What is egoism? Something that Prometheus seems so interested in. Egoism is a doctrine that individual self worth is the motive behind all conscious action. In this day in age being an egoist is wrong, but in Prometheus society being an egoist wasn’t even heard of. Why is it that Prometheus writes down “ego” at the very end of the book on page 105 of Anthem.…
Have you ever done something, thinking you’re doing the right thing, and then suddenly things get flipped around and now you’re the one getting in trouble? Having all of your technology taken away as a consequence? In the book Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 experiences something a little similar, only he is the one discovering technology.…
What is the meaning of the word “ego”? The literal meaning of ego is “the concern about one’s own interests”. It implies that one is more important than the collective, and that one is the proper beneficiary of one’s actions. Ayn Rand’s Anthem, tells the story of one man’s rebellion against a collective, totalitarian society. The story is set in the future dark age where the evils of collectivism and irrationality have destroyed the concept of achievement and individuality.…
To control a man, the dictators, or in this case the council, must enslave a man’s body and mind body and his mind too, in the book Anthem, a book by Ayn Rand. The council shows how easy it is to do so. The council created the unmentionable times, which was before the Rebirth and the Great Script fire. After that, they had to follow rules, which were to be a collective society; those rules caused everyone to be one. Another thing is the punishment they use and how it did not affect Equality at all.…
In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the main character is brought up into a society where individualism is never an option. In secret, this character broke these laws and constantly made what was called “transgressions” to the book’s authority figures. Near the books closing he states “Why the best in me had been my sins and my transgressions; and why I had never felt guilt in my sins.” Prometheus has came to understand that he was different and that his sins gave him his happy ending. For being different it made those around him believe that It was indeed sinful.…
In the short story Anthem, by Ayn Rand, a person named Equality 7-2521 lives in a socialist society and struggles through countless troubles. For example, everybody in this society is one body that thinks the same. They have a motto, or the great truth, that says: “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but the great WE, one, invincible and forever.” He, however, is faced with the opportunity to augment his position in this economy, though he might also be judged for his motivation when taking the opportunity.…
In Anthem, Ayn Rand reveals the idea that words can give someone the freedom to choose their own path. Equality, after having suffered from being forced to conform and hide his true self from the oppressive eyes of the society, is now relieved to finally have the missing pieces to his knowledge. He exclaims, “Many words have been granted me, and some are wise, and some are false, but only three are holy: “I will it!” (Rand 94). When Equality discovers the “Unspeakable Word,” he no longer feels restricted to the ties that bind him to the society, despite already having left. He now feels liberated and has finally completed his quest to truly embrace his own individuality. Equality knows that his knowledge of these words will lead him on…
In the book anthem, I agree with the quote “To be free , a man must be free of all…
It is the eighth wonder of the world. No one knows where it ensues from, but it is the force behind everything man thinks. Equality shows this the forest when he states,“We were thinking that these were thoughts without sense” (Rand 78). The phrase “without sense” is referring to his spirit doing it because it can, not because it should, which is a conundrum to the people in Anthem. Also, ego is the spirit of man to do work, care for one’s family and friends, and accomplish tasks, which affect everyone’s lives. Equality is driven to go against laws and make great discoveries when he first envisages his spirit, even though he does not know what it is or where it comes from. Among these include his clandestine hole, which “It is forbidden” (Rand 31) to go down, and the light box he…
In today's world, the word "ego" is looked upon as a negative attribute. If one were to look up "ego" online, a very common definition that they would find is conceit, or self-importance. For some reason, the world has accepted synonyms such as these to mean the same as ego. The term can also be defined as "the 'I' or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought (Dictionary.com)." One can tell by this that egoism is not always a negative trait, and those with that in their personality are not always a bad influence on the direction of the world. This is shown by the character Prometheus in Ayn Rand's novella Anthem,…
In Anthem, Equality is for sure being an egoist, but he is using his ego for the greater good of himself and his domineering society. Ego is a word that describes ones self-pride and sense of accomplishment towards themselves. In theory, ego is a synomyn of self-esteem, which is ultimately what all must possess. It is always good to have a good self-esteem and a sense of worth and purpose in this scary world. Unfortunately, without a normal level of self-esteem, people will not progress in a natural and smooth pattern, as someone who believes in themselves. There are two sides to every ego, two different paths that can be taken. The first one is a negative impact, for example, using your sense of worth and ego to ultimately wreak havoc and misery on yourself or others. An example of this would lie in leaders, such as Hitler, who was in actuality very egostical and a brillant leader, however, he used his brillance and his ego to kill 6 million jews. That was his choice; his mind thought and processed his ego in a totally different way, a way that is understandable and unfanthomable by society’s standards. Furthermore, the second path of ego is the positive direction; the direction in which one uses their ego as motivation to help themselves or others. One who feels good about themselves, will not sit back and do nothing with their lives, as they are presented with a gift; a gift of good self-esteem which is worth the world. Nevertheless, Equality uses his ego to better himself and others, for example, he creates a lightbox, something that is unknown to his domineering society. This lightbox shows progress and motivation for his society, although it is not seen this way in the society’s mindset, itself. Equality has a gift, a gift that is worth as much as gold, a gift that is unknown to his society; he possesses an ego. His ego makes him progress, however, it scares his…
Collectivism is primarily the foundation of people who cannot survive as independent individuals. Since said people obviously aren’t individualists, no one is brave enough to go against their society’s norms, therefore retaining the collectivist society. A perfect example of this is in the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand. From the start of this brilliant novel, Equality 7-2521, later Prometheus, the main character and protagonist is trying to find himself, along with what he was placed on this earth to do. Soon enough his journey begins making sure to rebel against the Council of Vocation, since they are the only ones holding him back from his great overtake. Throughout the short story, more than just a light box is discovered; It becomes evident how The Council of Vocations appeal to certain ideas like trying to eradicate the factor of envy in order to justify their collectivist society, as well as how identical the society in Anthem and the one we live in today are, in terms of collectivism.…
Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, depicts a totalitarian society that oppresses the ideology of individualism. Within these societies children live apart from their families and grow up without any inherited characteristics of being an individual. Anthem is an example of this kind of society because it showcases the link between a totalitarian dictator’s power to the oppression of individualism found in a children that live apart from their families. Totalitarian Dictators enforce the arrangement of children living separate from their families because it oppresses individualism and allows for a better grasp of beneficial control over a society.…
Rand's argument for the definition of selfishness' is that it does not include a moral evaluation; it does not tell us whether concern with one's own interest is good or evil. She states that selfishness' has become a synonym to the word evil'. Which brings the minds of people to images of a murderous brute, therefore it does not constitute man's actual interests. Altruism, which means unselfishness; self-sacrifice; selflessness, is declared by Rand that it takes any action for the benefit of others is good, and any action taken for one's own benefit is evil.…
Generally, every society has certain actions that are agreed upon as either being selfish or selfless. Psychological egoists try to raise questions about whether selflessness is even a possibility. James Rachel on the other hand tries to refute their argument. He believes that psychological egoism is the viewpoint that everything you do is selfish, because the motive behind any action is your own self-interest. (Sumner, pg.75)…