Individualism in Society
Though there are laws protecting a individuals individuality , there will always be some people who have there individuality oppressed. However, once the oppressed individuals discover the true power that their individuality has they become no longer oppressed. They discover that they no longer have to deal with being oppressed and that they have the power to end the oppression. As a result, they discover that individuality is the ultimate power.
. Individuality is the ultimate power in society. In the book Anthem Equality’s perspective on life is oppressed by the council and the society he lives in. Equality was born with a curious mind and a thirst for knowledge. As a result Equality was
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chosen to be a street sweeper by the world council(Rand 26). The world council put Equality as a street sweeper because they don't want Equality to gain any more knowledge because, if he learned more he would have discovered individuality earlier and would become more of a threat to their society. This shows that individuality is the ultimate power because the council of world wants to limit his knowledge because they know that if he knows more he can destroy their society.
When Equality brings the lightbulb he discovered in a underground tunnel to the council of scholars the council rejects the light bulb(Rand 73). The council rejecting Equality’s lightbulb shows that they want to try to contain his ideas and know that his individual thoughts or his individuality is dangerous to the society. This shows individuality is the ultimate power because they don't want Equality to spread his idea because if he does it would encourage individuality and could destroy their society. When the council is rejecting the lightbulb International 1-5537 says “ what is not done collectively can not be good” (Rand 73). This quote said by International 1-5537 means that individuality can be a dangerous thing and can not be good for their society. This shows individuality is the ultimate power because International 1-5537 knows that individuality is a dangerous thing and is not good for their society. After Equality escapes from the council and goes into the uncharted forest and discovers the house from the …show more content…
“ unmentionable times” he says that ego is the scared word(Rand 104-105). The word ego is the scared word because it represents individuality and how dangerous it can be to the society. This shows that individuality is the ultimate power because in the collective the word ego is feared because ego represents a individual and his or her individuality and if it spreads the collective can fall (be destroyed). Individuality is the ultimate power doesn't only exist in Ayn Rands book but also in society. Ayn Rands book demonstrates individuality is the ultimate power however this can be found in society as well . On January 16,2014 Merritt Burch attended a student event and started handing out pocket constitutions. When a administrator ordered Burch and her campaign to stop approaching students and get behind their table,dismissing Burch’s protest about her constitutional rights(Mangu-Ward). This shows that the College must be scared about her campaign and the ideas that she is spreading. In other words that college is scared of Burch’s individuality and her ideas. A week later the University told Burch she was allowed to pass out literature and constitutions in the University's “ free speech zone” a tiny muddy plot on the edge of campus( Mangu-Ward) . The college limiting their free speech zone to only the edge of the campus shows that they want to contain anything that might threaten their campus’s thoughts or structure as much as possible. According to Burch the University “unconstitutionally restricts access to open areas on campus by requiring students to seek permission to seek permission to speak at least 7 business days in advance and by limiting the areas where the students may engage in spontaneous expressive activities to only 0.26 percent of UH Hilo’s 115 acre campus” ( Mangu-Ward). The university monitoring the people who wants to say something on the free speech zone shows that the University is scared of what those people are going to say so they limit the ideas by pre approving what the people are going to say or handout. This shows that individuality is the ultimate power because the university knows that individuality is a dangerous power so they limit what they people say and the amount of people exposed to the ideas. Merritt Bruch’s story or experience is one of the examples of how individuality is the ultimate power can be found in society. The university of Montana is another example of how individuality is the ultimate power can be found in society.
In May the Department of Justice and Education sent a settlement letter to the University of Montana which was a blueprint for colleges and universities throughout the country. In the 47 page blue print not once is the first amendment and freedom of expression mentioned in the blueprint( Doherty). This shows that the Department Of Justice and Education is trying to contain the students individuality/ideas by limiting freedom of expression. This shows that individuality is the ultimate power because the Department of Justice and Education is containing the students individuality by not letting them express themselves freely because they know what the students individuality can do and they are scared of it. Individuality is the ultimate power can be found in Anthem and in society as
well. Individuality is the ultimate power and is found in both Anthem and in society. Equality’s individuality was oppressed by the council for the beginning of his life. However, once he found the power of individuality he resisted the oppression and escaped and was finally happy. Individuality is within everyone and is what makes a individual and individual
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 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
Anthem, by Ayn Rand is a classic novel about a man who struggles through life to try and show the positives about a life unknown, unlike the dark and wicked society that he lives in. It shows what collectivism can do to a society and how a community can not flourish without individual identities. Equality is shown as a extremely intelligent young man with great potential to the future of the society, but the Council of Vocations seems him in a different light. Looked down upon by everyone, Equality 7-2521 was given the job of Street Sweeper to make him equal to his fellow brothers and to erase any individuality he obtained.
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
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.
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
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.
People in every Society are placed in categories according to gender, religion, race, and age from which one of these categories includes social class. In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, people are placed in social classes according to the government's liking and instead of race, age, gender etc their social class depends on the job they are given by the government. This was done to treat everyone equally in order to keep peace in the society. However, sometimes equality can cause rebellion and this idea is portrayed through the protagonist of the novel, Equality 7-2521. Ever since the unmentionable times had caused destruction to the society of Anthem, the government had taken away all the free will and individuality of its people.
Can being selfish ever be acceptable? Anthem by Ayn Rand and the song “I Get Out” by Lauryn Hill share a similar theme relating to selfishness. “I Get Out” expresses the theme that man should be selfish, with Hill singing of reaching a new and better life strictly for her benefit . In comparison, the theme of Anthem is that one should praise man’s ego and, again, allow themselves to be selfish. Anthem focuses on standing out from the crowd and expressing individual interests for their own sake when Equality, a young man forced into a collectivist society, finally chooses to escape to an independent land.. Both Anthem and “I Get Out” possess the similar theme that man should be selfish, based on both Hill and Equality’s knowledge of better life, their repression by leaders of their society, and the strength of their quest for freedom.
The beginning of the story opens with Equality being chastised because he is too tall and too smart. He noticed that “to be free, a man must be free of his brothers” (Rand 101). This quote shows that when society controls him, and he relies on everyone else, a lack of progress is inevitable. Even the higher powers control their city with aggressive strength; the Council of Vocations assigns Equality to be a street sweeper even though he wants to be a scholar. Out of curiosity, he finds a tunnel while on duty. He begins to write about himself, even though “it is a sin to think words no others are to see” (Rand 1). Having no obligation to others allows one to work towards their own goals, Equality is able to pass his previous instinct where “all men are one” (Rand 20). With the revelation of himself as being a separate indiv...
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.
Rand’s quote, “The word ‘We’… crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the tray of it,” implies that the black and white are the independent people in society. It is shown that as people are made on in society by gathering they lose their independence. As one all the minds of the people mix their black and white paint to produce a lost tray. They no longer have their own ideas, but now they have a conclusion of everyone’s ideas All the unique qualities of the people are crushed and the group gets all the credit for being unique. People do not want to be put together and treated equally. People want to be treated with respect for what they have done. In the novelette, Prometheus invents electricity by using his own mind. He wants credit for this invention and wou...