While both Animal Farm by George Orwell and Anthem by Ayn Rand both have concepts that could become our life, I believe that the views in Animal Farm are closer in reach. Anthem describes a world government that very well could happen, but Animal Farm depicts a world that already has, and is happening. Each author had strong, and weaker points of argument, but one is a more realistic novel.
Anthem shows a world where an individual does not exist, only a strong central government that controls all beliefs. While some may believe that this is already how we live, we truly do not know this. Each day we wake up when we want, we go to work, or school where we want to. In this world we are very fortunate that we do have these decisions, and that we have control over our own lives. We are able to have children with whom we want, and watch them grow up, and stay in contact with them their whole lives. The people in the book did not have this chance, they had children with someone who was chosen for them, someone with whom you were likely to produce the best stock, and then the child was taken away never to know the comfort of
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having parents who love and support you. This may be a world of the foreseeable future, but there is always hope that will never happen. In Animal Farm, there is a great uprising, and a following Rebellion, where a farm of animals decides to overthrow human control, and have no leaders. We see that this plan fails very quickly, and that some animals are valuing themselves above others, and that some are trying to take a leadership role. Throughout history we see people fighting over who gets what. Even in today's news we see innocent people being killed over our government conflicts. The same events happened in the novel. One animal who truly was a good leader was thrown out, and harsh words about his actions shouted out. The leader that took over slowly but surely ruined the animals’ lives. If you were suspected of having connections with previous leaders, you were killed, if you worked your entire life, yet are not useful anymore you are shipped off for slaughter. Rules change to benefit one group of people. Some work hard just to be able to reap the profit, yet the others who only oversaw the work saw every gain. Every action had a purpose. Each novel has a very different conclusion. In Anthem, a boy finds his way out of the binding cities, to a forest where he can be with the one he loves and others who wanted to leave the cities. Animal Farm ends with the pigs, who believed themselves to be the best, conversing, and celebrating with a collection of humans. They even were walking like humans. We can see here that the animals had made no progress, they began with being controlled by humans, and ended being controlled by “humans.” Each animal and event in the story represents a true event that did happen at some time. The Rebellion, signifying the act of the start of a war, the battles in the story representing real battles, and each animal killed, representing a soldier killed. In conclusion, because the novel Animal Farm tells us of events that really happened, I believe it is the most realistic of the two.
Each has its glorifying moments, but one came out stronger. Each element of the story supports that this is something that has happened, and the author may have even experienced this himself. In Anthem we know that the author is expressing a very strong feeling of dislike for that kind of world. While Animal Farm tells it better, there is much accreditation for Anthem. Perhaps more people would even be against the idea because they read the book. We will not know until we come to that crossing. While Animal Farm does not come up with a direct solution to this problem, it does show ways we can avert it. One way is to not let others influence you into changing your beliefs, and always stand up for what you believe
in.
Anthem, the powerful and outstanding novella by Ayn Rand, focuses on a totalitarian society where individualism is punished by the leaders, and hard work is overlooked. The people are not allowed to think of themselves, or to pursue their goals. Families are forbidden. When babies are born, they are immediately taken from their parents and put into a House of Infants, where they are taught the values of society. They will never get to know who their families are. The society is led by a group of people who strictly enforce these values. In many of the fictionalized and real totalitarian societies talked about today, dictators force children to live apart from their families. This is done for three reasons. The dictators fear the rebellion of the people, want to control their people as much as they can, and enforce this because they want to oppress individualism completely.
The book Anthem is a book that can be perceived many various ways. To me, Anthem is about an outstandingly smart young man, named Equality 7-2521
In the novel, Anthem, written by Ayn Rand takes place when mankind has entered another dark age. A man named Equality 7-2521 lives in a society where he struggles to live equal within the brotherhood. In the world he lives in people are told they exist only for the sake of serving society, and have no other purpose. Therefore, each individual is assigned a vocation as a permanent life career which determines who they socialize and live with. However, Equality being very different from his brothers, believes in individualism and rejects the collectivism society around him. The concept of individualism vs collectivism is portrayed in the story because individuality is unknown to the people where no one is unique or excellent in any way. The people
The most important factor of successful totalitarian societies is the loyalty and allegiance to the government and/or the leader of the society. The government creates an atmosphere, which convinces people that everything is normal and the government is always right to receive their loyalty and respect. After loyalty is achieved, it is easy to manipulate the people. In Anthem there are many transgressions, which no member of the society must commit. Most of the members of that society stay loyal to the government, except Equality 7-2521. Even though this happens in the beginning it has been presented that the children are separated from their biological parents and lead a life of their own under the care of the government. This proves to be us...
Anthem and Fahrenheit 451 both hit a very similar theme. The theme in Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, and Anthem, by Ayn Rand can be connected to a universal theme, Equality has limits. Both books support this theme by supporting an idea of a utopia, and both failed in its own way.
