His time has come. His profession will be decided today. Anthem is a dystopian novella, its based on an unspecific future date where humankind enters a dark age and technology is carefully being taken care of. This book was written by Ayn Rand in 1937 and is a story of Equality 7-2521, also known as Prometheus. The story tells us how he has personal development and his freedom from the rules and order in the society where he lives. In the novel Anthem’s protagonists, Prometheus struggles to find the meaning of his life and understand his nature. Prometheus sees the beauty of his soul and the power of his mind. By the end of the novel, he had learned the evils of society and begun a war with them. In the book, Prometheus is searching for himself; …show more content…
In this book the City where Equality 7-2521 lives have many laws, but why do they exist? What’s their purpose in their society? Why do the rules exist? The laws exist because they help the society function together, but in reality, they are to control the citizens and keep them from manifesting against their government. Since the day they’re born the government makes them learn to use “we” to refer to themselves, and that being together as one is good, but being oneself is evil. Every day the people who lived there have to say, “We are nothing. Mankind is all. We exist through by and for our brothers who are the state.” their lives are governed by a system, telling them what and when to eat when to sleep, what to work on. The government uses this type of system to keep them occupied so they wouldn’t think for themselves. They think having available time is evil because it leads to thinking. Everone has a profession and can’t hang out with others that are not from the same profession as them. Also, the male population is not allowed to have any contact with the females. Only when is the time for mating. During the time of mating, a random male and female
In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, Prometheus is a man who must overcome his collective society to find himself. Prometheus is born into a society where everything is equal. Without concern for consequences, he loves a woman and looks and discovers knowledge of the past. After his discovery is rejected he flees to the forest, and his lover follows. In the forest is where he finds the meaning of the word I. There is where he says "... we crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost in the gray of it," he talks about what his society did to the differences of man, after he had run away. After Prometheus finds the house he says, "My happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end," which means his happiness is special and achieving this happiness is his final goal. Lastly, "I am, I think, I will," is the final sign that Prometheus has acknowledged himself as one being. Prometheus' quotes show that his emergences from his past, longing for happiness and realizing that he is a being make Prometheus the...
Equality 7-2521 aspires to be a self-proclaimed individual. In the novella, Anthem, Ayn Rand discusses of a dystopian society in which every man and women are set equal to each other. Equality is damned by the World Council after a discovery of light and electricity, and a contradictory belief in individualism. Freedom is an essential factor in the happiness of man. Equality is scorned for his different looks, mental competence, and independent beliefs but laughs when he recognizes that he should be glorified for understanding that his perception of life leads to contentment.
The book Anthem is a book that can be perceived many various ways. To me, Anthem is about an outstandingly smart young man, named Equality 7-2521
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.
“For I know what happiness is possible to me on Earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it” (Rand 95). In this part of the novella, Equality, the narrator, is aware that he can find his own happiness and he should show it once it is found. Throughout the novella, Anthem written by Ayn Rand, Equality is trying to find himself in a society full of equals. As he discovers the tunnel, Equality creates a light bulb in which he wants to flaunt upon the people of his society. Subsequently, when it is rejected by the Council, he hides in the forest from those who see him as a betrayer. Equality tries to find himself in a collectivist society that he knows he does not belong in, in which he evolves. The author believes in objectivism,
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.
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
Why can a plant not grow in the shade? When a population is kept in the dark, no progress is made. One example of a community kept in ignorance is from the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand, a place where there is total control by the government. This technology deprived world insinuates that science and technology can spur rebellion, division, and change, showing that technological progress develops from the freedom of oppression.
Throughout history, authors have teased their readers with the idea of what the future might bring. Often times these stories are littered with new technology and fascinating theories, but occasionally it is the contrary. In the situation where society has taken a step back, there must be a character to give civilization a kick start. In the novella Anthem, by Ayn Rand, society is bound to collectivism, where everyone relies upon each other to live and learn; but the protagonist, Equality 7-2521, is able to break free from the fear of independence and move toward individualism. During the course of the story, Equality discovers the freedom he can bring himself. Then he realizes his mind is the door to the truth, not society. Finally, Equality recognizes himself as different from the rest of the population. These steps toward individualism are perfectly embodied by three quotes Rand incorporates in her story.
Anthem by Ayn Rand is considered a dystopian novel. The characters live in a society where everything is bad, and they have no control over their life or destiny. The book is about a man, Equality 7-2521, who breaks all the laws of his society and dares to be different. The book is in first person and designed to seem like a journal entry. Equality 7-2521 lives in a futuristic society where people have no knowledge of individualism, and the words ‘I’ or ‘me’ do not exist.
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.
The purpose for these rules and controls are to keep the society collectivist. Fear is what runs this society. “... our brothers are silent, for they dare not the thoughts of their minds. For all must agree with all… and so they fear to speak” (Pg. 47). A Transgression that Equality would commit while being in the Home of Infants is he fought with his brothers. “There are few offenses blacker than to fight with our brothers, at any age and for any cause whatsoever” (Pg. 20). The purpose for this rule is to stop violence. If you look at the world around us all you see is violence. Guns, knives, people killing with bare hands. Ayn Rand’s reasoning for the rule of no violence would be a rule that I personally think would work, if
In Anthem, Amy Rand’s inspirational novella, Equality 7-2521 lives in a future where there is no “I” or “mine.” Members of this Orwellian society work together in groups, which answer to the greater good. When Equality 7-2521 is forced to clean the streets, he rebels against this idea of collectivism by conducting illegal scientific activity. He rediscovers electricity, but when he showcases his invention of the light bulb, he is forced to flee. Joined by his love, Liberty 5-3000, he flees to the wilderness. There, he discovers the true meaning of the word “individual,” shattering the shackles of collectivism he has worn since birth. Equality 7-2521 renames himself Prometheus and his love Gaea, and they dream to create a society based on individual freedom.
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.
Dystopian Societies follow a repeated trend in which Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted. Citizens live in a dehumanized state and are perceived to be under constant surveillance. Severe punishments are enforced when the boundaries of group norms are tested. Throughout Amaryllis, the authorities enforce strict restrictions against the out of control population growth affecting the society. “Thirty- five years ago, my mother ripped out her own implants…She got pregnant… and broke up her household…they were scattered over the region…”.The consequence faced by Marie’s mother highlight the harsh penalties faced by citizens for pushing the boundaries for something that is considered a human right in the current society. Authorities also impose regulations on the amount of produce each family can utilise as it is “the only way to keep the population under control”. The citizens of the underground mining society created by Mastroianni in Jordon’s Waterhammer follow similar disciplinary rules. This is evident in the following eyewitness account by Jordon. “…heard the controller say, Loader Solomon is in violation of quota as required by ordinance 62.1.3. They pressed a particle gun to Solomon’s temple. Solomon dropped dead to the floor.” Just like Marie’s mother, Jordon’s friend Solomon faces deadly consequences for exceeding quota showing the reader the level of strictness of the society. As well as this, the citizen that do abide by the rules, are forced to live in harsh conditions which include “ hearing controls from within the brain” and “sleeping in a closely monitored sarcophagus”. Although strict restrictions are enforced to “keep the society in order”, the citizens face inhuman conditions regardless of whether they break the law or abide by it. This is a major characteristic which has been focused upon in