Anthem Essay In the book anthem the societies are a collective. Meaning they work as one. “One for all and all for one”. In this essay I will be comparing a collective society to an individual society. We live in a society supporting individualism. They are pros and cons to each society. Pros for a collective society is equality, there are no homeless or poor in the book of anthem. Nobody is “week” and nobody is “strong” their all equal. They accept themselves for what the council says they are. The cons are, you are working for your brothers not yourself. You do not have any choice, they do what their told and can’t say otherwise. Over time people are starting to get stressed, like Fraternity 2-5503 and Solidarity 9-6347. Even though
In Anthem there are so many rules and controls, yet there is one that truly rises above it all. And that word is “I”. There is no “I” only “We”, for the great “We” is what they follow. And they are one not individual, they are one. And poor Equality can’t seem to understand that the rules are rules, but in a way he’s making his own rules. And he is mistreated for his looks and appearance and dosen’t seem really one with his brothers. And he’s curious and most don’t even question life, and he notices the little things, “Yet as we stand at night in the great hall, removing our garments for sleep, we look upon our brothers and we wonder. The heads of our brothers are bowed. The eyes of our brothers are dull, and never do they look one another in the eyes. The shoulders of our brothers are hunched, and their muscles are drawn, as if their bodies were shrinking and wished to shrink out of sight. And a word steals into our mind, as we look upon our brothers, and that word is fear.”(Rand 46). He has a wanting to learn and build his knowledge, but the rules don’t permit his decisions.
The world is divided up into numerous things: Countries, states, cities, communities, etc. However, when looking at the big scope of things, one can group the vast amount of people into a society. This society is where the majority lie in the scheme of things - in other words, the common people. Individuals do exist in this society, but they are scarce in a world of conformism. Society’s standards demands an individual to conform, and if the individual refuses they are pushed down by society.
Totalitarianism can be defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as the centralized control by an autocratic authority. The leaders of these societies are obsessed with complete control and will take whatever steps necessary to reach such a goal. In many totalitarian societies, children are separated from their families. This is enforced on the citizens because rulers want them to be loyal to the government only. Such living arrangements can be portrayed in Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem. In Anthem, the narrator, Prometheus, lives in a community in which all of the children born that year live in the same house until they turn fifteen. Then they are assigned a job and live with the people that share that occupation. This keeps the people from having an emotional attachment to someone like they would have with a family.
And if the Councils 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 street?" (Rand 71-72). The government controls many aspects of its inhabitant’s lives including diet, marital status, and occupation. In essence, Anthem's collectivist society can be summarized by, "We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, one, indivisible and forever" (Rand
An anthem is a sacred composition set to words from the Bible. This may have significance with the title that Ayn Rand has given the book by paralleling the story of Prometheus and Gaea to that of Adam and Eve. In the bible, Adam and Eve were given everything that they needed by God with the one exception of not to eat from a specific tree. They were told by the devil that this tree was the tree of knowledge and to eat of it would give them knowledge equal to God’s. In Anthem, Prometheus and Gaea are told that they have everything that they will ever need or desire by the council. They are forbidden to gain knowledge that is not permitted by the council but only to do as they are told. Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the pursuit of knowledge and ate of the tree in order to gain equality to God. When they did this God found out and so condemned them and punished them for all eternity. God banished them from paradise in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were no longer given anything as they were in the garden but instead were forced to suffer and survive on their own. In Anthem, Prometheus and Gaea go against the will of the council and Prometheus yearns to gain knowledge that he realizes is being hidden from him. Prometheus hides his studies at first but then wants to share them with the council for the betterment of society but is instead condemned.
The world’s creatures have always yearned for a special peace that would allow all to become equal. This peace may bring about a utopian world but reality may strike and send a message of what life is really about. Some may think of life as a time to form justice and equality amongst all yet, others think of life as a time to become a higher more authoritative person that the rest of the world. The Residential Community at Beacon Hill Friends House provides the sort of utopian community that many imagine achieving. Everything is equal in a small world like this starting from the management of food to the use of the VCR. The Residential Community at Beacon Hill Friends House has set a realistic utopian society and has not yet corrupted the uniqueness of justice and equality amongst the residents as in Anthem.
In the end of "Anthem", Prometheus comes to the realization that his society's teachings and ideas were not helpful in advancement to the society. Ideas like individuality, that the society tried to squash out of its people, is beneficial to the society as a whole because men are meant to think for themselves. In the book Prometheus made the light bulb back when he was in the society, but once he showed it to the World Council, they but him in jail. After this incidence he realized that no matter what brilliant things he invents, it will never be something that particular society can use. At first he is confused, but realizing that he was acting like an individual made him see that maybe society is the evil one and he is the good one. All of this made him realize that maybe he is not meant for this, and he is thrown out into the uncharted territory. He learns that men are meant to think for themselves, and that if they do society will become more advanced and they will be able to move forward instead of staying at the same spot forever. This is how he realizes his "sins" were actually good and that men are supposed to think for themselves.
