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Motivation In Anthem By Ayn Rand

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In the novel Anthem, by Ayn Rand, a collectivist society is suppressing a man named Equality 7-2521. He is different from the all the others. One day however, he creates something truly special. His society has backtracked away from electricity. They never knew electricity, or used it.. Equality created electricity, in the form of a “light box”, or a light bulb. He is very excited to present the wonder to the council. His primary motivation was not to benefit the society. Equality’s primary motivation of creating his invention was to prove himself, relieve his creative side, and to become famous. From a young age, his teacher belittled him, telling him and others to “Dare not choose in your minds the work you would like to do…” (Rand …show more content…

He sees things differently than everyone else in the society. He wrote that “We love the Science of Things” (23), which showed how different he was, as no one else thought that way. He has always been taller, stronger and more handsome, but he was also smarter. Creativity comes along with intelligence, so he has never been able to express himself. The council and his teachers forced him to be as dumb as the rest. They even made him ashamed of his height. He was tired of not doing what he wanted to do. So, he took it upon himself to create the box. He knew there would be punishment when the council found out, but he obviously didn’t care. After escaping the Palace of Corrective Detention, he was very excited to present his invention. It was something that he had never experienced before. Equality had experienced pride in it’s best essence: he had made …show more content…

In an equal society, it is very hard to stand out, even for someone as tall as him. He wanted to be known by other people as someone who had done well. It wasn’t about helping the society, it was about getting his name out there. Teachers only put him down about everything. He never received compliments, just disgusted looks. People, like his teachers, didn’t like him because he was better than every other student. For “This is a great sin, to be born with a head that is too quick (21). In his society, it is frowned upon to be better. He just wanted one pat on the back, or one “good job”. However, he didn’t get either of

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