Individuality In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

During his childhood, he was blessed with an individual spirit and the intelligence to understand the knowledge of the world. In spite of this, he reckoned his abilities as transgressions. He acknowledged that the way of life was that “Everything which comes from the many is good. Everything which comes from the one is evil” (Rand 85). Equality strives to accept the totalitarian society and consequently, he desperately struggles to disregard his abilities and subdue his desires. The grisly effects of society are portrayed immensely through the profound sense of guilt he suffers while committing the Sin of Preference. He continually recites that, “We are nothing. 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). Gradually, his aspirations contradict with the dogma of society. He discovers that he finds more joy committing the Sin of Preference rather than restraining himself from happiness, which ultimately, allows him to elude his conscious premises. Equality’s belief that “[he] [has] torn [himself] from the truth which is [his] brother men… [he] knows [this], but [he] [does] not care” (Rand 76) marks his complete triumph over collectivism. Prior to his transformation, he belonged to a society in which the Sin of Preference revoked all rights for any desire, which ultimately disallowed citizens to think for freely. If permitted to do so, no

The novel of Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, contributes to controversial subjects in society that are still relevant today. Some issues addressed by Rand in her novel include: equality, social hierarchy, individuality, and government. Throughout the duration of reading Anthem the issues in which Rand makes relevant are not obvious, but more so discussed through conflicts and situations that the main character, Equality 7-2521, encounters. Although many of the altercations that present social issues are provided by either other characters singlehandedly or by a group of the characters in alliance, some of the main issues that arise in this novel are presented within the main character himself.

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.

Although Equality and his leaders have developed different experiences and knowledge, he can’t judge his society for having a different perspective than him. Instead he should respect their point of view and move on in life. Even though the Scholars didn’t respect his new discovery of the light bulb, it doesn’t mean that

Equality stands out from everyone around him, making him an individual. This also makes him the archetype of the loner or outcast. In the beginning of the novel Equality states that, “We were born with a curse. It has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden.” (page 18.) He also says “We are six feet tall, and this is a burden, for there are not many men who are six feet tall.” (page 18.) These quotes show exactly how Equality is an individual compared to those around him who fit in the idea of collectivism, or sameness.

“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. It is base and evil… We have broken the laws” (17). Thus begins Anthem by Ayn Rand, a novella about a future collectivist society and a man named Equality 7-2521. Though the story takes place in the future, all technology that came after candles and glass has been taken away. The word “I” has ceased to exist in anyone’s vocabulary. Every person must agree on everything and feel like everyone else. To accomplish ‘cleansing’ the evils of mankind, society lead its people to believe that nothing can be done independently. The story is told through the eyes of Equality as he purposely defies the laws

Have you ever thought of living in a place where everyone is the same and no one is different? Boring, right. In the book Anthem, Ayn Rand fully expresses her thoughts about the role of individualism and society. Anthem is a dystopian novella, written in 1937 and published in England in 1938. The book is about a society, in which there is no “I” and only “we” is allowed. The dictatorship of Anthem tries to keep the members of society brainwashed by focusing on the importance of obedience and equality which justifies restricting people from pursuing individual freedom and limiting their knowledge and vocabulary. Anthem is a critique of the political movements of Fascism and Communism in Europe during the 1930’s

Set in a dystopian society in the future, the novella Anthem written by Ayn Rand is all about being a collective society which doesn’t believe in individualism. Ayn Rand constructs a society in which individualism is a transgression. The government enforces the idea of collectivism to the society. They believe that in the human race each person is not single. The protagonist, Equality 7-2521 wants to be an independent person. He wants to be free. As stated in the novel, “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.” This statement means that in order to be successful, he has to be his own person. As the novel goes on Equality 7-2521 learns to be an independent man and frees himself from the society which forces collectivism.

Anthem is a short dystopian fiction novel written by Ayn Rand. It was published 79 years in 1938 in England. The setting of the novel starts off in a dark tunnel. As we get further in the book we learn that the story takes place in an undetermined point in the future in a City that’s not specified. The main character, Equality 7-2521, narrates his thoughts to the reader throughout the whole book. He feels guilty because he’s breaking the laws by writing down his thoughts but feels it is necessary. It is forbidden for the people to have their own thoughts or do anything by themselves. A long time ago, there was something called the Great Rebirth. After that happened, society started to refer to themselves as “we” and lost the word “I”,

Equality acknowledges that his great re-discovery of electricity will benefit humankind; however, that isn’t his primary motivation for experimenting. In Chapter V, he says, “We can give our brothers a new light, cleaner and brighter, than any they have ever known.” (60). He recognizes that this discovery will completely alter the way his society is set up, presumably for the better. Nevertheless, as he later states in Chapter VII: “We have lied to ourselves. We have not built this box for the good of our brothers. We built it for its own sake.” (76). Thus, Equality’s primary motivation for conducting his

Lionel Messi once said “you have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it. Equality discovered electricity in Ayn Rand’s book “Anthem”,Just like Prometheus, The god who stole fire, sacrificed a lot to show the world there discoveries. They did not fail at what they created and what they did.Although they had different outcomes equality felt a bond with prometheus, Because of how alike they were and how different they were.

    Equality, a very curious main character, wants the experience of feeling valued not only within himself but also from others. The feeling of accomplishment and knowledge is what he is deprived of in his collectivist world and what many seek to feel. Individuality distinguishes one from others which is why each and every one is unique and why Equality feels he is different. This difference is due

Unfortunately, he has no existing technology to use as a base for his ideas, so creates his own. “We, Equality 7-2521, have discovered a new power of nature. And we have discovered it alone, and we alone are to know it,” (34). Equality has lived in a world where the candle is the peak of societal technology, and he is only now realizing that there is more. By going off on his own and discovering things for himself, as an individual, Equality has come to incredible conclusions.

Equality knows that his inventions will benefit mankind greatly but he doesn’t do his experiments for that reason alone. Equalities motivation for his experiment was for his own joy. I think equality should be motivated by joy because it is something he enjoys and makes him happy. I think if everyone would be motivated by their passion the world would be a better place.

In addition, Equality 7-2521 continues to develop the theme when he is curious about how to capture lightning. This is when Equality 7-2521 creates a box that contains the energy of the sky which is known to a reader as a light bulb. He does this by discovering how to capture lightning and creating light without it. Equality 7-2521 plans on showing it to the World Council of Scholars and becoming a hero to the society like the people that created the candle were. However, his actions are considered a