A Rational Life In An Irrational Society

During his childhood, he was blessed with an individual spirit and the intelligence to understand the knowledge of the world. In spite of this, he reckoned his abilities as transgressions. He acknowledged that the way of life was that “Everything which comes from the many is good. Everything which comes from the one is evil” (Rand 85). Equality strives to accept the totalitarian society and consequently, he desperately struggles to disregard his abilities and subdue his desires. The grisly effects of society are portrayed immensely through the profound sense of guilt he suffers while committing the Sin of Preference. He continually recites that, “We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by, and for our brothers who are the State. Amen” (Rand 21). Gradually, his aspirations contradict with the dogma of society. He discovers that he finds more joy committing the Sin of Preference rather than restraining himself from happiness, which ultimately, allows him to elude his conscious premises. Equality’s belief that “[he] [has] torn [himself] from the truth which is [his] brother men… [he] knows [this], but [he] [does] not care” (Rand 76) marks his complete triumph over collectivism. Prior to his transformation, he belonged to a society in which the Sin of Preference revoked all rights for any desire, which ultimately disallowed citizens to think for freely. If permitted to do so, no

Novelists create science fiction novels that represents what today’s society could possibly look like if the government has too much power. Today’s society would fall into a state of corruption, where nothing belongs to a single person and everything is owned by the government. It would be a place where people cannot openly voice their thoughts or opinions without getting in trouble with the powerful government. Ayn Rand’s science fiction novel, Anthem, depicts a dark vision of the future world where individuality is not permitted to exist. The main character, Equality, sets himself aside from the other people living in society. He knows that he is different, but with a sense of naivety, he finds his independence wrong, but he cannot help it. Liberty, the female character in which Equality has feelings for, also finds herself to be different from others and follows Equality’s path. In conveying the insidious corruption of the collectivist society of Anthem, Ayn Rand uses dramatic and situational irony.

The novel of Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, contributes to controversial subjects in society that are still relevant today. Some issues addressed by Rand in her novel include: equality, social hierarchy, individuality, and government. Throughout the duration of reading Anthem the issues in which Rand makes relevant are not obvious, but more so discussed through conflicts and situations that the main character, Equality 7-2521, encounters. Although many of the altercations that present social issues are provided by either other characters singlehandedly or by a group of the characters in alliance, some of the main issues that arise in this novel are presented within the main character himself.

“We cannot resist it. It whispers to us that there are great things on this earth of ours, and that we must know them. We ask, why we must know, but it has no answer to give us.” (Rand 24) he then goes on talking about how he loves “the Science of Things” (Rand 23) and how he could ask questions in the House of Scholars, “for they do not forbid questions.” (Rand 23) However, at the near end of Anthem, Equality states that the Scholars are “blind” and are being “cowardice” (Rand 19) even though he had once looked up to these same Scholars when growing up, “We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike.” (Rand

Equality contemplates, “I wonder, for it is hard for me to conceive how men who knew the word “I”, could give it up and not know what they lost” (103). This quote narrates the discovery of one of the most essential words used to identify as a single, original person, I. Equality realizes the tragedy of the loss that his previous society created before his lifetime and really ponders why and how this could happen in a very separate world. Equality readies himself to be an individual person as a result of feeling strongly against the beliefs of his previous society. Equality excitedly states, “We made a fire, we cooked the bird, and we ate it, and no meal had ever tasted better to us. And we thought suddenly that there was a great satisfaction to be found in the food which we need and obtain by our own hand” (79). In the past, Equality had never done anything to express his originality because of the law stating otherwise, so when given the opportunity to finally understand his own strengths and weaknesses, he takes it. He disregards the law and excitedly grasps the concept that he isn’t supposed to be a follower like his peers were, he was meant to be a leader. Disagreeing with the law was a main point of Rand’s novella, promoting personal

When Equality 7-2521 begins the novel by saying, “It is a sin to write this.” he has a different moral assessment of writing than at the end of the novel. Throughout Anthem, Equality’s actions affect how he views his society and the people around him. By the end of the story, Equality begins to realize that the government and society that he lives in might not be so perfect, and it might not be a sin to write. Equality’s eventual moral assessments of his sins are correct and are supported by; his growth throughout the story, the themes of independence developed in the novel and Ayn Rand’s concepts concerning communism. These are the three ideas that will be developed and explained in this paper.

Nowadays, individuality is perched on top of the highest pedestal. There's nothing that compares with the ability to stand apart from each other and no one dares take that away. But in Ayn Rand’s novella called Anthem, it is the complete opposite; there are numerous Councils who are in charge of everything for the people. Some of the things include, what jobs and what future people have and also they regulate intelligence and inventions. Equality 7-2521, later renamed Prometheus, is a member of this dystopian society; he isn't at all similar to his brothers. This, leads to his urge to break away from them. The Council and the society damn him because of his actions and brain, but after his escape, he realizes this damnation is hilarious because they are the damned, not him.

