Anthem Character Analysis

Everyone is the same, but everyone wants to be themselves. Throughout “Anthem” everyone in the city were taught to never put themselves before each other. The novel demonstrates this idea of individuality and collectivism through various archetypes. The three archetypes I found were Equality being a loner, Equality going on a journey, and everyone wearing white.

Character development is vitally important in Anthem. As we watch Equality 7-2521 change from a state of guilt and unhappiness to a state of pride and self-worthiness, the process creates the bulk of the story elements. One of the most important instances that show how much Equality has changed occurs in Chapter 8. At the end of this chapter, Equality bursts into laughter after thinking about what has happened. Equality laughs when he remembers that he is the damned because he feels liberated, not ruined.

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

“ … He will be taught reverence for his own spirit.” (Rand 100). Equality felt like he was sinning in his old society, and then the Council gave him a way to pay for it. “We knew we had been guilty, but now we had a way to atone for it.” (Rand 26). Equality wanted those who were suffering in the old society to join him, so they would not feel as he had felt under the oppression of the Council. “I shall call to me all the men and women whose spirit has not been willed within them and who suffer under the yoke of their brothers.” (Rand 101).

The story of Anthem takes place in dystopian future in which freedom and human rights have been obliterated. Equality 7-2521, the protagonist, is a street sweeper who finds a tunnel where he conducts his science experiments which are considered a sin. Throughout the book we see him change and discover how capable he is through a multitude of literary devices. In the novella , Anthem, Ayn Rand utilizes vivid imagery and a profusion of diction to frenetically emphasize the idea of love.

The internal conflict in Anthem plays a role within the novel by providing the complication that the protagonist, Equality, has to overcome in order to complete their quest. Equality is on a quest for freedom and for knowledge, even though it will separate them from their brothers. From the beginning of the novel until the third chapter, Equality notes how they commit transgressions against their society, such as preference, and how they are different from their brothers, an example being Equality’s height of 6 feet tall. In the third chapter, Equality more or less accepts their fate of being alone, even though the internal conflict still silently lurks in the

Equality 7-2521, who decides to change his name to Prometheus in the final chapters of the novella, had his own vision of a perfect society. Upon discovering “I” while he is reading in the house, Equality 7-2521 becomes aware that he is the center of his own universe, and nobody has control over his actions now. He says, “I understood that centuries of chains and lashes will not kill the spirit of man nor the sense of truth within him” (Rand 58). It is clear that he would never include any of the rules that were present in his past society in his new and improved one. Equality 7-2521 completely let go of his old life and refused to be held back among the masses. Equality 7-2521’s curse that was always frowned upon finally was looked at in a positive way. He is unafraid and proud, finally discovering himself and becoming his own man.

In Anthem, one of Equality’s most important decisions is to enter the tunnel, despite International warning him not to. Once Equality comes out, he declares “‘This place belongs to [him], Equality 7-2521, and to no other men on earth. And if ever [he surrenders] it, [he] shall surrender [his] life with it also’” (Rand 34).

“Anthem” is about a boy named Equality 7-2521 who is Street Sweeper of the society and was given this job as punishment for having too bright a mind, too curious, and for fighting amongst his brothers. When he was given this job, he thought of it as an atonement to his sins for being these things. While sweeping the streets, he finds a grill buried in the ground, leading to a underground subway and sneaks down there every day to perform experiments to satisfy his curiosity and his willing to learn. Equality then finds a young woman named Liberty 5-3000 and has thoughts that no man or woman can have except at the Time of Mating. After completing many experiments, Equality discovers electricity and uses it to make a light. When he showed it to the Council of Scholars, he was considered an evil wretch, and they also tell him that while he believes he

The world in Anthem is ideal and it’s a sin for anyone to think that they are more or less than “WE”(Rand, 20). However, in Anthem there is a character that knows there is more to be discovered that his brothers does not know about yet. When Equality goes to the scholars, to inform them on the spectacular stuff he has recently learned, he is chased out of his community and into a forest that no one dares to enter (Rand, 75).

After that first step is taken, people will begin to realize the merits of their situations and therefore, begin to fight as well. This theme is evident throughout the book as the motif of individuality is so prevalent but it only really becomes clear once the main character begins to act on his beliefs. Character development also takes many large strides in this section. Equality’s actions during his meeting with the Council of Scholars were rash and perhaps even radical. Now however, we begin to see his logic in his actions. This all shows the fact that he is beginning to think for himself more than ever and is therefore becoming an individual rather than a monotonous member of the collective. This all comes back to the major conflict of the book: Equalities search for a life in which he can exhibit nonconformity and live in any way he chooses. The conflict is fully resolved after Equality and Liberty find a small house hidden from the rest of society which is from the “Unmentionable times”, a time period similar to our own which the World Council attempts to hide as best they can because it can be implied that they fear to lose power over this society. In the final few chapters of the book, Equality learns, through reading classical texts of the word ‘I’. Thus, his journey for individualism and nonconformity is completed and his conflict is resolved. Rand writes:

The story’s settings of the novel, Anthem, greatly influences the plot. The novel’s setting takes in a Dark Age where there is no creativity, technology, progress, or optimism. The “society” is completely controlled and manipulated by a central group of leaders. The story primarily centers around a young man named Equality 7-2521 who is a street sweeper. This occupation does not offer him opportunities to expand beyond his small controlled world. Equality 7-2521 take his readers on an adventurous life journey as written in his own journal. Readers feel his oppression and personal desperation as they travel through the dark tunnel and live each day in the shoes of Equality.

Basic summary: The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is a dystopian science fiction novel that is set in the future where there are no rights or freedom there is no such thing as “I”. Everyone is equal to each other; they work and live in collective groups everyone is thought as one. The narrator, Equality 7-2521 has always stood out from everyone else, he was much smarter, later on, he vows to use his new knowledge to build a society based on individual freedom.

Character development is essential in a character-driven literature, where the plot focuses not on the events themselves, but actually on the characters motivations throughout their story. This literary device is utilized step by step in order to focus and clarify the crucial aspects about the character in a story. The stories that move us most, the ones that will be trapped inside our minds years later, are those inhabited by characters the reader can connect with on a deep emotional level. No one character can grasp in a story what they need to learn in order to give in or overcome their own limitations and flaws without first undergoing rigorous life experiences. The bumpy path of individual growth and development a certain character undergoes ultimately stares at a crossroad. Imperfections, traits and vices make a character more genuine and interesting, making them grow as a person. Equality 7-2521's development as a character throughout Anthem can be seen as a progressive move towards the distinctive way of thinking he discovers and presents in the final chapters of the novel. It's an egoistic way of thinking, because it asserts that the only goal of any individual human being should be to pursue his own happiness, and not to subordinate his happiness to the service of others.

“My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose” (Rand, 95). Anthem is written by American author Ayn Rand about Equality 7-2521 on his quest for happiness. The novel is set in an unspecified time and place in the future. Years after human civilization has gone through a deconstruction in which all knowledge was lost and a new society established with no concept of the individual. “The novel describes the efforts of the main character, Equality 7-2521, to reestablish a sense of personal identity and restore the knowledge of the past by objective scientific inquiry. In doing so, he must face many dangers and privations” (Anthem). Anthem is a dairy of the Equality