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 who is trying to be where he belongs, The Home of Scholars, but the Council of Vocations has told him that he has to be a street sweeper. Then when he discoverers electronic light, he realizes that it is a great power that everyone can use instead of candles and torches.When he goes to show the Home of Scholars this great invention ,he states, “We give you the power of the sky!” we cried. “We give you the key to the earth! Take it, and let us be one of yours, the humblest among you. Let us all work together, and harness this power, and make it easy the toil of men. Let us throw away our candles and our torches. Let us flood our cities with light. Let us bring a new light to men!”(Page 71).But the people of The Home of Scholars rejected him because he, a street sweeper, should never step foot in the an upper class place such as the Home of Scholars and because his light invention “ is a very terrible idea”. I truly and honestly do not understand how the “ smartest people” …show more content…
This quote also shows the love Equality 7-2521 has for learning and creativity. Also, I can compare him to Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison. Benjamin Franklin was inspired by lightning, the power of the sky Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. In conclusion, I thing the book Anthem was a book different from all of the rest. I also thing the quote that I choose truly represented Equality 7-2521’s character traits intellectual, selfless, caring, brilliant, loving, curious, hopeful, trusting, and one in a
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.
Ayn Rand wrote Anthem as a critique of Communism, yet along with that she demonstrated her own belief system of individual ideals. Objectivism was aptly shown throughout the entire novella with the thoughts and actions of the main characters, Equality and Liberty in contrast with the universal thought of the city and society. Rand clearly showed her philosophy well in this story.
The first way that the theme is developed in Anthem is through Equality 7-2521’s need to learn. He states at the beginning of the book “We, Equality 7-2521, were not happy in those years in the Home of the Students. It was not that learning was too hard for us. It was that learning was too easy for us.” (Rand 8) As
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.
I have always loved them and held their ideals and hopes to heart, but Anthem has been one that has opened my eyes to larger world. Rand showed a world of misery and a hope of freedom to me through her books. Her choice of words continued her story in a manner of which I could see, feel, and understand what Equality was experiencing. There was no point where I felt alone in working with my partner. I got to work in a group and experience the book with another; but ,like the ideals of a perfect society, I was able to separate from them to continue my own thoughts. This book required more of my time due to the extra procedures, but it made the story a much more hard hitting story as I experienced Equality’s life and of being the person who passed on the story that may be forgotten in later times to
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.
The use of the plural rather than the singular self-reference, goes to the heart of the book's meaning, that the individual is more important rather than the society.
In the book “Anthem” they are controlled by the World council.Everyone has to be the equil “WE”. In the book the main character is Equality 7-2521. He is the one who rebels or sins in his mind. The book it says at the end it says, “The sacred word: EGO”. (Rand, 105) By this he means that he wants people to know that there is more than we and
Ayn Rand, the author of the novella Anthem, was born is St. Petersburg, Russia in 1905. The novella was written in 1937 and first published in 1938 in England. Anthem is based on a man named Equality 7-2521, who has found a secret tunnel and has hidden inside of it to write down his thoughts, among other things. In this dystopian society it is illegal to write, have a personality, or a sense of individuality of your own. One of the themes in this novella is the domination of one’s individuality. Equality 7-2521 discovers the importance of his existence when he realizes one is the center of one’s universe, and that one’s perception gives the world its meaning, the creation and component of a persons own identity and personality. In Anthem, the
In a world with no individualism, for people today and how they live today, it would very tough to live a world like the story of Anthem. Anthem depicts a world of the future, a collectivist dictatorship in which there is no individualism. Anthem seems like a world very hard place to live in because there is a word taken away from the English language that is necessary to communicate with others. Today people put themselves before anyone else which is not an entirely bad thing. In a world like Anthem it is most likely someone with great power is controlling the lives everyone else.
Throughout the novella Anthem written by Ayn Rand, Equality comes to understand the life he really lives in. In Anthem Equality lives in a brotherhood society, the thought of yourself or speaking the word “I” is a sin. Equality is very curious and suspicious of his society and discovers things from the unmentionable times, which are events from the past life and are forbidden for any member of the society to uncover. With his new discoveries he finds new ways to live. By going against his leaders and starting a new chapter where he can do for himself. As the story concludes, Equality denounces his leaders and changes his lifestyle, because he discovers new ways of life: he is correct in his new ways because he has evidence
Anthem provides us a picture of what the world would be like if we were a collectivist society. There are many rules the society in Anthem is forced to follow. These rules erase individuality and meaning to their lives. They were created to make their community a utopia. They wanted all men to be equal so they didn’t allow them to think about themselves. Instead of using the word “I” to refer to oneself, they had to use plurals since they were part of a big community that was more important than any individual.
Anthem proves this theme to be true because he has his own ideas that Equality 7-2521 decides to follow and runs away from conformity. Equality, unable to think, act, or speak freely, has many ideas and decides to put them to use. He could not ignore his creative
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.
Anthem takes place in a future dystopian society in which every facet of its member’s lives is controlled. This society came into existence after a great war. The leaders have suppressed any information about pre-war life in the age known as the “Unmentionable Times.” All remnants of the “Evil Ones” were destroyed and society has reverted to the dark ages. The leaders fear independence of mind. Individuals have no rights and exist solely to serve society. They must spend their lives working the job that is chosen for them. They have no personal lives and cannot choose their friends or romantic partners. The word “I” has been erased from their language and is the “Unspeakable Word” that they must never speak lest they be killed. Only collectivist thoughts and speech are permitted.