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Lack of individuality in the book anthem by ayn rand
Ayn rand, individualism and collectivism
How does anthem by ayn rand relate to our world today
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Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, depicts the struggle of the individual against a society that refuses to recognize the individual’s worth, a communist society. The fundamental and often universal idea shown throughout the novel is the danger of collectivism and the struggle to find individuality. Liberty 5-3000 depicts the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel of collectivism. She is shown as a lovestruck, rebellious, intelligent, curious and breathtaking woman who takes part in helping Equality violate the rules of the strangling society. Liberty is like the beautiful untouched rose in between dull daisies who is just waiting to be admired. So when she finally gets discovered by Equality magic stirs in the air and Liberty proves her name. “The …show more content…
question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.” Liberty represents dominance by the way Rand describes her. “ Their body was straight and thin as a blade of iron. Their eyes were dark and hard and glowing, with no fear in them, no kindness and no guilt. Their hair was golden as the sun; their hair flew in the wind, shining and wild, as if it defied men to restrain it. They threw seeds from their hand as if they deigned to fling a scornful gift, and the earth was a beggar under their feet” (Rand, 38-39). These few sentences describe how much more powerful and dominant Liberty is in front of other women in the society. Even if she is not saying anything her personality and actions represent her as a very bold and daring woman. This is the quality which attracts Equality toward Liberty, and also gives Equality inspiration to find freedom in his life. Even Liberty is beginning to get drawn toward Equality because she has found someone who stands out from the crowd, just like her. Slowly Liberty gets out of innocence and is getting towards the truth of initiation. Liberty is just as rebellious and curious as Equality. Even though Liberty was taught not to look at men when she saw Equality she didn’t look away. “We know not whether they looked at us also, but we think they did” (Rand, 39). Even though Liberty was trying not to look at Equality she was getting pulled to him because for the first she felt connected to someone, a person who understands what she feels, different. And when she found out that Equality had ran away into into the Uncharted Forest she followed him. “ We heard that you had gone to the Uncharted Forest, for the whole City is speaking of it. So on the night of the day when we heard it, we ran away from the Home of the Peasants” (Rand, 82). This shows that despite the risk of getting caught Liberty is not scared at all and that she left even if she knew she might not make it. You can see her love through the way she left everything, even her own safety just to reach Equality. “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” After Liberty and Equality got reunited they both went out to discover new secrets that life may have in hold for them.
And one day they both found a house in which a new mystery unfolded itself. Liberty and Equality both entered the house and figured out that it was left over from the Unmentionable Times. They also found a lot of things that they did not know about before such as a lot of colors, mirrors, and different colored garments. Liberty had never seen her reflection before, so when she looked at herself in the mirror, she was really fascinated and astonished with herself and how she looked. Through reading the manuscripts Equality finds the word that they had both been longing for, “I”. As you can see before they found the house Liberty had tried to confess her love for Equality but she couldn’t find the correct words for expressing herself properly. “We love you. No that is not what we wished to say. We are one… alone… and only… and we love you who are one… alone… and only” (Rand, 86-87). This shows that Liberty felt as if she wasn’t saying the appropriate word and that there was something more to it and that was bugging her. But when Liberty found out the word that she was longing for was “I” the first thing she said was, “ I love you” (Rand,
98). “All’s well that ends well, if it’s not well it’s not the end.” In the end, both Liberty and Equality have decided that want to have an actual identity, so Equality names himself Prometheus and Liberty Gaea. The authors intention was to teach the reader that no matter how many difficulties come your way you shouldn’t accept defeat. And that you should confront and if you have a companion supporting you then that just makes life a little bit easier. Rand shows that even with difficulties in the way both the characters reach resolution at the end of the story. The story concludes in the characters both planning on making the world into a better place where no one would be punished for being different or unique. And where everyone would have the right to have their own identity. And a part of their identity would be known as EGO.
