Character Analysis Of Equality 7-2521 In Ayn Rand's Anthem

In the novel Anthem the world has been limited from technology, which means they are living in a technological primitive world. In Anthem, Equality 7-2521 has been chosen to be a street sweeper, but his curiosity takes him to parts of the town he is not supposed to be in. In a world where they are only supposed to think as a group and anything they find individually is thought to be a crime.

Equality 7-2521 changes throughout the novel because of the harsh society he lives in and because of the philosophy of collectivinessive. They were all raised from birth to believe in living for their brothers as a whole and only doing things for their brothers instead of themselves. “We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike” (Rand 19). After he was assigned the job of street sweeping, and believing he deserved more he started to break the rules. Equality knew there were things not being told to them and they wanted to know more than what was being offered to him. The start of breaking the rules is what started the change of the character. His internal knowledge that he was blessed and born with led him to the invention

The story “Anthem” by Ayn Rand is written in the form of a journal owning to a boy living in the future named Equality 7-2521. In this future that he lives in people have lost all knowledge of what it is to be an individual; one with his own perspective. Everyone in this time lives and works in groups, with facets of life dictated by the Councils. Among these councils there are the Council of Vocations, council of Scholars, and a few others. On the day that each person is a assigned a job, Equality 7-2521 is assigned to menial job cleaning the streets. As time goes by he rebels against socialism by conducting secret scientific research. Through time and research Equality 7-2521 was able to recreate electric light; electricity. He then goes

“Anthem” is an engrossing novel by Ayn Rand focusing on the character Equality 7-2521’s descent into rebellion against the new socialistic government that has taken all previous scientific advancement out of life, only to leave the ideology of collectivism. His quest to discover, learn, and invent is problematic to those that oversee the progress of the civilization, and from roughly around the age of five, he is punished for his nature. Soon enough, the twenty-one year old is on a journey to learn, not only about nature’s mysteries, but also about what sets him apart from his dead-eyed peers. Equality 7-2521 has many distinctive characteristics that others in the restricted city do not, some of which are relatable, and others that are indeed unique.

The idea that life is primarily about yourself and the pain of being burned alive can't change that is a main idea in the book Anthem. In the event of the Saint of the Pyre, the saint was burned for his

Anthem Project The novel Anthem starts off with the protagonist Equality 7-2521 sweeping the streets with his friend International 4-8818. When they stumble upon an abandoned underground railroad from the unmentionable times. The unmentionable times was the time period in which we are living now. These characters live in the future where society is in charge.

“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. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.” (pg. 1)

After Equality 7-2521 has realized this, he can’t take it anymore. “I am done with the monster of ‘We,’ the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame.” (Rand 165) No more being controlled and forced to be someone who he isn't.

He realizes he had everything to fear from the twisted society that he lived in. Equality had trusted himself enough to completely let go of his old society, to leave everything behind and adopt a new culture. He must have trusted himself immensely to have done this. He also realizes humans are much too smart to govern that society and wonders if they were just too afraid to contradict their government or just did not trust themselves to try and overthrow it. Equality realizes he should be confident in himself. He is a very headstrong person and is not persuaded so easily. That is why he had left his society in the first place. Equality would like to live as an individual where he would not work together for the common good, as a group, but where he alone will work as an individual in his new society that he will soon create.

“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

At the beginning of Anthem by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 states that it is a sin to write his individual thoughts in secrecy. Later in the story, especially in the past few sections, he has completely changed his view of his individuality and past actions against the society of his brothers. Equality 7-2521 changes from being a scared slave to his community and lifestyle, to being Prometheus, a confident man working to change the world for “I” and against “we” with his plans for the Uncharted Forest. Prometheus’ view of society is correct, opposed to how he thought when he was Equality 7-2521. He approaches this new prospective and favors it because it has given him the most, and possibly the only, happiness that he’s ever had in his life.

“We have stolen manuscripts. This is a great offense” and uses them for his life in his tunnel (Rand 36). He commits the greatest crime of his society, being alone, by spending several hours everyday in an abandoned sewage pipe and living a second life there, “And in our heart-strange are the ways of evil!-in our heart there is the first peace we have known in twenty years” (Rand 37). By breaking the laws of his city, Equality shows his individuality in his rebellious spirit and begins to show his individualism. Equality 7-2521 discovers electricity and with this discovery, he acknowledges that his individual ideas are different than those of society.

The story Anthem takes place in the future, however, there is no technology to support that era. This book displays no flying cars, or jet packs that most people today would associate with the future. Instead, society has regressed to a time where not even a light bulb remains. As the story follows Equality 7-2521 through his transition from a simple street sweeper, to a free man with his own family, the oppression and draconian laws of this new society is documented by Equality.

In the book Anthem, Equality 7-2521 (Equality) lived in a society where everyone was equal and treated with disrespect. The society had no tolerance for being different and having their own opinion and ideas. People couldn’t even pursue the career they dreamed of having. They were punished for disobeying any of these “rules”. Despite Equality’s strict society, his motivations in conducting his experiments are finding individuality, starting a new revolution, finding freedom, and trying to become a scholar.

Ceaseless collectivism is not something that can be forced upon a community. Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem conveys this through the writings of Equality 7-2125, a man willing to stand up to the collectivism of the society he is confined to. Anthem not only shows how dull and lifeless a society can be with a lack of individuality in its people, but also reveals how one person can significantly impact a community. This novel displays the importance of individualism through Equality’s thoughts and actions. This includes when he reinvents electricity in the tunnel, falls in love with Liberty, and when he completely separates himself from society.