“I guard my treasures: my thought, my will, my freedom. And the greatest of these is freedom” (95). The main character of Anthem, Equality 7-2521 (Equality), lives in a society that believes in totalitarian government, and no freedom. Thus, the plot of Anthem unravels, Equality versus the society. Through the novella, Equality finds himself increasingly critical of the government and eventually denounces them in moral terms. Rand’s short essay How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society and Anthem prove that Equality has every right to denounce society.
Equality acts as an anomaly in a society where creativity spawns evil and differences slaughter happiness. He doesn’t fit in from the beginning, so society makes quick, sharp
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attempts to snuff his creative fire. “[I] asked so many questions that the Teachers forbade it” (23). Barely into Equality’s story, society has already knows that he possesses intelligence and wishes to know more. Society’s strives to extinguish this ‘evil’, begin subtly. It begins with a gentle nudge towards fitting in. When Equality still strays onto the dirt country roads and away from the paved road that society has corralled the general populace into, society feels the urge to set his sights back on the ‘Yellow Brick Road’. Equality longs for the position of a Scholar and thirsts for knowledge. In an effort to bring Equality back to the herd, the Council of Vocations commits him to a life as a Sweet Sweeper (26). This placement lodges a damper on his creativity. In a career of literally sweeping streets, he still finds ways to learn. As a street sweeper, Equality can not legally pursue further education. He begins to learn from his environment and later makes a surprising discovery. “[I] saw an old iron grill over a black hole” (31). This black hole remains as a relic from the Unmentionable Times. Equality does not understand the black hole, however it shares similarities with a manhole. In this sacred place, Equality unearths what society has hidden. After many discoveries and experiments, Equality recreates a lightbulb. Through just the early years of Equality’s life, society has brainwashed him into believing that such a thing does not exist. Through only this part of Equality’s life, he has every reason to denounce society. They have corrupted him into believing the ‘Great We’ and have made futile attempts to extinguish every ounce of creative fire in him. Denouncing society in moral terms is soft compared to what Equality has dealt with. Making Equality a Street Sweeper does not end society’s cruelty toward Equality and his differences. Society’s ‘Yellow Brick Road’ may appeal to the multitudes, yet Equality still favors the dirt country road. Society does not allow Equality to visit the manhole, so he sneaks around rules to work on the light. One night, he realizes too late that he has exceeded his time of safety. When Equality tries to go back to the Home of the Street Sweepers, he denies to share his location or his work and the Council of the Home guides him to the Palace of Corrective Detention where he endures lashing until he may confess (63). For a society that believes that all men have equality and only accepts peace, this deems ironic. Instead of discussing this with him further or maybe a nonviolent way to eek this information out of Equality, they lash him until he speaks. Equality had indeed stretched the elastic of the law and it came back to crack him in the face, but why does society worry about this? By whipping him, they get no more information, and now have an injured worker. After getting locked away, Equality has endured enough and breaks free of the prison. Society’s brainwashing works so successfully, that no locks or guards stand at the doors. Equality anticipates the arrival of the World Council of Scholars, and prepares to present the light before them. When he reveals the light to them, chaos and shame engulf him. “This would wreck the Plans of the World Council … this thing … must be destroyed” (74). Equality wanted to share his invention with society and they shunned him. This shows importance because Equality tried redeeming his actions and yet put himself in more danger. For Equality, this ignorance and hate of creativity could no longer stand his tolerance. He breaks free of society’s claws and tears into the Uncharted Forest, where he reacquaints with his lover and the Unmentionable Times. Although Equality continued to break the laws with his defiance, take a look at his actions. Equality tried to help the people. He tried to make advances for society, and yet struggled through abuse. He suffered persecution his whole life, and he possesses every reason to denounce society. Rand’s short essay “How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?” (How Does), expresses opinions that Equality would agree with.
Equality acts as an anomaly in a society of drones. Rand states in her essay, “Nothing can corrupt and disintegrate a culture or a man’s character as thoroughly as does the precept of moral agnosticism.” The Great We stifles all individuality and embraces moral agnosticism. Equality strongly believes that good and evil must have separation, and he does not have to fully comply with anything. Rand mentions that nothing will ruin a civilized people more than moral agnosticism. Equality shows this by illustrating the brainwashing of the others and how he broke free. In How Does, Rand also says that, “There is no escape from the fact that men have to make choices … no moral neutrality is possible.” Here, Rand points out that men have no other option but to make choices. No man can live fully without making choices. Equality throughout the book commits the Transgression of Preference, and makes his choice. Because Equality does precisely what Rand mentions on numerous occasions in Anthem and by the sheer fact that Equality originated from Ayn Rand’s imagination, he would definitely agree with Rand’s writing. How Does and Anthem both have themes of breaking free and making choices for oneself, therefore Equality would definitely agree with Rand’s How …show more content…
Does. Equality has every correct reason to denounce society, and both Rand’s short essay How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society and Anthem prove this.
