Equality 7-2521: A Lone Scholar Living in a Society of Street Sweepers
Robert Green Ingersoll, a lawyer, Civil War veteran, and political leader, once said that "It is a blessed thing that in every age some one had had the individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions." In Ayn Rand's novel Anthem, Equality 7-2521 represents this salient being. Equality has never been destined to be a street sweeper, instead, it is a sinister motive of the Council that determines his position. This is proven by several aspects throughout the book, encompassing the idea that Equality has been set aside from society from a young age, Equality is an individual in a communistic society, and that the Council has had unjust determinations
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Equality is often locked in the cellar as a child, more so than the other children, for being taller and more intelligent than his teachers. In Anthem's society, "It is not good to be different from [your] brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them" (Rand 21). This saying, told to Equality multiple times by his teachers for excelling in his lessons, indicates that Equality is “evil,” for being intelligent. He often understands the subject matter of his lectures before the teachers have even completed the curriculum. Equality himself states that "No single one can possess greater wisdom than the many Scholars who are elected by all men for their wisdom. Yet [I] can. [I] do" (54). Equality is one of the smartest mortals in his society, and he even goes so far as to say that he is more intellectual than members of the Home of the Scholars. Equality's treatment by his teachers justifies that his occupation as a street sweeper was a sinister motive because his intelligence could lead to him surpassing the influence of the Council, if citizens decide to depend upon the man bringing them new innovations in science and
Main character, street sweeper of the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand named Equality lives in a society where men were bound to work together as a collective society, their government forbids them from working individually, which makes it a sin. Equality was motivated by altruism and broke the law of man not working alone and reinvented electricity by himself, he was motivated by his love for science, wanted to help his brothers and also did it to increase pride in himself.
In the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 has changed how he views the leaders of his society, and now is very critical of the leaders, referring to them in moral terms. He lives in a very collectivism society, where his leaders control the aspects of the citizen’s lives. The citizens are characterized by a number rather than a name. All the brothers of this society are not allowed to speak to or look at any one of his brothers or women. They follow a repeated schedule day by day, following the totalitarian rules given.
“We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible, and forever” ( Rand. 19). In Equality 7-2521’s life, he was forced to be equal to the people who were around him. He couldn’t be different from society, because it was a sin. Equality was born with a curse which made him different from his brothers. He was cursed with the quick learning ability. He tried to be like other people who were not as smart as him, but somehow his plan never succeeded. Although he tried to forget his lessons, it always came back to his remembrance. Anthem interested me when Equality 7-2521 met Liberty 5-3000, how he discovered electricity, and how he wanted his rights. Society wanted the people including Equality 7-2521 to be equal. Even though Equality 7-2521 went through some hard times, he finally got his rights at the end of the book.
Equality and the others must recite the pledge, "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'" (21) every night before they go to bed. In this pledge, anyone who repeats it, is agreeing to put the good of their “brothers” ahead of their own selfish desires and wants. Everything is to be done for the brothers. The leaders of this type of society really strive to reach their goal of “equality” among their people. Therefore, when someone like Equality comes into play, and, with his intelligence, indirectly threatens the master plan these leaders have been carefully crafting, they will try to put a stop to him in any way they can. In addition to the pledge every man must make before he goes to bed, each member of society must not be better than his subordinates. Equality explains, “This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick. It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them. The Teachers told us so, and they frowned when they looked upon us'" (21). Although Equality does not try to be superior over his fellow brothers, he ends up being smarter than his peers; it was just a quality he was born with. Therefore, when the teachers notice Equality’s superiority, in the form of knowledge, the Council of Vocations would do anything in their power to make sure Equality does not mess up their
In the book Anthem written by Ayn Rand we are introduced to a man named Equality 7-2521 who lives in a dystopian city. He faces many difficulties within the course of the story and finds out that thinking for what’s best for yourself is better than the community. Equality catches interest in a woman in his city named Liberty 5-3000 but sadly cannot associate with her because men are not allowed to even notice women. Equality becomes very critical and rebellious throughout the course of the story just by disobeying the laws of his city. Based on the number of times Liberty was actually mentioned in the story she was loving and loyal towards Equality.
