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Ayn rand book essay
Ayn rand book essay
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In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, society takes away freedom by assigning jobs, making them all as one , and they also consider themselves as “we’’ no one in the book anthem has a name everyone is called by a number Equality 7-2521, Union 5-3992 and international 4-8818 for a example (pg 19) it quotes “we are one in all and all in one there are no men but only the great we ONE individual and forever” that's a way that they brainwash them to make them believe no one is their own person Equality 7-2521 was assigned to be a streetsweeper instead of a cook,carpenter,doctor and a leader Another example is at the beginning of the book it says “but we cannot change our bone nor our body” this quote proving that the pronoun I does not exist in connection
to modern life we are all assigned Id numbers to keep track on who we are and what we do
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.
Ayn Rand's classic story of one man's desire to become an individual in a nameless society presents a compelling refutation of collectivism in all forms. The hero, labeled "Equality 7-2521" by the State, chooses to challenge conventional authority as he learns the joys of experimentation and discovery, the ecstasy of human love, the challenge and fairness of liberty, and the happiness of self-interest. Equality 7-2521 writes three unique phrases in his journal: 1. "My happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to an end. It is the end.", 2. "We know that we are evil, but there is no will in us and no power to resist it.", 3. "The word 'We' . . . must never be placed first within man's soul.". These phrases will be discussed individually in the remainder of this essay.
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.
Ayn Rand, in Anthem, illustrates a futuristic, socialist society. In the novel, Rand destroys any sense of individuality and describes the social setbacks endured after living ‘only for the brotherhood’. The individual person fails to exist and is but a ‘we’ and recognized by a word and a series of numbers rather than a name. Additionally, she describes the horrors encountered within this different system of life: from reproduction methods to punishments. Through the life of Equality 7-2521, Rand demonstrates a person’s journey from obedience to exile in this socialist society. Throughout the entire novel, Rand criticizes Marxist theory as she demonstrates socialism’s failure to suppress revolution, thwart material dialectic, and its detriment to humanity.
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
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
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.
People in every Society are placed in categories according to gender, religion, race, and age from which one of these categories includes social class. In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, people are placed in social classes according to the government's liking and instead of race, age, gender etc their social class depends on the job they are given by the government. This was done to treat everyone equally in order to keep peace in the society. However, sometimes equality can cause rebellion and this idea is portrayed through the protagonist of the novel, Equality 7-2521. Ever since the unmentionable times had caused destruction to the society of Anthem, the government had taken away all the free will and individuality of its people.
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
The word collectivism often makes people cringe. Overall, there is a general fear of not being able to make personal decisions in America. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, collectivism can be defined as; emphasis on collective rather than individual action or identity (“Collectivism”). In Anthem, Ayn Rand describes an extreme collectivist society. Although Anthem’s society seems extremely surreal, aspects of its collectivist society closely mirror today’s society.
in his world it was believed that ?What was not thought by all men cannot
If there was a word so forbidden that no one knew it, wouldn’t you be curious as to what it is? In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand this is exactly what the protagonist Equality has to face. Equality lives in a society where standing out was considered a transgression and egoism is punishable by death. The Saint of the pyre figured out the meaning of egoism and to keep him from sharing this evil his tongue was removed and he was burned at the stake. The Saint of the pyre died a happy man because of his knowledge of egoism. As he was being burned he had chosen Equality of all the people in the crowd to attempt to communicate the meaning of egoism to, which makes Equality question all that he was taught during his youth including that his sole purpose in life is to benefit and serve his society. Rand wrote Anthem to
Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem begins with Equality 7-2521, or as he is later known Prometheus, stating, “It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see…and we know that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone” (17). Prometheus lives in what is known as a totalitarian society. In many totalitarian societies, the ability to express oneself is often forbidden and suppressed. This novella contains a society which represents extreme totalitarianism. The rulers of the society, have managed to convince the citizens that selflessness, as well as worship of the word “we”, is the only way to live.
Ayn Rand’s Anthem is the story of a man by the name of Equality 7-2521’s personal growth and quest for freedom from the rules and regulations in society, which he lived. Long ago something called the Great Rebirth happened and later all of mankind started to think of it as one “great WE”. Members of this society were expected to obey the rules; these rules are set in place to help this society function as a unit.