Johana Roque Mr. Kalma English 5-8 7 January 2015 Essays Are the Anthem of Success Question: Aside from very rare exceptions there is literally no opposition to the leaders in this society. Why is this? What ideas must the people in this society have accepted to live a life of obedience, drudgery, and fear? The novella “Anthem” by Ayn Rand takes place in future and it tells the story of Equality 7-2521 (later called Prometheus) through his perspective and shows how he lives a life that others made for him. He lives in a society where you are not an individual but a whole and he lived like that until he finds a tunnel from the Unmentionable Times and everything just falls apart. He discovers electricity, gets sent to the Palace of Corrective …show more content…
Detection and meets the Liberty 5-3000 or as he called her Golden One. When he shows the leaders his creations he is judged upon and told that he is damned but he know he is not and runs to the uncharted forest where The Golden One (later given the name Gaea) follows him and they live their life there in a house left from the Unmentionable Times and he plans to free all of those left living under the rule of the leaders. No one ever opposes the leaders; they keep their head down and follow the rules. I believe they accepted the idea that the way they live is the right way to live and to go against it is a crime punishable by being sent to Palace of Corrective Detention or death. Also, I believe the people in that society accepted to live their life the way the leaders wanted them to because; they simply didn’t know any other way to live.
Such as, how we live we believe it is normal while they think the way they live their life is. They were born into that life style and to live any other way to them is wrong. They believe that if you go against them that it is a crime punishable by death as Equality 7-2521 almost experience when he showed his discovery to the council. He also witnessed the consequence of going against the council when a transgressor spoke the unspeakable word which is forbidden hence the title and was burned. There is no opposition because they accepted the idea that they are all the …show more content…
same. At the same time, they are taught to be the same, and grow up believing that they are no different than their brothers.
They accepted the idea that no one should be called an individual and can’t say “I” only “We” because they are a whole. Men have accepted thoughts like they are useless without their brothers and scared to speak out otherwise for fear of none of their brothers agreeing with them. They really do not know of any other way to live because that lifestyle is all they know. They may fear another way because it goes against what they were taught and they do not know how to adapt to other ways because they have lived that way their entire lives. No one goes against the leaders because they are scared. They are afraid that if they say what they think they will be punished. Anyone with signs of individualism are put to death so they may have no other opinions. Everyone believes the same things because they council puts these ideas into their
minds. No one does anything against the council, none of the people are allowed to do what they want, they act the way they were taught to. They don’t act differently than their brothers because, it is part of the lives like a religion to treat each other the same. They believe that they are useless alone but not when they are with their brothers, which is completely false just look at Prometheus he created something that the house of scholars did not. They never think separate thoughts from the group and they always do whatever they are told. The others in this society never opposed the leaders they were raised to always put others before others before them and respect the others. The people were afraid to fight against the community. No one would stand up against them. They accepted the thought that they must follow these leaders and that they are not an individual but only part of a whole. They have accepted that there is no other reason for their existence other than to “toil for their brothers.” They have to believe that their sole purpose is to please their brothers and work for each other, that their individual needs or wants are not important to the society. Everyone is supposed to think the same and if they break a rule there are punishments that’s why they act this way. The leaders dictated the civilization of anthem since their birth and led them to believe that how they live is the only right way. That following the rules the leaders have created is best for their brothers. Any crime committed would end up with the person who committed that crime in the Palace of Corrective Detention. The fear they have of their leaders and being put in the Palace of Corrective Detention drove them to live a life “of obedience, drudgery, and fear.” They were taught this way and this lifestyle is all they have ever known so they don’t fight the leader’s choices. The citizens have accepted to live a life that is dictated by the leaders because that is how they were taught to live their lives; any other lifestyle would probably not feel right to them.
Equality 7-2521 aspires to be a self-proclaimed individual. In the novella, Anthem, Ayn Rand discusses of a dystopian society in which every man and women are set equal to each other. Equality is damned by the World Council after a discovery of light and electricity, and a contradictory belief in individualism. Freedom is an essential factor in the happiness of man. Equality is scorned for his different looks, mental competence, and independent beliefs but laughs when he recognizes that he should be glorified for understanding that his perception of life leads to contentment.
Many people seem to get entangled into society's customs. In the novel Anthem, the protagonist, Equality 7-2521, lives a period of his life as a follower. However, Equality eventually, tries to distant himself from his society. He is shaped to be a follower, but eventually emerges in to an individual and a leader. On his journey, he discovers the past remains of his community. Ayn Rand uses Equality's discoveries of self to represent the importance of individuality in a functional society.
The books starts out with someone writing a journal, he states that it is a sin to write what he is writing because it is a sin to have any thoughts that any of the others do not think. His name is Equality7-2521 and he always refers to himself as “we” or “us”. He explain how he and his “friend”, even though preference of one person over another is not permitted by the Council, find an old tunnel wile doing there job sweeping the street behind the theater. He tells Internationl4-8818 (his friend) to promise not to tell anyone about the tunnel. In this journal he tells how he was different growing up because he was smart, and would question things until his teachers forbade it. He explained how he wanted to be assigned to the Home of Scholars, who developed all the technology for the society, which would be his job for the rest of his life. Instead he was assigned to the House of Street Sweepers.