In the book “Anthem” by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 lives in a community where everyone is totally equal. Equality 7-2521 has a hard time living in the community due to his intelligence for it is a sin to not be like the others. Throughout the book Equality starts to learn how to an Individual. As the story continues Equality’s primary motivation is his invention.
Equality 7-2521 is the protagonist of Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem. The novel is set in a future where all students must recite the following words before going to sleep: “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.” In a society where all men are expected to be the same, Equality stands out. Although he tried to be like his “brothers”, he was rebellious and intelligent. These character traits caused many problems for the young man.
In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, everyone in society is equal. In today’s society we fight for equality, but this book is an eye opener of what true equality is really like. Equality, while it seems like it would be a utopian future, may actually turn out to be a dystopian future. Even in a society such as the one in the book, there can never be true equality. No matter how many rules they have, there is always going to be something that isn’t equal. For example in the book, Anthem, the main character, Equality, is taller than most people as well as smarter. In the book, when you leave the Home of the Students the Council of Vocations chooses your job for you. If you think about what you want to do after you leave the Home of the Students, it is considered sin. When Equality goes to the Council of Vocations, he admits that he was guilty of Transgression of Preference. The Council of Vocations gave Equality the job of street sweeper. Before leaving the Home of the Students, Equality had wanted to be a scholar. The scholars were allowed to ask questions and they invented everything. Because Equality was smart he knew everything the teachers taught him before they even taught it. The teachers forbade Equality to ask questions and he was lashed more than the other students. Equality wanted to
The main character of Anthem, Equality 7-2521, lives in a society that abides by the rules of collectivism. As in “we” never “I”, Equality had to think as a collective group, the greater good for all men. Yet Equality 7-2521 was always different. He had higher intelligence and a better understanding of how things were and how things should be. Throughout Anthem as the story builds, Equality realized that there was something not right in the world. The author, Ayn Rand, writes about Equality’s struggles against the collective as he learns the importance of individualism.
As Will Rogers once said, “We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.” In the novel Anthem, by Ayn Rand, the main character, Equality, is presented to the reader as smart, tall, and one who thinks for himself. On first glance none of these things would seem bad, but in the society of Anthem, all three of those things are considered wrong. The irony in this is how Equality in the novel does not fit the society’s view on equality. With a world very different than that society, it is very important to see what equality means today and God’s view on being equal.
In the Declaration of Independence, written on July 4th, 1776, it states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” In the quote from the Declaration of Independence, it clearly means “all of us are” created equal, and I believe that if we all work together, we can achieve equality regardless of race, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, etc.. In a report on late February 13th, 2016, NBC News reporter Miranda Leitsinger quoted Judge Allen’s statement regarding the amendment that states—“Our Constitution declares that “all men” are created equal” – without correction. The Declaration also plays an important role in our world today and in recent
The word “we” had a great effect on the story is because this code is all they know sense the old world is behind them.No one has any good information about the forbidden times.Partly because talking about a crime and can be punishable by death.One man discovered the unspeakable word and spoke of it and was mudered.Thats one of the reasons why the word “we” had a great effect on the story.
Equality 7-2521 has changed drastically since the beginning of the book, as well as The Golden One. Making such innovative finds, and rebelling against the government, only to be beaten and sentenced to death, typically changes a person. Finding love when you’re not supposed to, and running off into the woods, avoiding your death penalty and ignoring all laws is not something Equality 7-2521 would have done in the beginning, for he was a law abiding citizen. However, he gradually started to bend the rules until he no longer acknowledged nor cared about them at all. I believe that he was right in doing so because the government had hidden so much and had taken total control over its citizens’ lives.
Equality 7-2521 used to think he had to do everything for his brothers until he started getting better ideas about life.
For living in a group of people who value unity and conformity, Equality is acts as an individual when he is alone and is actually very creative. As well, growing up, his teacher told him that he was different (and they meant that in a negative way): “There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has grown beyond the bodies of others." This implies that he was taller and perhaps even stronger than others. Equality was naturally smarter than his fellow men, and therefore saw through the corruptness of the society, which many others did not.