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.…
At times I ask myself, how can two people from different eras have such similar personalities? In the book Anthem, a short novel written by Ayn Rand, is about a dystopian society that is based off of the Council. The idea of independence and individuality is prohibited. Everyone is afraid to be different except Equality. Equality 7-2521 is a man that feels the need to be independent and has a quest for freedom. He is striving to be special in his own way and falls in love with The Golden One, who is later is named Liberty 3-5000 then Gaea. Falling in love is also prohibited as well. At the end of the novel, Equality is named Prometheus because they both have so much in common yet are different.…
Anthem may seem like a purely fictional story written for entertainment purposes, but upon closer inspection there are elements of real world occurrences. Equality 7-2521 is a boy growing up like every other boy around him, meaning he lives in a world after our with little technology, and in permanent fear of the World Council who control every aspect of life, including what he should think. Equality has always dreamed of being a scientist,, but even dreaming or wanting is a crime against his brothers, as he is supposed to accept and love the job assigned to him by the Council.. While working in his assigned position, Equality and his friend International 4-8818 discover a tunnel from before the Brotherhood and the Council, where they read…
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.…
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.…
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”.…
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…
"It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon paper no others are to see,” this is the first sentence in the book Anthem. It shows that they are not allowed to even think differently or say differently, everyone has to think the same. It is said by Equality 7-2521 that he was beaten by his teachers for being smarter, and he is told that he was told he is sinning since he is taller than all of the other people. They are not even allowed to know what they look like, because it might make them have different thought and that they don't fit in the society.…
In Anthem Ayn Rand reveals character traits of Liberty 5-3000. “We wish to write this name. We wish to speak it, but we dare not speak it above a whisper” (38). That quote shows that Equality looks up to her, she is very intelligent and assumingly pretty. He thinks this but he knows that he is not allowed to. It is a crime to look at a women in his society. “Then they glanced at us over their shoulder, and we felt as if a hand had touched our body, slipping softly from our lips to our feet”(40).…
There are many means to discover one’s own voice. To understand yourself and to understand what we want to achieve can be instrumental in discovering one’s own voice. In the chapter, ‘Slice of Life’, the narrator states, “The problem was that I could no longer hear Ayn Rand’s sentences without hearing her voice.” (Wolff, 91). Ayn Rand is so strongly opinionated in her beliefs that she easily influences others, whether they think of it in a positive or negative light. That is when one knows that they discovered, or are in the path of discovering their voice; when you have the power to influence others and have them truly remember your message.…
A week back, I was walking on the road at Bangalore, It was a very usual busy day around 11 am in the morning. There was some work in progress to repair the platforms of the road. I noticed two women were hiding behind a name board. one among them was holding a kid and feeding him. The other was nearly old 50 years. I also noticed that a cradle near to them in a tree branch. I started observing them, for a while to know, why they were hiding behind?. After, hearing their conversation, i came to know that they were continuously working from the morning 6 am without getting leisure time to even feed their baby. when i come across this incident, i really felt very tired and depressed about our lack of social conscious in feminism and its activists.…