Equality experienced meager treatment, and he has reason to call out the society that treated him so poorly. Equality does not come in the form of total fairness and ultimate control. A democracy: a mixture of individuality and creativity as well as the opinion of the people, defines equality. To have equality, everyone must have their own definition of equal. Equality clings to his definition of equality through the whole story:
ego.
The rules do not allow him to explore his intelligence, in fact they hold him back, but at the end of the book, he is able to overcome these challenges. He does not agree with the idea that the government has put into place. A quote to support this idea is “And they answered: ‘Since the Council does not know of this hole, there can be no law permitting to enter. And everything which is not permitted by law is forbidden. ‘But we said: ‘We shall go, nonetheless.’” This quote shows that equality tries to find ways around the rules so that he can enter the
In the book Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 had never seen his physical appearance. He was surprised to see such a strong individual staring at him. One day after escaping into the woods, he finally met himself at a flowing stream and gained new confidence. This was an essential part of the theme of "Anthem." This shows how Equality finally found himself as an "I" in order to help others see themselves as an "I." This is an important part of "Anthem" since it reveals Equality 7-2521's determination, bravery, and development as a person.
Equality 7-2521 is damned because his mental and physical attributes differ from those living among him. Equality is frowned up by his superiors who tell him that, “there
Equality lives a great amount of his life as a follower because his conforming society establishes him to act a certain way. In fact, Equality follows the rules of his society as most men do. He follows the laws
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.
Ayn Rand's novel is still popular almost a century later because Equality 7-2521 is a representation of a character who is different and he is treated differently for it. In Anthem Equality 7-2521 tells the reader about how he fights with the other boys in the house and as a punishment he is locked in a cellar.
“For the coming of that day shall I fight, I and my sons and my chosen friends. For the freedom of Man. For his rights. For his life. For his honor.”(page 104). In the novella Anthem by, Ayn Rand, the main character Equality, fought for a way to be himself and help mankind. Rand clearly made Equality’s primary motivation joining The Council of Scholars as a creator, and through the course of two years, due to Equality conducting experiments in all of his spare time until he discovers a method of harnessing the power of electricity to use it to light the community. Equality confirms the right to his motivation. What was Equality’s primary motivation, is he right to be motivated in this way, and what would the world be like if everyone was
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.
At the start of Anthem, Equality is a collectivist who knows there is something wrong with the world he lives in. This allows him to evolve into an individualist. Equality says , “It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own” (Rand 17). Equality admits he has committed a transgression and hopes to be forgiven. Equality, at this moment, is living to the standards of others because he lives in a society where no man is to think differently than another. This contradicts Rand’s philosophy because she says that a man is entitled to his own happiness and that you are in charge of it, but since Equality is living to the rules of his society, he cannot find his own happiness, for he is almost forbidden to do so. Likewise, it states in the text, “I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask none to live for me, nor do I live for any others. I covet no man’s soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet” (Rand 96). Equality realizes that he is not to live nor commit himself to the standards of others. He has come to the understanding, as Ayn Rand says in her interview, “That he cannot demand that others give up their lives to make him happy, nor should he wish to sacrifice himself for the happiness of others.” Equality finds his own happiness because he has found himself, and he has learned that he cannot put his happiness in the hands of others nor put the happiness of others in his own hands. This allowed him to find himself, and to find
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.
In a year that remains undefined beneath a small city lit only by candles, a young man is working. He works without the council to guide him and without his brothers beside him. He works for his own purposes, for his own desires, for the dreams that were born in his own steady heart and bright mind. In his society, this is the greatest transgression. To stand alone is to stand groping in the dark, and to act alone is to be shamed by one’s own selfishness. The elegantly simple society that Ayn Rand has created in the novel Anthem has erased all segregation and discrimination by making every man one and the same with those around him; only Equality 7-2521 defies the norm with his ruthless
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.
Equality fights in what he believes in just like Prometheus. He wants Liberty to conceive his child and help create a new society for themselves and others. Equality has many similarities to Prometheus. In Greek Mythology, Prometheus brought fire to mankind. Likewise, Equality had brought fire to his town through a light bulb. It was made to show his light and power. (Ayn Rand Anthem Pg 52) “We Equality 7-2521, have discovered it alone, and we are alone to know it.”
In the world of Equality the people are controlled by fear. They are told that they are doing it for their brothers to cover up for their fear. They want people to feel free but also control them. The leaders want no free thought outside what they want them to think about. Equality was the one person in a long time to defy the leaders. This all started with his experiments in his tunnel. His motivations for doing this are different but the same in the beginning and the end.