Collectivism Society Revealed In Ann Rand's Anthem

In the world created by Ayn Rand, where collectivism is favored by the leaders of society, self-government is denied. In her novel Anthem, the characters are forced to live in an imperceptible prison surrounded by wilderness. Being an individual, having self-confidence, and the freedom to choose are key pieces to a successful society, but some of these concepts are foreign to many. In numerous societies like this one, the citizens are under strict social rule and do not enjoy natural rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While being independent is important, it is also crucial to be united and act as a group. If there were no common thought, there would be chaos. At the same time, common thought should not be forced upon

Conformity- behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. When does conformity go too far? In Anthem by Ayn Rand people conformed out of fear. Everyone in there society has to be the same skill level, same intelligent and same physical attributes. People are given numbers at birth. People are also assigned jobs that they can not reject. Equality who is the main character does not follow the rules and is rubellus. He meets a girl that is just like him who he calls the Golden One. He make electricity and shows it to the highest people in there world, and they think it is evil. He gets sent to prison ,but he escapes because there were no locks on the doors. He goes to the forbidden forest. The Golden One finds him ,and they find a house in the mountains. They find all new things that they don't know what it is. But Equality plans to get his friends from the town and start his own society with his rules. Social conformity goes too far when the people do not have a choice for anything.

A captivating novelette in which a man’s priority is to serve only for his brothers, Ayn Rand’s Anthem illustrates a society that has suffered the ghastly consequences of collectivism. She depicts an oppressive culture in which the word “I” is unheard of and men belong to the collective “We.” Men’s lives are determined through the Council of Vocations, a group that maintains a powerful dictatorship by subjugating the public from the beginning of their lives. The idea that “If you are not needed by your brother men, there is no reason for you to burden the earth with your bodies” (Chapter 1) has been forced into average mindset of the vehemently maintained society. In contrast, Rand mocks the totalitarian civilization through the main

Anthem, by Ayn Rand, is a very unique novel. It encircles individualism and makes the reader think of how people can conform to society and do as they are told without knowing the consequences and results of their decisions. Also, it teaches the importance of self expression and the freedom that comes along with being your own person and having the power to choose what path to take in life. Figurative language is used often in this book and in a variety of quotes that have great importance to the theme, plot, and conflict of the novel.

Within the pages of Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, a government which resembles a dictatorship is exhibited. Both the leaders and the society itself seek to control mans body and mind as they follow ideals similar to that of a communist party. The leaders and society in Anthem seek to control mans mind using tactics such as collectivism and suppression of the past to accomplish a tyrannical end.

In the novella, Anthem by Ayn Rand, the Council of Scholars believe that having the society and community as one whole instead of it being where the people are treated as individuals, is the best choice for all of the people. It is a sin if someone thinks about being alone and if you have thoughts or actions that go against the choice of being one whole. They worship the laws that say none among men may be alone, ever and at any time.

Set in a dystopian society in the future, the novella Anthem written by Ayn Rand is all about being a collective society which doesn’t believe in individualism. Ayn Rand constructs a society in which individualism is a transgression. The government enforces the idea of collectivism to the society. They believe that in the human race each person is not single. The protagonist, Equality 7-2521 wants to be an independent person. He wants to be free. As stated in the novel, “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.” This statement means that in order to be successful, he has to be his own person. As the novel goes on Equality 7-2521 learns to be an independent man and frees himself from the society which forces collectivism.

Collectivism is a very common theme in Ayn Rand’s writing. From Anthem to The Fountainhead, her opinion is very clear: individualism is the source of freedom and joy, while collectivism is the root of sorrow and slavery. In Anthem, the main character, Equality 7-252, has grown up in a collectivist society that has remained strong for centuries. In that society, no one has had the choice to do what they want to do, love what (or who) they love, and simply be who they are. That society praises the idea that men live only for each other. Living for oneself is evil, a Transgression. The idea of “I”, “Me”, and “Mine” has disappeared, dragging the precious words along with it. Throughout the plot, Equality 7-2521 is seen both unintentionally and intentionally defying his society. At first, he condemns himself, describing his evil acts and mind and labeling his different mindset as a curse. “We were born with a curse. It has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden.” (Rand 18) He is also condemned by others, for things he cannot control. He is taller than most other people, he has preferences for what he wishes to become, and he has ideas and opinions. Yet when his life assignment is Street Sweeper, he rejoices. He sees that as a way to pay penance for his sins. Later on, however, he embraces his individuality. “I am. I think. I will.” (Rand 94) He is the first to accept the idea of individuality for centuries, and helps others accept it, too.

Anthem by Ayn Rand is a dystopian novel written in the 1930’s. The novel displays a society that confines the human mind and body. The rights humans are restricted to what the government believes is fit. The characters are ruled by collectivism and communist. Communism is the belief that the government should own everything. Collectivism is the belief of a superior group that controls society. Rand reveals the nature of the main character’s society and the values of the main character, Equality 7-2521 by writing this excerpt of the novel in the character’s perspective in an assertive tone and beginning with the rights and wrongs of their society.

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.

Imagine living in a society where everything someone does is conforming to someone else. In the novella Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, the author talks about conformity by referring to how all men need to be alike and fit in with each other. Equality 7-2521 the street sweeper, believes in the feeling of individualism and rejects the collectivist society around him. Social conformity becomes dangerous in Anthem because while Equality 7-2521 follows all the rules at the beginning of the novella, throughout the book he begins to break them.

Throughout the novel, Anthem, and a speech from Fountainhead, written by Ayn Rand, it expresses the argument between individualism vs collectivism. An individual is a person who has control of his or herself, while a collectivist is someone whose hard work benefits their society. Although, another ideology that Ayn Rand mentions in her literature is egoism, throughout her books the significant meaning of being an egoist is considered a good thing, but in our modern society today we consider it a trait reflected by a selfish person.

Anthem is a story about how mankind enters a dark age where individuality is now eliminated by ‘The Council’ in an unspecified future date and unspecified location. The narrator of the novel, Equality 7-2521 is a rebellious young protagonist that conducts illegal secretive scientific research alone and writes in a journal in an underground abandoned railroad tunnel. This dystopian novella deals with authoritarianism as the government has taken control and assigns jobs and duties for every being based on the Council's decision. In the novels Anthem by Ayn Rand and V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, the totalitarian government takes advantage of their higher power to enforce strict obedience on citizens, without concerning for their opinions or wishes and removing their personal freedom, which causes a rebellious protagonist to take charge and struggle to find their freedom.

Anthem, a novella written by Ayn Rand, that describes a post-apocalyptic future with a dystopian, technology primitive society. The city that takes place in Anthem exists subsequent to a “war between the many and the few in which the many won”,(Anthem by Ayn Rand). The many destroyed any remnants of the few and started the Great Rebirth to which Great WE was instituted. In this community lives a cursed wight named Equality, that has been divergent ever since he was an adolescent and constantly rebels, whether it be over something minuscule like being smarter than the other children, or momentous. For instance, “sneaking away every night for three hours to a forbidden relic from the unmentionable times “,(Anthem by Ayn Rand). This society restricts the development of

Believing in yourself and the things you can do is what sets you apart from the others surrounding you. In a world of dystopian collectivism, rules and regulations have turned life negative for generations upon generations of people. The perfect world that they have created has begun to crack. Ayn Rand believed that collectivism was not beneficial to this dystopian life and showed her reasonings through the character Equality 7-2521, the exclusion of the word “I”, and fear.