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Collectivism in the anthem
Equality in anthem
In what ways is individualism shown in the anthem
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Recommended: Collectivism in the anthem
“‘Her name was Gaea. Let this be your name my Golden One, for you are to be the mother of a new kind of gods.’ ‘It shall be my name,’ said the Golden One”(Rand 99). In Ayn Rand’s futuristic novel, Anthem, the people are taught that everyone is part of a whole group. At the point where no one can even think of being an individual, they only see themselves as part of a whole group. Equality 72521 is elected the job of the street sweepers, through his job he begins to have a relationship with Liberty 53000(the Golden One), but through this relationship he begins to move towards individuality and selfishness, as the author Ayn Rand thinks we should.The Golden One and Equality 7-2521(Equality) evolving relationship throughout the book illustrates the theme that you can only be one and you are the only person that matters is yourself evidenced by Equality loving everything about the Golden One in the beginning, then he become less involved with the Golden One and it only helps if he looks at her for a while in between, and at the end the Golden One doesn’t matter to him any more and she is only for making babies and trying on pretty things. When Equality begins his relationship with the Golden One in the beginning of the novel, he thinks of her as the most beautiful and perfect person for him. When Equality first meets the Golden One he only thinks about all her good qualities and it’s all about her, also what feelings he gets when looking at her, as …show more content…
In the beginning Equality loves everything about The Golden One and doesn’t think about himself, then throughout the novel Equality turns one sided and The Golden One becomes his maid. Rand shows her theme of you can only be one and you are the only person that matters is yourself by the relationship of The Golden One and Equality throughout the novel,
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.
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.
...e the instruction of their dishonest city and directed Equality to the finding of the largest part of the human strength, egoism. “Ego” is the forbidden word that The Transgressor of the Unspeakable Word suffered from. He was burned alive because he was one of little that knew what individualism was. Prometheus and Gaea modernized this human race for centuries and initiated a new kind of success and advancement. Equality and Liberty will make a society that could possibly help the planet for the creation of light by rejoicing the individual human spirit, a thing to be set free, not restrained and crushed out of terror. Their discoveries put to rest the corrupt preaching of selflessness and humility in favor of the truly moral philosophies of freedom and, in fact, selfishness. Those are the reasons that Ayn Rand named Equality, Prometheus, and Liberty, Gaea.
Equality eventually escapes from the place that never felt like home, and runs off with his love, Liberty 5-300, who he calls the Golden One. After learning about the men from the Unmentionable Times, Equality would agree with Ayn Rand’s words in her short essay, “How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?”, where she not only talks about the importance of having moral judgment, but also about being brainwashed by your leaders and government. Equality can relate because, for his whole life, he was in a society where their version of wrong and right were opposites to what they should have been. Individualism and moral judgement weren't encouraged, they were prevented, and that is where the society became
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.
Rand uses similes and metaphors to describe two different things such as when Equality compares liberty to a thin blade of iron or when comparing his judgement of mind to the only searchlight that can find the truth. Her work of literary devices also includes personification because in the novel it states” Men never enter the Uncharted Forest, for there is no power to explore and no path to lead among its ancient trees which stand as guards of fearful secrets.” (Rand,48) The writer uses personifications to describe the trees as guards. This is where symbolism comes into place. The Uncharted Forest is symbolizing the desire for forbidden knowledge from the people living to the cities. I feel that the writer most important use of literature is when using dramatic irony throughout the story. Rand’s use of the word “we” is an example of dramatic irony because it acts as a first-person point of view which shows how individualism disappeared in this society. The reader knows that Equality is in the process of discovering himself as the singular word, “I” before himself even aware of this. The word “I” is also what the people in the novel call, the Unspeakable Word. At the point where Equality discovers this, he finds the sense of being an individual. Rand’s work of writing has connections towards to society and how one’s mind can change the
“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
He begins to “not think of them as Liberty 5-3000 any longer. We have given them a name in our thoughts. We call them The Golden One.” (Rand, p. 41) This shows that he wanted to give her a name, a name that gave her meaning to him. This book shows how a random name can take away from the individuality of a person. Your name makes you stand out and gives you a sense of individuality. As you get to know a person you begin to associate their name with their gender, looks, and personality. The Golden One gives Equality 7-2521 another name just like he gave her one too. She called him “Unconquered”. Soon after you read that “Such thoughts as these are forbidden” (Rand, p. 56). This quote from the book reveals even more on how feelings towards opposite sex were not accepted. The name she gave Equality 7-2521 gave him meaning and separated him out from the
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
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.
By the end of the novella Equality comes upon a house from the Unmentionable Times for him and the Golden One to live in. Equality is in love with the Golden One who followed him to the forest after he was gone from the city. Later Equality 7-2521 gives the Golden One a new name: Gaea. They live in harmony together and finally discover the meaning of the Unspeakable Word “I” instead of which they always used the word “We” to refer to themselves like all the other collectivists did. After finding everything Equality searched for, he is a happy individual living in a perfect place with the woman he loves.
Equality had more than one primary motivation on his mind. I think the world would be a better place if everyone were motivated in the same way. Equality had more than the light on his mind. Equality started looking at Liberty 5-3000 and called her the ‘Golden One” “You are Beautiful, Liberty 5-3000” ( Chapter 2, Paragraph 17) I think Equality is allowed to feel this way. He should have the right to like a person more than he likes another person. He cared about Liberty and was glad she was only seventeen, so she didn’t have to go to the Palace of Mating. “How old are you?” we asked “Seventeen” they whispered “And we sighed, as if a burden had been taken from us, for we had been thinking without reason of the Palace of Mating.” ( Chapter 2, paragraph
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.”