In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, modern society collapsed into ruins due to the worship of the word “we,” according to a man named Prometheus, who narrates the novel. Prometheus means that many years ago, man had finally become free from everyone except themselves. Still, those who had a desire to serve one another gave into the idea of a collectivist society in order to serve a purpose. This is evidenced by the following quote, “Those men who survived - those eager to obey, eager to live for one another.” (Rand). Prometheus speaks about the past and the fall of it. In this quote, he explains that men had served for so long that they did not know any better once they were free and collectively became identical to one another because they had …show more content…
The men who gave into the worship of us had nothing to give. They had nothing that was individual to themselves because of the lives that they had grown accustomed to, so they fell into the society that Prometheus had once known and been a part of. In today's society, there are many mindsets and lifestyles that contribute to the worship of the word “we.” In today’s world, “we” is the widespread societal norm of having access to technology and the impact it has on an individual. In the absence of technology in today’s society, it is likely the individual will become a social outcast, like how Equality did by going against society's norms. The novel Anthem states, “This word must never be placed first within a man's soul.else it becomes a monster.and of an unspeakable lie.” (Rand). Prometheus refers to the effect that being one has on an individual, much like today's society, where the pressure and need to fit in and to be somewhat all the same, only with slight variations, also have an effect on teenagers today. In addition, Prometheus says, “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers. That is freedom.” …show more content…
Social media is the realistic expectation that every teenager strives to conform to. Eventually, it can be assumed that everyone may become the same because they feel the need to fit in with one another. This is also proven in the novel when Prometheus questions his life and purpose if he has no choice or individual ideas or will, “What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey?” (Rand). This is similar to the feelings of teenagers who are not able to fit into the standards of social media. Teenagers today try to assimilate to each other because of the use of social media and the desire to be like someone else and have what they have. In today's society, trends tend to make people go with what is popular even if it is something they may not want, thus leading to a loss of individuality or personality and a transition to a collective identity, comparable to the fall of the modern world in
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.
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 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.
In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, Prometheus is a man who must overcome his collective society to find himself. Prometheus is born into a society where everything is equal. Without concern for consequences, he loves a woman and looks and discovers knowledge of the past. After his discovery is rejected he flees to the forest, and his lover follows. In the forest is where he finds the meaning of the word I. There is where he says "... we crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost in the gray of it," he talks about what his society did to the differences of man, after he had run away. After Prometheus finds the house he says, "My happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end," which means his happiness is special and achieving this happiness is his final goal. Lastly, "I am, I think, I will," is the final sign that Prometheus has acknowledged himself as one being. Prometheus' quotes show that his emergences from his past, longing for happiness and realizing that he is a being make Prometheus the...
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 Ayn Rand’s book, Anthem displays the struggle of the individual against a government that refuses to recognize the individual’s value, a communist culture. Equality 7-2521 is an intelligent and determined innovator who challenges to violate the rules of his strangling society and discover the forbidden word, the word that changes everything: “Ego”. By discovering this lost word, Equality rediscovers the idea of the individual, and the worth of the individual outside of the collective group of “we”. Ayn Rand names Equality and Liberty, Prometheus and Gaea because they are very similar to those gods. In recognition of his discovery, Equality renames himself after Prometheus and his love, Liberty 5-3000, Gaea, after the epic Greek myths that the two characters so strongly imitate.
Ayn Rand’s Anthem is a politically satirical novel is 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.
In a society, at what point does uniting to benefit the greater good suppress one’s right to possess individuality? The social and political construct of utmost unity is called collectivism, or the practice of emphasizing a whole picture rather than each individual component. The common theme of collectivism versus individualism is prevalent within the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, wherein the individual motivations of the members of society are suppressed without their knowledge. While contributing to the greater good may have its appeal, one must learn that for this to be possible, individual sacrifices are necessary. The ultimately collectivist society depicted in Anthem is justified by its rulers through ideas of
Anthem by Ayn Rand is a soul-shifting and mind-blowing novella that explores the dangers of a collective, dystopian society. As a man named Equality 7-2521 stumbles through life, he realizes that he has a burning desire to learn and explore, traits discouraged by the society he lives in. In the City, there are many rules, and all of them shadow the idea that “we are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE. One, indivisible, and forever.” (3) Equality 7-2521, with his passion for learning and science, slowly breaks away from this iron rule set by society, and in doing so, learns of the importance of individualism and freedom. In Anthem, Rand’s use of literary devices such as symbolism, characterization, and imagery help develop and present the tone of the importance of individuality and the dangers of a collective society.
Since only "we" exists and not individual men, individual men do not have the right to themselves. Prometheus comes to understand, however, through the word "I" that individuals do exist, and thus have a right to live for themselves, to take pleasure in things essentially self-centered and self-serving. The collectivist dictatorship in Anthem has a strong moral grip on its subjects. The hero Prometheus is able to break that grip through his devotion to his own happiness and finally through his recognition of the existence of individuality.
As one reads Ayn Rand’s significant quotes from the story of anthem, there is always a main theme that is trying to escape, just as Prometheus escaped in her story. All three of the listed quotes work as a trio to sing that We; as society, works to defeat individuality. The quotes emphasize that we cannot survive without individualism and being alone brings out our unique personalities. It is true that all the quotes work as one, but at the same time they have their own individualism. Each quote holds a purpose of its own and the author wants to express the quote to each persons understanding.
In the novel Anthem, Prometheus must stand up to society and break the bonds of brotherhood in order to fight for knowledge. As Prometheus realizes his
“The creator served nothing and no one. He lived for himself” (Soul of an Individualist). The novel, Anthem written by Ayn Rand, creates a dystopia where individual impression is prohibited, and all citizens are forced to put their fellow citizens, called brothers, before themselves. In this strictly collectivist society the word ‘I’ is replaced with the word ‘We’, and personal thought is considered a transgression. Anthem follows the life of the main protagonist, Equality on his journey to break free from this society. To liberate himself from his collectivist society and altruistic way of life, Equality must think only for himself, and become an egotist.
In the society of “The Anthem”, it is after the Unmentionable Times, and the word “we” is worshipped. The society is constructed that all men will rely on each other, become “brothers” of each other. However, Equality 7-2521 was a rebel. He knew that he and his brothers were just slaves of the city. He had broken many laws, and he was taller, smaller and generally healthier than his other brothers. Then, when he became fifteen, he wanted to become a Scholar, for he was very knowledgeable, but he was chosen to become a Street Sweeper. He swept the streets near the fields where the woman of Home of Peasants would work. Then, he spotted Liberty 5-3000 who was a young woman, he would always wave at her, and she would do the same. When Equality
In the world of Anthem there is no I, there is only We. “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great We, one indivisible and forever” (Rand, 19). Everyone is part of a collective and must be completely selfless, this is shown when they are all together, they know they must work as a whole and they immediately accept each other as they are all taught that they must. They must not be boastful or proud as they are taught that they cannot amount to anything on their own. They are taught that to think of themselves would be selfish and if something would not benefit all the brothers it was wrong. The people are numbered to highlight even more that they are nothing on their own. By stripping humans of their identity they turned them into a society that was co-dependent; each individual thinking they need the others to survive and that life as a group is the only option. By having made the world’s population dependent on each other, it ensured that people wouldn’t leave or disobey, as being shunned by the others would be an unbearable punishment. In stripping the people of their own identit...