I didn’t understand the novella as I read it, but after
I didn’t understand the novella as I read it, but after
Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem is about the main character Equality 7-2521 who struggles to live in a communist society. Equality is an intelligent and very ambitious person who dares to break the rules of The City. By following his heart, he discovers that he is worth a lot more than what he’s been taught. Once he and his love, Liberty 5-3000, break away from their toxic home land, they discovering the idea that individuality is more important than the collective “we”. In the woods, the two lovers find an abandoned house and they rename themselves Prometheus and Gaea. Ayn Rand chose these names because of how similar Equality and Liberty are to the mythological creatures.…
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.…
The book I read this month is called "Anthem" by Ayn Rand. Anthem is a fiction book and was quite interesting. It was about a person called Equality 7-2521 and how his life led to a huge turning point. "Anthem" took place in a futuristic civilization. The book was about a society who were all equal and exactly the same until one brave person named Equality 7-2521 thought outside the box, something that has not been done in a while.…
Ayn Rand perfectly captured the idea of a collectivist society in her book, Anthem, by creating a vivid image of the dangers of losing one’s sense of self. This concept can be applied to modern times, much like Equality does when proclaiming his anthem: “I understood that centuries of chains and lashes will not kill the spirit of man nor the sense of truth within him” (98). His statement personifies a man’s spirit,the perseverance of man, and implies that there are no restraints strong enough to thwart human nature.…
Through the Climax and resolution of Ayn Rand’s novel, the characters present that every person has a unique character that can be oppressed but not erased by the rest of the world. Anthem presents the story of Equality 7-2521, who is considered a sinner in the society values of collectivism and equality of all citizens since curiosity and individuality of personality were bear by him. In the beginning of the novella, the society had a full control over Equality’s mind, and doubts on the shame of being a sinner were emerging. In Chapter 1, We ask, why must we know, but it has no answer to give us. We must know that we may know,” wonders Equality 7-2521 as the desire of knowledge about the world around him starts to appear within the fear of whether thinking outside of the box delimited by the government is, in fact, a sin or not.…
The concept of egoism is presented in Anthem, authored by Ayn Rand, using the principle that every man’s primary obligation should be toward his own well-being. Once Equality realizes what the sacred word to his society is, he begins to write about how the concept of altruism should not be placed at the root of a man’s heart, rather the concept of egoism. As Equality sits with his journal he writes, “For the word ‘We’ must never be spoken, save by one’s choice and as a second thought” (Rand 96). Equality believes that man shall not serve others, rather service themselves in an almost ‘selfish’ manner, with the exception of a man’s choice to work alongside other people. In summary, Equality believes that egoism should be the primary obligation…
A young man given the name, Equality 7-2521 is living in a futuristic dark age. He is withheld from a name to prevent any form of individuality, but given a word followed by a series of numbers on an iron bracelet to be worn on his left wrist, as a form of identification by the World Council. Equality 7-2521 has made a moral discovery throughout the story Anthem by Ayn Rand, as discovering his individuality and as he has changed from one who believes that the World Council states all truth, to one who has progressed into someone with the ability to compose ideas and moral values for himself.…
Ayn Rand in the book review, Anthem, Rand portrays that Equality 7-2521 lived in the dark ages of the future. Rand supports her claims by telling us that equality 7-2521 lives in a city that is different the our’s. The author’s purpose is to show us how Equality 7-2521 had the courage to seek and find knowledge so that he could be an individual person and then he will no longer like the word “We”. The author writes in a formalistic tone for a science fiction audience. Equality 7-2521 lives in a dystopia we’re there is no such word as “I” used , only people say the word “We”.…
It is illegal to say “I” because there is only we. The government has stripped the individual of anything that made them special and forces them into a collective hive mind with everyone else. This world of full conformity is from a book named Anthem by Ayn Rand. Anthem was written in 1938 but today the country of North Korea strongly resembles how the citizens in the book act and how their government rules them. From limiting them to better ways of living and using technology, brainwashing the entire population to think in a certain way for the benefit of the government and imprisoning those who object to the laws set forth by the government Anthem and North Korea are eerily similar. Even though they have a lot of similarities they aren't completely alike; in North Korea they worship their leaders and they do not care about the citizens relationships.…
Have you ever been told to do something that you felt was wrong? In Anthem, Ayn Rand tells the story of Equality. He journeys through his life for missing pieces of life. Anthem is a story about being equal. To make that happen, they are not allowed friendship, new ideas, choices, or different appearances, but Equality has all of these, he is breaking many laws. He is getting punished many times. The author uses man v. self, man v. man, and man v. society conflicts to develop the theme do not let others tell you what you can and cannot…
Sacrifice, everyone has their own definition and their own way of thinking when they consider sacrifice. Sacrifice is giving up something for the greater good, even if it might not benefit the individual.When someone sacrifices something they do not think twice about it, they just do it without hesitation, even if they risk their life. There are many different types of sacrifice, it could be something as simple as someone giving up their seat on an airplane and giving it someone who might have had a bad day, or it could be much more difficult and making the decision to sacrifice their life to save someone else's. Everyday examples of sacrifice occur, whether it is read in a book or someone sacrificed something…
The story of Anthem takes place in some unspecified future time and place in which freedom and individual rights have been obliterated. Collectivism — the political philosophy holding that an individual exists solely to serve the state — is dominant and has led to the establishment of a global dictatorship of the Fascist or Communist variety.…
When Honore de Balzac said, “Equality may perhaps be a right, but no power on earth can ever turn it into a fact,” he meant that the idea of equality could never be a fact because the world isn’t always fair. There will be a time and a place when someone is thought of as different or someone acts distinctive compared to the people around them. Human nature is to think of them as different and exclude them for being something other than them. Eventually, you’ll find someone in a sea of people that will look different. This individual is likely a misfit and is teased for being unique compared to others.…
Throughout history and today, it is known that most people want fit in and not be different and if someone isn’t like everyone else it is a bad thing. For those who do strive to be different kind find it difficult not to be put down or made fun of just because they are trying to be individuals. This is clearly an issue in our society and the society in the book Anthem by Ayn Rand. The theme of Ayn Rand’s Anthem is individuality can outweigh society’s expectations. In Anthem the dystopian society says it is a sin to be different and you will essentially be punished or at least disrespected if you are different than the rest of this city. In the first couple pages the theme already starts to show:…
It got me reflecting on the folks I’ve removed from my life over the years (not removed in the Mafioso sense – I mean ‘stopped interacting with’), or those I’ve encouraged others to remove. It might sound callous or draconian, but I’m convinced that life is too short to have people around you on a daily basis who make it more difficult to succeed or to be happy.…