Analysis Of Anthem, By Ayn Rand

Anthem, by Ayn Rand, depicts an era in the future where altruism is required, and everyone’s purpose in life is to be useful to others. The City, where Equality lives, is not any different in this idea. A citizen growing up in the City lives under rules that strip away any form of distinction from other people. The City has these controls in order to maintain a state of stability and order over the population. Officials will go through any length to keep a person from breaking order. All citizens must be valued exactly the same as one another. Considering that Equality 7-2521 absolutely hates the City’s regulations that strip people of their individuality, suppress the human nature for the conquest of knowledge, and stamp out the idea of favoritism,
When he lived in the House of the Students for his education, he was an academically advanced student. But the teachers always scolded him for his intelligence, they told him that “[Learning easily] is a great sin” (Rand 21). Equality 7-2521’s society did not want students to distinguish themselves from their peers. But Equality 7-2521 could never stifle his thirst for knowledge. When he was in school, he “asked so many questions that the Teachers forbade it” (23). He even questioned whether or not the Council of Scholars actually knew everything. The Teachers of course told him that there was nothing more to discover. These answers were never enough for him. When he and International found the underground tunnel that was a remnant of the Unmentionable Times, Equality 7-2521 could finally seek answers his questions. As he ran his experiments and learned more, he had “the first peace [he had] known in twenty years” (27). The City always limited Equality 7-2521’s curiosity. Under this system, Equality 7-2521 found himself crushed. It is not logical to assume that his ideal society would include laws that would disapprove of
A person is not even taught to use “I” to refer to themselves alone, because being alone is “the great transgression and the root of all evil” (17). Equality 7-2521’s society could never subdue his individuality. Always, he seeked answers about his world from the time he was small. He was always distinguished from one of his peers in some way, such has how he was six feet tall. His society always told him that “there are no men but only the great WE” (19). Everyone in the City lives for the benefit of everyone else. There are no individual goals for a citizen, they must be useful to the society. When Equality 7-2521 finally finds out how to separate himself from other people while talking, he states “I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant for their needs” (95). Equality always found himself subjugated to his brothers. His desires were always disregarded, but he was expected to be joyful anyways because “the will of all men together is good for all; and so all men must be happy” (46). In Equality’s society, individuality will be valued instead of disposed