Individuality And Society In Ayn Rand's Anthem

After attempting to better his community through his brilliant ideas and discoveries, Equality is rejected and shunned. His thoughts of the event reflect his first independent ideas of self against the society, “No single one can possess greater wisdom than the many Scholars... Yet we can. We do. (54)”

Equality was born and raised in a totalitarian society where he was not allowed to speak or think for himself. This society does not have a specified name in the book, but in this world everyone thinks, speaks and expresses themselves in the same way every single day.

In chapter one Ayn Rand has shown that Equality is different from his brothers because of his physical appearance, his intelligence and his emotions. Unlike everyone else in the society Equality thinks his own thoughts, appears differently and acts in his own ways. " six feet tall, and this is a burden, for there are not many men who are six feet tall" (18). This makes him different from the rest because no one else is as much of a threat as he is to the society's role of people being nothing. Equality 7-2521 is different from his brothers because he is taller then them

Not only that, but he knows that if someone else in his new society is born with better knowledge he knows how it feels to be downed by some accusement that is out of your hands and that you are born with it, without your decision. This is a stupid rule because we cannot control our intelligence and throughout his lifetime, Equality believed that there was something wrong and that he had an issue, but what is an issue , is the society’s rule, they shouldn’t be able to determine if someone has a disability just because they are more

Anthem starts the book by stating that Equality has done a sin. The complete novel is based on this first line, because it shows Equality’s character and his rebellious actions. Throughout the book, Equality bases his actions off of the sin and develops a new character for himself. The sin not only describes Equality throughout the book, but also at the climax of the book and at the ending. The sin’s significance in the beginning of the book helps portray Equality's character and actions and the events of the book, but also Equality’s knowledge of his sins never prevents him from sinning.

Equality 7-2521 said this while describing why he was not happy during the years he spent in the Home of the Students. This quote is significant because this was one of the first signs that shows everyone that there is something different about Equality 7-2521 that makes him different from the others and makes him stand out from the

2) Within the first few chapters of Anthem, Ayn Rand manages to incorporate the use of propaganda by her society's government. The slogan repeated - "We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives" - is emphasizing the idea of collectivism in Rand's fictitious society, stating that the group is more important than the individual (21). She also uses the transfer technique, associating the Unspeakable Word - I - with burning at the pyre, implying the pernicious effects of individualism.

He was thought that it was bad to be different but he did not care, he just wanted to show other citizens that there was more than what meets the eyes. Not only is equality an individualized thinker but he is also smart and brave. Equality makes a statement in his society by creating light and sharing the new invention with others. “We MADE IT. WE CREATED IT. We brought it forth from the night of the ages. We alone. Our hands. Our minds. Ours alone and only. We knew not what we are saying. Our head is reeling. We look upon the light which we have made” ( Rand 59). This shows that Equality made a new invention and is eventually going to show it to the council of scholars. This affects society because the council of scholars thinks that Equality is being superior to his brother. “We have much to say to a wretch who have broken all the laws and who boast of their infamy! How dared you think that your mind held greater wisdom than the minds of your brothers? And if the council had decreed that you should be a street sweeper, how dared you think that you could be of greater use to men than in sweeping the streets?” (Rand 71). This proves that no one, besides Equality wants to change society. This ties to the theme by trying to break out of the controlling society and leading into Equality standing up for individualism and for himself. In addition this concludes how the two short stories “Anthem” and “Harrison Bergeron” have different themes.

Equality has on his own discovered how to act upon his own actions. He has acted out his own intentions for the well being of himself and considering the change of the society for the better.

Eventually he came to the point where he believed that being independent part of the time was a good thing. In Anthem, the City has numerous rules and controls that exist to make Equality and his brothers live for each other; the society that Equality envisions at the end of the story would not include any of these rules. Equality and his fellow brothers are living in a city that has numerous rules and controls. These rules are so

Anthem – Ayn Rand Morality is a system of moral conduct or conformity to ideals of right human conduct. In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, one system of morality was so destroyed that Equality creates his own system of morals. Throughout Anthem, Equality, the narrator, goes through a series of events that led him to change his view of morality. At the end of Anthem, the collectivist society’s view of morality remains the same while Equality’s view of morality changed to ideals of right human conduct and an increase in his personal inner strength.

The very first sentence of the book comes from Equality, “It is a sin to write this.” Equality can look at his actions

Equality in the novel is described to us as, “We are twenty-one years old. We are six feet tall, and this is a burden for there are not

We automatically, subconsciously judge one another; it’s human nature. Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it’s ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it’s stupid.” Sometimes we judge people without giving them a chance before really getting to know them. Just like how Equality 7-2521 denounces his leaders of society in moral terms, it’s only fair to say it only makes him a hypocrite because he has lived in the very same society that he used to follow in, believed, and wished upon to be a part of, yet he judges those who still choose to live in that way of life. Ayn Rand expresses in her writing that it is a responsibility to morally judge someone and to expect to be judged back; Equality 7-2521 makes the choice of morally judging his leaders as weak and dull just as they had labeled him as a mere Street Sweeper who has evil in his bones.

However, that is not the whole story. As I continue to encounter the word “equality,” I uncovered