Anthem Essay

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?

Life has fared well since Gaea and I have lived in this house. There are now others in houses surrounding us. These are my friends that I returned to rescue, International 4-8818 being one of them. He is now called Apollo. We are happy here, all of us. The others are learning, albeit rather slowly, yet they learn to say I instead of we. It is my hope that, before my first child is born, they will all say I so that he or she may only know this and not the cursed we.

“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… We have broken the laws” (17). Thus begins Anthem by Ayn Rand, a novella about a future collectivist society and a man named Equality 7-2521. Though the story takes place in the future, all technology that came after candles and glass has been taken away. The word “I” has ceased to exist in anyone’s vocabulary. Every person must agree on everything and feel like everyone else. To accomplish ‘cleansing’ the evils of mankind, society lead its people to believe that nothing can be done independently. The story is told through the eyes of Equality as he purposely defies the laws

As an example, after Equality had decided to take his discovered invention to the World Council of Scholars, he was told how he needed to be punished. With knowing that he will now never become a part of the scholars he seized the box of light from the council and darted into the Uncharted Forest. As from fleeing from his society, Equality kept on going further into the forest. He eventually discovered the house in the forest, which he decided to stay in leading him to find out that Equality - 7 2521 was not “we” but instead an individual “I”. In addition to Equality leaving his society, Lincoln also did the same in The Island. Once Lincoln had found out the truth about the way the government worked and what they were doing he needed to tell someone. With that reason, Lincoln ran to Jordan 2 Delta due to the fact that he knew she was leaving for the island. The two then fled from their society, leaving them clueless in the desert searching for someplace safe to go. Concluding this leaves off with the last similarity between Anthem and The Island. Which on the other hand, are those differences between Anthem and The

Ayn Rand's novella, Anthem, displays a dystopian and totalitarian society that is in opposition to individualism. As shown in Anthem and many other real and fictionalized totalitarian societies, children live apart from their families. Why? Because dictatorial leaders enforce this living arrangement among the kinsfolk.

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.

In Anthem, Rand introduces Equality 7-2521, the protagonist, who leaves his collectivist society to become an individual after they reject him and his ideas. He later changes his name to Prometheus, the man who had brought light to humanity. Prometheus had never had experience with ego since it was forbidden in his society, but he slowly starts to become very selfish as he turns to being an egoist. Prometheus discusses how “The day will come when I shall break all the chains of the earth, and raze the cities of the enslaved, and my home will become the capital of a world where each man will be free to exist for his own sake” (Rand 104). His ego is displayed very clearly in this

For example instead of alway’s referring to him as, “We” he would say, “I.” He would be willing to share all of these ideas withe the golden one. The only person he trusts is the golden one, international 4-8818 and his other friends. He said later he would go and bring them here. then he will make his own race. The theme of the book is that losing sight of the individual and his or her needs will lead to the destruction of all progress and all forward movement. This is related to the book because Prometheus wanted to work in the home of the scholars but the government did not let him. That is denying his needs. This lead to the destruction of all progress and all forward movement. Like the people revolting against the government.

No “I” and no “you”, just “we.” How could we live in a world like that? Ayn Rand’s book shows a twisted and different form of collectivism. Everyone is told what they have to do for the rest of their future. Children are not even allowed to know who their parents are and are never given the chance to meet them. Although, only one shines in the society that no one else may see until now. Equality finds it difficult to find individualism in his life and in the rules of his society. Equality eventually finds individualism in escaping, to a haven of his own, from his odd society. Equality can then find peace with himself and can live in a more individualistic life in his newfound house with “The Golden One” in the forbidden and

The idea of the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is to teach us about independence and self awareness but also a warning about governments through Equality 7-2521. The books leading character is having a hard time to find the what life really means to him and get to know his distinctive qualities. When he acquires his freedom and liberty, he finds the strength of his soul and potential of his mind. When the end of the book comes along, the lead character is a real man that is very proud, has little fear, and independence. Anthem demonstrates the maliciousness of collectivism by portraying the people of the society that are scared and disheartened males that are overcome beneath the requirements of common goods. Why did the rules exist? What is the purpose of these rules?

Citizens of Anthem, you have been living in a bland society for too long. I have been reading about your society while living in an individualistic society. I your leaders have been fooling you all these years. You are not all equal like your leaders make you believe.

The book Anthem was written in 1938 by Ayn Rand and is about what could happen to the world if we would agree to a collective society. The main two places in the novel are the City and the Uncharted Forest which both have similarities and differences. A similarity between the City and Uncharted Forest is that both have houses and towards the end of the book also that people are living in both places (Rand 88-89). There are a lot of differences in between the City and the Uncharted Forest such as that the City is completely discovered and the Uncharted forest is forbidden and undiscovered, the house that Liberty and Equality discover in the forest looks a lot different than the ones in the City, the City is called safe and never to be left whereas the forest is called dangerous and not to be entered and that there is not human life in the forest compared to the City.

What is a champion of man? A champion of man is someone who wants to help man grow and expand as a race. They are willing to go through any suffering to stand for their cause. Prometheus is an excellent example of a champion of man. He suffers for man and continues to do so from his own will because he, unlike any other god, has emotion and compassion.

“When I shall have read all the books and learned my new way, when my home will be ready and my earth tilled, I shall steal one day, for the last time into the cursed city of my birth”(100). When Equality 7-2521, or later known as Prometheus, declared this statement he was representing his primary motivation in his transgressions to his society. This emulates what he was doing in the beginning of his story. His urge to learn was the primary reason he had drifted away and left his society.

Ayn Rand has written many novels. Anthem was one of her most famous ones, along with The Fountainhead. Rand connected these two pieces of writing. Each one of them prove that she believes in individualism, or the ability to think for one’s self (Rand).She shows this in Anthem by creating a dystopia, a place where there is no freedom. In The Fountainhead there was a section called The Soul of an Individualist. In this Rand shows the audience ways of how people were not doing what they wished to do. “The Soul of an Individualist” goes more in depth about the idea of a man’s soul should be his own, and not his brother’s. In Anthem the protagonist was a man who lived in a society where the word “I” was not longer present. This hero tried to free himself from the claps of collectivism. This hero was named Eternity 7-2521. He did all he could to create his own ideas, and thoughts it was hard Eternity 7-2521 was able to escape from the hands of his brother’s.