the only one who knew of his difference. The teachers and the leaders of the community frequently reminded him that he was not like everyone else. They “ frowned and said: ‘There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has grown beyond the bodies of your brothers’ ”. (Rand 18). He was taller and much smarter than everyone, and this was considered a burden. When the Council of Vocations decided to make Equality a Street Sweeper, their choice was not due to error or incompetence, but fear. They were frightened of what could happen to their society if Equality became a Scholar. There were many reasons for the choice they had made.
Equality fights in what he believes in just like Prometheus. He wants Liberty to conceive his child and help create a new society for themselves and others. Equality has many similarities to Prometheus. In Greek Mythology, Prometheus brought fire to mankind. Likewise, Equality had brought fire to his town through a light bulb. It was made to show his light and power. (Ayn Rand Anthem Pg 52) “We Equality 7-2521, have discovered it alone, and we are alone to know it.”