Analyzing The Character Equality 7-2521 In Ayn Rand's Anthem

In Anthem by Ayn Rand, the character Equality 7-2521 is rebellious, intelligent, and curious.
Equality 7-2521 is rebellious. If a person is rebellious, he shows a desire to resist authority. This authority is most commonly a government that runs its territory in a way which the rebellious person does not support. Rebellious people argue for changing or replacing this authority because they often view it as corrupt or ineffective. Due to their desire for change, these people are often the most dangerous to governments that wish to retain power and control. Equality 7-2521 shows this desire to defy authority in Anthem. The society that he lives in forbids writing unless it is first approved by the Council of Vocations. However, he has done exactly

this, breaking the laws established by society. Furthermore, he has also stolen a candle in order to see what he has written, which is also a crime that can result in him serving time in the Palace of Corrective Detention. He describes his rebellious nature when he says, “But this is not the only sin upon us. We have committed a greater crime, and for this crime there is no name. What punishment awaits us if it be discovered we know not, for no such crime has come in the memory of men and there are no laws to provide for it” (17). He has committed to rebelling against the government of the society that he lives in. Equality 7-2521 has broken much more than one small regulation, and has been sinned in more than one way, showing that his defiance of authority is intentional. He is also wise, as demonstrated by the years he spent at the Home of the Students.
Equality 7-2521 is also intelligent. People who are intelligent possess a heightened knowledge of the world around them. They are also quick to learn new information and how to properly apply new ideas. An intelligent person is often astute and sharp-witted. In Anthem, Equality 7-2521 exhibits his intelligence while in the Home of the Students. He possessed a firm knowledge of the topics the teacher would talk about before the teachers would teach the information to him and his classmates. For him, the work was easy, and in school he was bored by the lessons. His clearly displays his prowess in education when he says, “It was not that the learning was too hard for us. It was that the learning was too easy. This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick” (21). He is clearly a gifted scholar. Equality 7-2521 was quick to learn the information and did not struggle with the material he was taught while at the Home of the Students. Additionally, Equality 7-2521 is curious about the world around him.
Equality 7-2521 is inquisitive and always seeks to learn something new about the world.

People who are inquisitive ask questions about why or how something is the way it is. They are not satisfied with a simple explanation of how something works, but always search for a deeper, more involved answer or explanation. Curious people question everything that interests them, even if the circumstances are not right to do so. In Anthem, Equality 7-2521 possesses these traits. As a child, he questioned everything about the world that his Teachers did not teach him, even if the Council of Scholars told him that there were no mysteries about those topics. He wanted to know everything about the world he lived in. He demonstrates his curiosity when he says, “And questions give us no rest. We know not why our curse makes us seek we know not what, ever and ever. But we cannot resist it. It whispers to us that there are great things on this earth of ours, and that we can know them if we try, and that we must know them. We ask, why must we know, but it has no answer to give us. We must know that we may know” (24). This is a desire which is never satisfied, since there is always more to learn about the world. Equality 7-2521 is naturally curious, and yearns to learn more at all

times.