Prometheus writes: “The secrets of this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who will seek them.” (Chapter 3) Why does he think that the secrets of this earth are not for all men to see? If he thinks this, why does he decide to show his glass box to the World Council of Scholars? How do these issues relate to the theme of the novel?
As the novel opens Equality 7-2521 states that what he's doing is a sin. In his society it is a sin to do things that do not involve others, and the words he thinks and writes are for no one eyes to see or hear, but his own. In his society everyone thinks the same, and if you were to be the different one you would be sent to the palace of correction and detention. Equality 7-2521 actually had a mind of his own. As you can see Science fascinated him. For example in chapter 1 while it was dark Equality 7-2521 would sneak into a dark tunnel in which he would spend 3 hours doing scientific research, and experiments. He would also steal manuscripts from the scholars, and every night he would study. This went on for two years. The difference between Equality 7-2521 and his society is that he actually wanted to succeed, while the rest of his society would settle for what they were told to be. The "glass box", can also be referred as a light bulb. After countless nights of experimenting, Equality 7-2521 succeeds in connecting the power of electricity to re-invent the electric light. This invention that he came up with can benefit to society, but he doesn't know how to tell them. Remember, you can't do anything that others can't do. That was the philosophy that the society believed in. He figured that since the council wouldn't appreciate his work, he would rather show his invention to the scholars. When the World Council of Scholars arrives in his city, he will present to them, as his gift, the "glass box with the power of the sky." One night while Equality 7-2521 was working on an experiment in his tunnel, he totally lost track of time. He rushed out, and then the council questioned him on why was he late. Equality 7-2521 refused to answer and therefore he was sent to the palace of correction and detention. He was able to escape and retreat back to the tunnel. He found everything the same way that he had left it. He was then getting prepared for the arrival of the scholars.
A society is an organized group of individuals. In the novel, The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham the Sealand society and Waknuk society are both similar and different in the way they live. The Sealand and Waknuk societies are both egocentric and ignorant, but the Sealand society accepts changes, where the Waknuk society does not accept change and would rather stay the same.
with the criminal and decided to go on a personal crusade to restore individualism to his world.
For many centuries there has been arguments between whether a society should be collective or individualistic. In an individualistic society, the idea is that the individual's life belongs to him and he has the right to pursue what he wishes. In a collective society, the individual's life belongs to the group and the individual must sacrifice the values they hold for the “greater good” of the group. The main question asked in this debate is whether an individual's life belongs to him or does it belong to the group. By working as individuals, a society is able to achieve more than a group and can enjoy more benefits and therefore should be individualistic.
...society must be voluntary only” (Social Darwinism in American Thought, Hofstadter, 50). America is the place to go to make your dreams come true. As an American, you develop the get-more-want-more phenomenon. This means that no matter how much you have, you will never be satisfied. Are you the type to make others dreams come true, or are you the type to go for your dreams at any cost? Do you know who you are, or did you not realize it until you read this essay? There’s nothing wrong with being either one, individual or collective. We tend to go with the more socially acceptable option because we are so obsessed with what the majority thinks that there is not even a split second when we get to decide for ourselves. The next time you wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and decide. Decide who you want to be. Individualist or collectivist, which one are you?
...clusion, Caitlin Tom’s essay Individuality vs. Fitting in, the American novel Little Women by Louisa Alcott, and the romantic yet empowering dramatic film Jane Eyre all exemplify the importance of a society pertaining individualism as it leads to overcoming societal barriers and stereotypes through recognition, it encourages individuals to bring about change through their unique individualism, and aids them in valuing the invoked change in relation to their individualist characteristics and traits. It is evident that individualism is very crucial for a society willing to maintain its civilization successfully. Thus, individualistic traits are the fuel which drive a society to its development and initiation through evolution. As a reminder, Individuals should use their unique individualistic traits and characteristics in order to help improve society as a whole.
Collectivism and individualism, both have a fair share of issues. The articles that exemplify both collectivism and individuality are “1984”, “Anthem” and a poem called “Unknown Citizen”. Collectivism and individualism have an even amount of dilemmas, both collectivism and individualism come from totally different perspectives. The Struggles associated with a collectivism is that everything, every action, every thought, every person acts as a whole in unison, so there isn’t any room for different opinions and thoughts, as for an individualist society people have to sacrifice themselves both physically, mentally and overcome their