Ayn Rand, in Anthem, illustrates a futuristic, socialist society. In the novel, Rand destroys any sense of individuality and describes the social setbacks endured after living ‘only for the brotherhood’. The individual person fails to exist and is but a ‘we’ and recognized by a word and a series of numbers rather than a name. Additionally, she describes the horrors encountered within this different system of life: from reproduction methods to punishments. Through the life of Equality 7-2521, Rand demonstrates a person’s journey from obedience to exile in this socialist society. Throughout the entire novel, Rand criticizes Marxist theory as she demonstrates socialism’s failure to suppress revolution, thwart material dialectic, and its detriment to humanity.
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
According to Dictionary.com freedom means “the state of being uncontrolled by another, or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint.” Freedom. What does freedom mean to you? Even though freedom means the state of being uncontrolled by another, or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint, I believe that freedom means being able to accomplish what you desire and when you desire it without anyone saying anything, by reason of the comparison and contrast of our society and the society in the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, the negation of the word freedom, and synonyms of the word freedom. I believe that you should accept the consequences of the actions you take when you have your “freedom” as well.
Anthem, by Ayn Rand, is a very unique novel. It encircles individualism and makes the reader think of how people can conform to society and do as they are told without knowing the consequences and results of their decisions. Also, it teaches the importance of self expression and the freedom that comes along with being your own person and having the power to choose what path to take in life. Figurative language is used often in this book and in a variety of quotes that have great importance to the theme, plot, and conflict of the novel.
“For I know what happiness is possible to me on Earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it” (Rand 95). In this part of the novella, Equality, the narrator, is aware that he can find his own happiness and he should show it once it is found. Throughout the novella, Anthem written by Ayn Rand, Equality is trying to find himself in a society full of equals. As he discovers the tunnel, Equality creates a light bulb in which he wants to flaunt upon the people of his society. Subsequently, when it is rejected by the Council, he hides in the forest from those who see him as a betrayer. Equality tries to find himself in a collectivist society that he knows he does not belong in, in which he evolves. The author believes in objectivism,
The Society of Anthem is a striking instance of a dystopian society in which daily life is dominated by fear. The society is headed by a group of elders, who attempt to destroy the concept of individuality and promote the idea of collectivism. The society controls all aspects of life including roles and profession, emotions, mating and the freedom of choice. Equality 7-2521 undergoes a transformation that is contrary to the principles of Anthem’s society. In Anthem by Ayn Rand, Prometheus (formerly Equality 7-2521) should not feel guilty when he writes “why the best in me had been my sins and transgressions; and why I had never felt guilt in my sins.” because what he learned about himself over the course of the story.
Ayn Rand, a contentious woman, the new favorite author to multiple people’s list. People who have read her magnificent book, Anthem, understand how exquisite and meaningful her words are. Books like Anthem are worth reading because it gives the reader more knowledge about controversial topics and it takes the reader to experience new places and new adventures. Equality, the main character, is a symbol. He represents many people today, living in countries like his society. Equality has to find his true identity first before helping the others. People are not allowed to believe in individualism, they should not have a identity of their own. Each person has a monotone routine to follow every single day of their lives. Each step a person takes
Ayn Rand’s Anthem is a politically satirical novel set in a future society that is so highly collectivized that the word “I” has been banned. The world is governed by various councils who believe that man’s sole reason for existence is to enforce the Great Truth “that all men are one and that there is no will save the will of all men together” (Rand, 20). Any indication of an individual’s independent spirit is swiftly and brutally put down, with the transgressors being punished with severe prison sentences or even death. It is this dysfunctional world that Equality 7-2521 is born into. The novel begins with Equality 7-2521 alone in a dark tunnel, transcribing his story.
Language has the power to influence and reshape our thoughts and actions. In Anthem, by Ayn Rand, there is a society which controls the language of everyone in it. Under the World Council, everyone is to follow the many rules put in place and no one even tries to break them. There is no “I” in their language, there is only “we”. With the power to influence and reshape people, language has a big impact on our thoughts and actions.
“Councils are the voice of all justice, for they are the voice of all men (22)”. In Anthem’s collectivist society, the council attains all power, and the citizens have no power at all. The council makes all decisions and is bias against any sort of individuality. Citizens are not allowed to make many decisions of their own. They have been trained to believe that everything the council says and does is correct and that their way is the only way. “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE. One, indivisible and forever (19).” The people in Anthem live by these words. Their council leaders have convinced them that these words are true. Anthem’s collectivist society revolves around the beliefs and ideas of the government, and due to Equality 7-2521’s sense of intrinsic belief, he is able to escape the council’s ways and start a new life.
“It is a sin to write this.” is how Ayn Rand’s Anthem begins. Equality, the main character, feels this way at the beginning at of the book, but by the end of the book, he feels differently. Equality learns how to be an individual, why it is good to be an individual, and what he has to do to save the rest of mankind from conforming to the collectivist society that he currently lives in.
Anthem is a novella written by Ayn Rand in 1937. Anthem is set in the far future after the “Unmentionable Times” end and the human race has been reduced to basic and simple technology. The majority of the story is narrated in a hidden and forgotten tunnel under the City in which Equality 7-2521, the narrator and author, lives. The latter part of the story is written in the Uncharted Forest after Equality 7-2521 leaves the society that wouldn’t accept him or his ideas.