The Theme Of Ayn Rand's Anthem

Going from “WE” to “I”
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:
“We are six feet tall and this is a burden, for there are not many men who are six feet tall. Ever have the Teachers and the Leaders pointed to us and frowned and said: ‘There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has grown beyond the bodies of your brothers”’ (Rand 18).
Another example of the theme is when Equality 7-2521 was creating electricity with the frog in his underground tunnel “WE MADE IT. WE CREATED IT. We brought it forth from the night of the ages. We alone. Our hands. Our mind. Ours alone and only” (Rand 59). When Equality was developing electricity for the first time since the Unmentionable Times, he was practicing individualism for the first time because he was never allowed to act or feel this way. A final example of the theme of Anthem is when Equality started using the word “I” rather than “we” when talking about