Social conformity becomes dangerous in this society that Ayn Rand shows. First this is shown when men and women are forbidden to talk to each other. In the beginning, Equality met Liberty 5-3000, a young woman who works in the fields and lives in the Home of the Peasants. Equality 7-2521 explains, “And each day thereafter we knew the illness of waiting for our hour on the northern road. And there we looked at Liberty 5-3000 each day” (39). This shows that Equality wants to talk to her, but doesn’t want to be caught by fellow brothers. This is important because if he gets caught breaking the rules of the society he lives in, he will be lashed to death. If he wants to see Liberty, he must not talk or notice her or he will be showing preference which is not allowed. Secondly, this is shown when men and women do talk to each other. Now, throughout the story while Equality is going through the tunnel to see Liberty he decides to break the

How could Ayn Rand’s Anthem have been altered if Equality and his society had been founded on Christianity? Throughout the story, beliefs and convictions were a significant factor in plot progressions. In addition, different doctrine also provided a huge contribution to character development. However, these various viewpoints established throughout the story, directly contrast with Biblical values. Looking closely at the development of society’s and Equality’s beliefs, a reader can easily distinguish his ideas from Christianity.

Throughout the book, Equality goes against the government because he is searching for freedom. In the book, Equality talks about wanting to see himself but that is against the law, when he runs away, he finally seems himself. Equality wants to see his own image because, his entire life he has never seen it, and he has only seen the faces of his brothers. Equality sees his own face for the first time and says, “We sat still and we held our breath. For our face and our body were beautiful. Our face was not like the faces of our brothers, for we felt no pity when looking upon it. Our body was not like the bodies of our brothers, for our limbs were straight and thin and hard and strong. And we thought that we could trust this being who looked upon us from the stream, and that we had nothing to fear with this being.” (Rand, 80) Now that he is thinking for himself he wants to know more about himself. He never received the chance to find out what kind of person he was when he was young, so now that he is older he wants to know more about himself. He falls in love with Liberty the first time he sees her, and in their society they’re not supposed to take notice of the opposite gender. Equality whispers, “For men are forbidden to take notice of women, and women are forbidden to take notice of men. But we think of one among women, they whose name is Liberty, and we think of no others.” (Rand, 38) When

The outcast archetype that Equality is portrayed with is partially created by their internal conflict throughout the novel. After admitting to their crime of going against conformity and being an individual in thought to the World Council of Scholars, Equality runs away and ends up in the Uncharted Forest, more or less banished from their society. They are looked at with disdain by the scholars for their attempt of individuality in a society surrounded in conformity. Rand writes the following on page 72: “How dare you, gutter cleaner,...to hold yourself as one alone and with the thoughts of the one and not of the many?” (Rand). By sharing the thoughts that they had alone, Equality became an outcast in their community. Even if Equality had chosen conforming over being independent, there still would have been a different form of price paid for their decision. However, if they had decided to submit to their culture’s practice, then they would not have achieved their quest, and the powerful ending of Anthem might not have been as compelling.

The fiction novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, begins as equality takes a journey to individualism. He begins by writing how wrong he is to be writing what he is, how much of a sin it is. To be thinking as his own, and as an “I”. Ayn Rand is from Russia, which is a communist society. As Rand was growing up in this time frame, she had made the time to give herself an education which was frowned upon as she was a woman. She was not given a sense of “I” it was the normal thing for women to stand back and watch. To continue deeper into the book, Equality's eventual assessment of his writing on his own, changed from being a sin to being and individual activity, from the beginning to the end of the book.

Equality is motivated by himself. He wants to invent things. He’s not doing it for fame or to try to impress the council, but for himself. He’s eager to discover and he’s curious about things and how they work. He is very passionate about his experiments and puts a lot of pride and work into them. Equality is much smarter than the rest of his society as it states “It was that the learning was too easy”(21). He dreamed of being a scholar where he can put his talents to a good use;

Ayn Rand’s novel puts Equality in a great position to start his new life with his new family. Ayn Rand’s story gives hope to all who want not to be conquered by their government and to have a say in what they believe in. If your government or society doesn’t like what you have to say, then it shows you can also walk right out the door if you don’t like what is happening. When you become a collectivist, you lose your individuality and almost become a slave and or a robot to the government and society. You lose your creativity and

The Philosophical issue raised by the stimulus is human nature. Human nature is what specifically makes us all human. Every person on this planet contains a human nature, and while these versions or perceptions of it may be different, we all share this. Out of the many concepts of how the mind functions, and theories that prove our evolutionary traits, one of those concepts is irrationalism. Irrationalism is the theory that mankind derives their concepts through experience and prior knowledge. Therefore we can only perceive the world from our own interests solely from our own perceptions. For instance the way that I gain knowledge is from seeing the world around me. If I see a cat, I learn that that object is a cat, and then if I see a dog, I learn that that animal is a dog, and therefore everything that we see and learn about, comes from experience in which our brain stores. Coinciding with those views, a concept of man is that we are irrational animals. For example, we only act on strictly off of our own interest, and have no self control when it comes to decision making. Irrationalism promotes that the mankind is subjective. On the contrary, rationalism, the more popular theory of the mind and our behaviors, promotes a different view. Rationalism promotes the belief that we can control our actions, and we base our actions and decisions off of the logical outcome. For instance, if I could eat a candy bar, or an apple. My mind is able to tell me that I should eat the apple,