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
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
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
Now it is actually Liberty speaking. She tells Equality that she will go with him wherever they end up. She loves him so much that she will leave her home just to be with him. Even if that means she could die, she still follows him. Liberty has chosen to leave her society behind forever, and "damn" herself with
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 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,
This is our home … . This is your house, Golden One, and ours, and it belongs to no other men whatever as far as the earth may stretch. We shall not share it with others, as we share not our joy with them, nor our love, nor our hunger (91).” In this scene, Equality realizes for the first time the meaning of property and possession. It had always been taught to him that everything of his was his brothers’ as well, but now he discovers that he can, in fact, lay claim to things that belong to no others. Why should he share his joy? It is his, for he worked strenuously to make it his. Why should he share his love? It belongs to no other man, for the “Golden One” loves him for who he is, not who his brothers are. This fundamental value of owning is something that is essential to freedom, as Equality later describes. He says, “there is nothing to take a man’s freedom away from him, save other men (101),” meaning that as long as a man is bound to other men, he will never be truly free. To Ayn Rand, freedom of thought, speech, emotion, and behavior are essential to the human experience, and the only limits on these freedoms are the limits that men force upon them. In this way, a man that is free from his brothers possesses all other freedoms because there are none to snatch them from his eager
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
“We shall not report our find to the city council. We shall not report it to any men” (Rand #33). This quotation shows that Equality does not want to share it with any others and he wants these findings for himself. This is the first time Equality experience a little taste of individualism. “It is our second transgression of preference, for we do not think of all our brothers as we must, but only of one, and their name is Liberty 5-3000” (Rand #41). This quotation shows that Equality is not thinking about everyone but one single person. In this society thinking about only one person is a sin and now Equality is starting to show that he doesn't care if he commits a sin. “So long lies before us, and what care we if we must travel it alone” (Rand #54). In this quotation Equality says that he would be fine with living alone and without his
Ayn Rand's Anthem shows us her view of our world united under what seems to be communist rule. For example their view of right and wrong; which Anthem portrays is a system of very strict rules which mainly make sure that everyone is involved in a collective role within the society in this system no one is considered an individual or that they can even think as an individual.
Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen’” (Rand 21). This chant repeated by all men has influenced the thoughts of all within the society. Changing the thoughts to say you are not unique but you live only for your brothers. Language has influenced the men and women to not think for themselves but only for the society itself. “’You are not one of our brothers, Equality 7-2521, for we do not wish you to be. …nor are you one of our sisters’” (Rand 43). Equality and Liberty have both just changed how they are thinking and see that neither one is like the others. They both see past the ways they were taught to think and have started to think for themselves and see the changes in each other. Within a society of “We” these two people have found the “I” within themselves but have yet to find the real
in his world it was believed that ?What was not thought by all men cannot
That is the main point that Rand seems to want to hit. There is no point of being your own self if you keep yourself directly chained to the ideals of society and not yourself. One of the other themes that she shows to the reader is that someone's love will not always be for all. Equality shown early in the book falling in love with someone named Liberty 5-3000. He has been taught to respect and value all his “brother” equally, but the thought of one touching Liberty drives him to anger. Liberty continues to be talked about almost every other chapter as she becomes a part of his life. In chapter seven, the book states, “Then a blow of pain struck us, our first and our only.”(Rand, 77) There is no regret for leaving or any hurt from being banished except Liberty. Love can be seen as a mere thought, but Rand seems to show that it is an emotion that shows the individual inside
Wright, John Samuel Fletcher. Liberty in Key Works of John Locke and John Stuart Mill. Thesis Deakin University, 1995.
...ive for liberty with the question of the rise of a new, modern woman. Ibsen assumes the current woman is constrained in her basic rights as a human by the ideals of traditionalism and calls for a better society as she breaks her patriarchal shackles and finds her equal place in her drive for liberty and freedom, by no means harming or undermining the male figure but instead offering the potential of a more equal society. Strindberg retorts by holding a negative outlook on the ascent of the female, using the conniving Laura to show that society will tragically shatter as the power of man diminishes and women reign, creating a system built on a foundation of lies and deceit. Nonetheless, both authors display radically contrasting opinions on the drive for personal liberty and, in the end, both envision a radically different society, whether for better or for worse.