Anthem Letter
2. After reading Anthem, our group had questions about the message you were trying to convey, and the setting of the novella. Our first question is what is your view of women, and does Gaea (Golden One) fit your view of an individual who knows his or her self-worth? And our second question was why did you not specify the story’s location or time?
3. Along with discussing our doubts with one another in our group, we spoke about what we felt like was the most important moment in the story. We believed that a crucial moment was when Equality says: “I am. I think. I will” (Anthem). Our group thought it was significant because for the first time Equality experiences freedom and the joy that accompanies it. After living a life where he had to use the word “we” to refer to himself, he is now finally able to express himself using his new found word. Equality is now capable of imagining a whole new life not only for himself, but for the Golden One as well. A life where they lived on their own land and eat food they produced. Our group agreed that you believed that “I” should be the initial thought of the individual, while “we” can be used as a latter thought, at best. When the two are transposed, civilization quickly becomes confining rather than emancipating for men, and the dystopian world shown in Anthem is brought to life. When “I” is allowed to maintain its prelacy, the world has allure because the individual is able to see it, and it is now significant because the individual wills it. An individual who is capable of realizing his or her own self-worth will live a life only for him or herself and for “I” Equality first expresses here.
3. Along with discussing our doubts with one another in our group, we spoke about what we felt like was the most important moment in the story. We believed that a crucial moment was when Equality says: “I am. I think. I will” (Anthem). Our group thought it was significant because for the first time Equality experiences freedom and the joy that accompanies it. After living a life where he had to use the word “we” to refer to himself, he is now finally able to express himself using his new found word. Equality is now capable of imagining a whole new life not only for himself, but for the Golden One as well. A life where they lived on their own land and eat food they produced. Our group agreed that you believed that “I” should be the initial thought of the individual, while “we” can be used as a latter thought, at best. When the two are transposed, civilization quickly becomes confining rather than emancipating for men, and the dystopian world shown in Anthem is brought to life. When “I” is allowed to maintain its prelacy, the world has allure because the individual is able to see it, and it is now significant because the individual wills it. An individual who is capable of realizing his or her own self-worth will live a life only for him or herself and for “I” Equality first expresses here.