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Meaning of themes of oppression in literature
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a world where everyone was forced to be exactly alike? Well in Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem she directly confronts this topic through the main character named Equality 7-2521. Equality 7-2521 faces challenges directly relating to the issue that the government has been trying to address for many years. Equality 7-2521 is not like his brothers, he is smarter, wiser and even taller, therefore, his brothers think that he has “evil in his bones” (Rand 18). The book Anthem is the firsthand account of how Equality 7-2521 finds the word “I” amongst the word “We”. He does not agree with these rules that the government has put into place, these are the rules that held him back for a time, but in the end, pushed him forward to be his own person. …show more content…
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
Equality 7-2521 is rebellious. If a person is rebellious, he shows a desire to resist authority. This authority is most commonly a government that runs its territory in a way which the rebellious person does not support. Rebellious people argue for changing or replacing this authority because they often view it as corrupt or ineffective. Due to their desire for change, these people are often the most dangerous to governments that wish to retain power and control. Equality 7-2521 shows this desire to defy authority in Anthem. The society that he lives in forbids writing unless it is first approved by the Council of Vocations. However, he has done exactly
A society where people lack individualism and the government has suppressive control, ultimately restrains its citizens. Those who rebel from oppressive authority and redefine themselves are those who remain unconquered. To be unconquered is to be uncontrollable, undefined, and in no form abide by social normality. In the poem, “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, and the novella Anthem, by Ayn Rand both protagonist, Invictus and Equality portray determination and vigor.
One day, Equality is supposed to be in the theater, but he is not there. Consequently, Equality is imprisoned to the Palace of Corrective Detention. Oddly, the prison does not have many restrictions, so easily Equality escapes. After his departure, he goes directly to the Council of Scholars, which is where a group of people have a job to gain more intelligence. Intentionally, Equality goes here because he wants to reveal his new discovery of electricity to the scholars. In effect, they denounce him for carrying out a discovery because it is contradicting to the laws of their society. After this happens, Equality bolts to the Uncharted Forest, he begins to actualize that people should live as individuals instead of one group. Liberty follows Equality and, eventually, catches up to him. In the Uncharted Forest, they find a sublime house on top of a mountain. Once they examine the house, Equality and Liberty decide to live in it. Uninhibited, they develop a more profound relationship along with a newly-founded liberated life. As an individual, Equality wants to free the people of his society and eventually begin his own. Equality says, "We matter not, nor our transgression. It is only our brother men who matter. Give no thought to us, for we are nothing, but listen to our words, for we bring you a gift such as has never been brought to men. Listen to us, for we hold the future of mankind in our hands" (70; ch. 7). Equality's life dramatically changes as he extends his life as a
“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
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 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.
"If a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he can not be loyal to anything" (McKay 1). The book Anthem demonstrates that individuality is key if one is to learn, love, and be oneself. Though the Council says the world is equal, it is in reality unbalanced and unfair because the Council makes all the decisions for the place. The book shows that people become mindless and "machine-like" because of Collectivism. Equality, the protagonist and the one with different ideas, shows that identity is very important to humanity. Throughout the book Anthem, the theme of individuality and one's own identity, shown through Equality's own ideas, love, and ego, are important to show Collectivism's downfalls.
This book is called Anthem and is written and published by an author named Ayn Rand. The genre of this book has a mix of sci-fi and fiction. The setting might not be specific but the time that this took place was in the future and was taken place in the utopian world which is completely different from the normal world. The main character is Equality 7-2521 (Prometheus) because he is the one of the people that found the tunnel, he was the one who started to invent things in the tunnel after discovering electricity, falling in love with a certain someone whose name will be mentioned later, and he found a forest where he found freedom. Liberty 5-3000 (Gaea) is another one of the main characters because she is the one that met Equality 7- 2521 in the tunnel. She also is
Anthem by Ayn Rand focuses on the life of Equality 7-2521. He lives in a society where the idea of individuality does not exist. Everyone works from the age of 15 until the age of 40. When they turn 40 they go to reside in the Home of the Useless. In Chapter One of this book, Equality 7-2521 says that it is unusual for men to reach the age of 45. Although he doesn’t specifically tell us the reason, here are a few possible explanations as to why the life span is so short.
He was able to say that he alone did this or whatever he put his mind too. He did not have to associate himself with others but could say he did it alone. He also realized that he did not have to worry about his other brothers because he that it is more to a brother than just following their rules but being able to discuss things went them and being able to make your own decisions. His also changed his name from Equality 7-2521 to Prometheus and Golden Ones’ to Gaea. Equality learned what it means to have something that yours. He proved that it does not take everyone to do something. a. He had to accept his way of thinking and turn it into something that he thought could make things better. That took determination to stay strong and the diligence to keep going. That why you have to keep your mind open and do not give up when it seem people are against
The things that make one different are the things that cause the world to change and lead to conformity. Uniqueness is a characteristic that is in everyone; no one person is the same. In this way, Equality 7-2521 from Anthem, a novel written by Ayn Rand, conforms to society on his outward actions to keep him safe, but on this inside, his drive for individuality and not being “normal” allows him to discover a tunnel in which he discovers multiple things like electricity. In a similar aspect, I seek to with my mind, as if a moving vehicle, swerve sharply to the opposite direction to avoid indifference and achieve my maximum potential.
Growing up in a strict society with many rules, you realize how life should not be. For being your own individual is not a sin, but a benefit. Being your own individual is not only good for yourself, it is good for all of society. Being different benefits you and everyone around you in ways you may not even realize it. In the book Anthem, by Ayn Rand, society is nothing how it should be. The government not only controls what you do for a living, but it also controls how you speak, where you live, who you talk to, where to be and what to learn. The government does not turn Russia into a individualism country, but it turns it into a communist country. The people are to repeat “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, Indivisible and forever” (19) every time they are tempted to think different. Equality 7-2521 was raised with the mentality of all men being alike. However, his own mentality has always been different from his brothers.
The rules are meant to suffocate and control the people. They live in fear of what may happen if they break a rule. The rules destroy who they truly are. The leaders have the rules in place for the sole purpose of controlling them. They fear what will happen if people become enlightened. Equality knows the dangers of breaking the rules. His fear shows that on a subconscious level they all may know the true purpose of the rules. This is demonstrated when he says, “And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone. We have broken the laws. The laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocation bid them so. May we be forgiven!” (1) This excerpt shows that Equality is aware of the consequences of his actions. He also sounds fearful, which shows that he is somewhat aware of the purpose of the laws and rules. Nevertheless, he nor anyone else in the society may be able to put together the truth, but it is evident that they have acknowledged the ever present fear. Equality rises above that fear and manages to escape the choke hold that they have put him in. He decides to create a society that is better than the current one he is forced to live