Anthem Chart

Ayn Rand’s “Anthem” illustrates a series of ironic connections between great successors of Greek mythology and to her two main characters. The main characters, Equality 7-2521 and Liberty5-300, both contain very interesting and unique personalities, which makes them incompatible with their collectivism society due to who they are and what they believe. Ayn Rand disperses random clues throughout the book that provide evidence and reasoning of why she chose to rename her characters after two significant creator figures in Greek mythology. So, why did Ayn Rand chose the names? How does it explain her philosophy?

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

The practices of a collective society such as the one in this book disregard all belief in the individual. By doing this, the society and its leaders brainwash the people into having no personal priority or authority. Everything is done with the betterment of the entire group in mind, no sense of self involvement. Their life is fated in almost every

Although Equality and his leaders have developed different experiences and knowledge, he can’t judge his society for having a different perspective than him. Instead he should respect their point of view and move on in life. Even though the Scholars didn’t respect his new discovery of the light bulb, it doesn’t mean that

Equality stands out from everyone around him, making him an individual. This also makes him the archetype of the loner or outcast. In the beginning of the novel Equality states that, “We were born with a curse. It has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden.” (page 18.) He also says “We are six feet tall, and this is a burden, for there are not many men who are six feet tall.” (page 18.) These quotes show exactly how Equality is an individual compared to those around him who fit in the idea of collectivism, or sameness.

“I understood the blessed thing which I had called my curse. I understood why the best in me had been my sins and transgressions; and why I had never felt guilt in my sins” (98). This quote is about Equality’s epiphany about his curiosity he had had his entire life, proof of the twisted logic the collectivist society used on civilians to make them identical. Since Equality was feeling the best he had ever felt once being free from the collectivist reigns, he was bewildered with the reality of being ‘shunned’ or as his civilization would call him, ‘damned’. Equality laughs, “For the first time this day, we remembered that we are the Damned. [...] We are writing this on the paper we had hidden in our tunic together with the written pages we had brought for the World Council of Scholars, but never given to them” (80). Equality assesses that running away from the law didn’t come with any consequences that he isn’t willing to live with. He was no longer scared to be judged on his thoughts or creations. He comes to the conclusion that nothing is worth giving up

In the book Anthem, Equality 7-2521 risks his life just so he can find himself individually. The society that he lives in is a society where all men do the same job and are forbidden to have their own thoughts. Equality 7-2521 is a guy that is fascinated with the phenomena of nature and can’t help but wonder what power of the sky causes lightning and how it can be harnessed to human benefit. When Equality 7-2521 discovered a tunnel in an uncharted forest, he secretly started to perform scientific experiments that led to the creation of electricity. He knows that he is taking risks by showing the World Council of Scholars his invention, but he thinks that his invention could change the world for the better.

Equality is something we humans crave for when we are in a time of hardship. When we are being discriminated against, we feel the utmost pain and the need for freedom. Discrimination has lingered since the beginning of time, and ending it is impracticable. A French novelist, Honore de Balzac proclaims, “Equality may perhaps be a right, but no power on earth can ever turn it into a fact.” Here, Balzac is acknowledging that an individual is born a free man and is just as equal as any other man. But, an individual will never be fully equal as they desire. Some parts of society will try to act superior to a certain quality of someone’s life, like their race, religion, culture, etc. This statement proves to be valid in Khaled Hosseini’s novel,

Equality is something Americans strive to provide and maintain. It has become an integral and necessary part of our mosaic culture. Even now to the point that when people think of America, they naturally think of freedom and equality. People of many different races, disabilities and creeds have come to the United States seeking the impartiality upon which this country was founded. The institutions of this country have relied upon it, just as it was the created by the events in the laying of moral foundations. The expression of America's citizens plays an extremely significant role in the history of equality in American society. In the pursuit of equality and the "American Dream," people have authored inspiring

the thought od full human equality has beena major bequest (and ageing change) of the Declaration of Independence. however the signers of independence. however the signers of 1776 failed to have quite that radical associate degree agenda directly. Jefferson provides the classic example of the contradictions of the Revolutionary Era. though he was the chief author of the Declaration, he additionally in hand slaves, as did several of his fellow signers. They failed to see full human equality as a positive social goal. President of the United States was ready to Criticize slavery rather more directly thane most of his colleagues. His Original draft of the Declaration enclosed a protracted passage that condemned King George for permitting the slave traffic to flourish.This understood Criticism of slavery a central establishment in early yankee Society-was deleted by a vote of the Continental Congress before the delegates signed the Declaration. therefore what did the signers intend by exploitation such idealistic language? that every one men area unit created equal. therefore area unit life, Liberty and also the pursuit of Happiness.”The Declarations of Independence and Its de jure “When within the Course of human events. It becomes necessary for one individuals to dissolve

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.

“It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil” (17). Equality 7-2521 was born into a society that portrays a totalitarian rule. The people living in the controlled environment have been taught and brainwashed to know only one thing: the priority of the group over the individual person. Equality 7-2521 is one of the few people raised in the world of collectivism that is born different – filled with curiosity, gifted with intelligence; the difference leads him to believe he is cursed and evil. He was ashamed of his unique qualities and believed that he was a flaw. It is this divergence that makes him believe there is an initial

The dystopian novella, Anthem, is set in an age in which every aspect of life is controlled by oppressive leaders. In this society, everyone was deemed equal to each other, meaning no new ideas were allowed and the past could not be discussed. Individuals are told they exist only for the sake of serving society and have no other purpose. Strict rules were put in place involving everyone’s daily lives, their partners, and even when they were allowed to smile. The goal of this controlling environment is to be completely free from conflict and maintain peace and order by giving citizens little freedom.

Although Equality lived in a very controlling environment, he would not use any of these laws as a result of his personal beliefs towards these laws, but also because of his experiences breaking these laws. Equality starts talking about his thoughts toward some of the rules in chapter 2. “Twice have we been sent to the Palace of Mating, but it is an ugly and shameful matter” (Rand 41) This is supremely important to the story because this is the first time Equality shows some individuality when he talks about how he himself feels. Equality would not include these rules since he has negative innervation about them, but also because of his experiences breaking the rules. For instance, when Equality is arrested and taken to the Corrective Detention to be sent to their “jail” he is not afraid but almost excited. “It was easy to escape from the Palace of Corrective Detention. The locks are old on the doors and there are no guards about. There is no reason to have guards for men have never defied the Councils so far as to escape from whatever place they were ordered to be. Our body is healthy and strength returns to it speedily. We lunged against the door and it gave way. We stole through the

“All men are created equal” (Lee 274) cited by Thomas Jefferson, in the infamous 1776 Declaration of Independence. Throughout this paper, I will present facts that counter this claim excluding African Americans and Jews during the 1930’s and 40’s. This assignment requires me to compare and contrast, Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Elie Wiesel “Night” by selecting three universal themes. My themes are racism, inequality in the judicial system and educational barriers has interfered with everyone being afforded “due process” in their pursuit to attain life, liberty, and prosperity (the basic liberties) protected by the 14th Amendment.