The dystopia depicted in Anthem could quite easily be considered Ayn Rand’s commentary on society. It puts into perspective the downfalls of societal trends and putting others above oneself. The novella itself is a satire of Collectivism, which can be seen in examples of Communism. Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism includes ideas of immutable facts, rationalist mentality, self-prioritization, and a capitalist society (ARI, n.d.). Her ideas are shown in a variety of aspects throughout the novella. Oppression felt due to the collective mentality is the most prominent of the ideas shown. Another aspect that is important to note is Equality 7-2521’s natural tendency to struggle against the restrictions set upon
Anthem is a novella written by Ayn Rand, in which Equality 7-2521, the protagonist, struggles for self-identification living in a collectivist society. Equality believes that individuality is an eminent aspect of one’s life because individuality defines and outlines who man is. He endures all the hardships in his life living with people who support collectivism, and who reject his ideas. For example, when Equality 7-2521 invents and exhibits the light bulb, the World Council rejects it and tells him that it is selfish to work on something alone instead of working with his brothers. The World Council threatens to destroy the light bulb but Equality does not let that happen and rebels, so he is forced into exile from his society. Equality realizes that he is different from others because he cares about his happiness unlike others who are convinced to believe that a group’s happiness counts more than an individual’s happiness.
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. Totalitarian rulers often control the thoughts and beliefs of people as well. The citizens of the community are forbidden to question or explore things that are unknown to other citizens.
Anthem is a story of man’s struggle to be free and to fight the masses of conformity. It tells of human nature and the want to gain all the knowledge that one could possibly attain. Man loses his safe haven and his security when he lets this lust for knowledge overpower him and lets it be seen by others. He becomes vulnerable Like Johann Faust, Prometheus sells his life for wisdom. Unlike Faust, however, Prometheus is expelled from his society but gains his freedom of individuality and his freedom of knowledge and the ability to understand. In Anthem, Prometheus and Gaea sin against society to become singular and understanding much like Adam and Eve’s sin against God when they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge to gain wisdom; as a result, they can be compared to each other by there desire for learning and by their damnation.
It is a rare conception where a human being is completely and utterly alone. One problem we tend to overlook due to our primitive ideals of staying as a group, is the fact of us becoming solely to that group. In the book Anthem ,by Ayn Rand, a man named Equality 7-2521 sees this problem evolve and how it becomes a nuisance to his society. The book has made me open my mind up to the ideals of doing things for yourself and not always for those around you. The feeling of the story showing a world where many are brought down for being unique and talented hurts me as I imagine a time where all are mere specs of the world. The book hits the hard points of what can easily go wrong with our society if we decide to go over the line. I can see a life
“He declared to all his brothers that a man has rights which neither god nor king nor other men can take away from him… for his is the right of man, and there is no right on earth above this right,” (Rand 101). The books Animal Farm by George Orwell and Anthem by Ayn Rand vary in different ways as a result of the contrast in the time they were written. While the allegory Animal Farm was written in the 1940’s and the novel Anthem was written in the 1930’s, the works are similar in a dystopian theme, a simple presentation of plot, and mood.
Anthem takes place in a future dystopian society in which every facet of its member’s lives is controlled. This society came into existence after a great war. The leaders have suppressed any information about pre-war life in the age known as the “Unmentionable Times.” All remnants of the “Evil Ones” were destroyed and society has reverted to the dark ages. The leaders fear independence of mind. Individuals have no rights and exist solely to serve society. They must spend their lives working the job that is chosen for them. They have no personal lives and cannot choose their friends or romantic partners. The word “I” has been erased from their language and is the “Unspeakable Word” that they must never speak lest they be killed. Only collectivist thoughts and speech are permitted.
Most directly one would say that Animal Farm is an allegory of Stalinism, growing out from the Russian Revolution in 1917. Because it is cast as an animal fable it gives the reader/viewer, some distance from the specific political events. The use of the fable form helps one to examine the certain elements of human nature which can produce a Stalin and enable him to seize power. Orwell, does however, set his fable in familiar events of current history.
The novel “Animal Farm” was written by the author name George Orwell. Animal Farm is a novel based upon the lives of a society of animals wanting a better life for themselves living on the Manor Farm. The setting of the book is a farm called “Manor Farm”. The theme of this book is that the animals should make a stand; if they continue doing the same thing they will continue getting the same results. It is better to be free and starving, than to be fed and enslaved.
Theme Essay If a seven year old read Animal Farm he/she would have thought that it was a sad story about a farm in England. If an older person reads it, however, he/she realizes that this story has much more meaning to it. The story is filled with themes that help us understand the world around us. In this essay, I am going to talk about four themes that Orwell discussed in this story.