Comparing The Program And Anthem, By Ayn Rand

In the novel, The Program, author Suzanne Young and the novel, Anthem, by Ayn Rand, both authors use physical, cultural, and social surroundings to shape Sloane's psychological traits while Sloane is trying to rebel against The Program.
In this book, the author uses items in Sloane's physical surroundings such as handlers and daily assessments to shape her psychological traits. When Sloane sees two handlers walk into her classroom, she immediately thinks, "When they start forward, I begin to wilt"(4). Sloane "wilts" when the handlers walked in because she is so scared and so anxious that the handlers could be there to take her away. Sloane and her classmates have grown up being afraid of handlers. Being afraid that they could be flagged. Being afraid that they could be taken at any moment, any day. After watching her friend being dragged from her class by handlers, Sloane thinks to herself, "I want to crumple it into a ball and throw it across the room, scream for people to acknowledge what just happened to Kendra"(8) Sloane is talking about daily assessments. Daily assessments are surveys that every student has to take each morning at school to assure that they are not depressed. These assessments ask questions
While explaining The Program, Sloane points out, "Teen suicide was declared a national epidemic-killing one in three teens-nearly four years ago"(9). The epidemic of teen suicide had a huge impact on Sloane's everyday life. Because of the amount of suicides in her town, The Program was created. The Program has caused Sloane to lie to her parents every day. They ask her how her day was and the automatic answer is good, no matter what. She has also lies to her school and to her teachers every day on her daily assessments. Sloane always pretends that she is doing fine, even when she isn't. On the other hand, in the novel