'Selfishness In Ayn Rand's Anthem'

How would you describe the word ego? What about egoist, or egoism? These words are all related, but do they mean what you think? In Anthem, Prometheus believes the term “ego” is holy, but today many people think differently. Ego is a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance. An egoist is a self-centered, selfish, and arrogantly conceited person. The term egoism is defined to be the theory that one’s self is, or should be, the motivation and the goal of one’s own actions.

Throughout the novel, Anthem, and a speech from Fountainhead, written by Ayn Rand, it expresses the argument between individualism vs collectivism. An individual is a person who has control of his or herself, while a collectivist is someone whose hard work benefits their society. Although, another ideology that Ayn Rand mentions in her literature is egoism, throughout her books the significant meaning of being an egoist is considered a good thing, but in our modern society today we consider it a trait reflected by a selfish person.

How could Ayn Rand’s Anthem have been altered if Equality and his society had been founded on Christianity? Throughout the story, beliefs and convictions were a significant factor in plot progressions. In addition, different doctrine also provided a huge contribution to character development. However, these various viewpoints established throughout the story, directly contrast with Biblical values. Looking closely at the development of society’s and Equality’s beliefs, a reader can easily distinguish his ideas from Christianity.

There has always been a slight anxiety, a slight fear, of being alone or standing alone. Students rarely want to admit to having an answer different from the rest of their classmates; some people do not want to go somewhere and do something by themselves. Notably, with more shy or anxious people, they will often stick around someone they know, so they will not be alone in the crowd. Although that company might help them make it through those nerve-wracking moments, when is the right time for them to walk alone? Should a person ever walk alone? In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, Equality’s internal conflict of conformity versus individuality plays a role that Equality needs to overcome in order to complete their quest for freedom which helps create

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” was written by Ayn Rand, and she was born on February 2, 1905 in Russia. Russia at the time was heavily focused on collectivism, which is the idea that people should prioritize the good of society over the welfare of the individual, and was highly influential on Rand’s life. When she was introduced to American history, her ideas of what a free nation should be was America. When she left Russia, she decided to never go back to Russia and 13 years later, wrote Anthem. Anthem is set in the future and is based in a city that has collapsed from modern day society and accepts collectivism. “Anthem” is a novella about a man named Equality 7-2521 and throughout his life, he struggles to find self-identification in a society that has no sense of individualism. Throughout the story of “Anthem” the main themes are the importance of the individual and the value of martyrdom. Ayn Rand wrote “Anthem” as a warning to us westerners about the horrors of collectivism regardless of how it was put in use. She experienced most of the horrors first hand and this was also another reason for writing “Anthem”. Some of the horrors of what she experienced was the Kerensky Revolution and the Bolshevik Revolution which ended in her father’s pharmacy being confiscated and leading to periods of near-starvation. So, based on Rand’s past experiences and her ideas, she wrote “Anthem”.

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.

brought them for a civilization where the word ?I? did not exist to a world

In Ayn Rand’s book Anthem, The character Equality 7-2521 also known as Prometheus ran into the uncharted forest after being told that his box of light was a sin to create because he now knew more than his brother’s in the uncharted forest he found out that the golden one had followed him. Then the two uncovered homes from the unmentionable times. In the uncharted forest he discovered the unspeakable word “Ego”. Throughout the book he expressed traits of an Egoist. But in the book because prometheus had been in a dystopian society where they had to think of themselves and their brothers as a whole they were not allowed to think of themselves. So was Prometheus really a egoist? Or was it just his little bit of selfish coming out after not ever being allowed to think about himself?

There are many different meanings of the word egoist, and one of the most commonly found definitions would be "a self-centered, or selfish person; an arrogantly conceited person." When one is an egoist they tend to only care about themselves and not put others before them. People may get an egoist confused with someone's ego. The word ego means someone's sense of self-worth, self-importance, etc. As an example, in the book Anthem the main character states "I know not and I care not. For I know what happiness is possible to me on earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end it is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose" (Rand 95). This quote is showing egoism because Prometheus is thinking about himself and his own happiness rather than the happiness of everyone around him.

My hands... My spirit... My sky... My forest...This earth is mine...” (Chapter 11 Paragraphs 1-2)

Ayn Rand was a woman born and raised in Russia. She is what one would call a very dauntless woman when it comes to her personal thoughts, and she is not fearful of sharing her said thoughts. She is a strong believer of Ethical egoism, to look out for one’s own self interest, and her blunt fashion of voicing her thoughts shocked most of the public. She also wrote a book, Anthem, as if to show what would happen if we solely relied on our government and fellow man, how we would revert to a time before technology and almost have a Hungergames type of segregation. Now, the government of today is not like the one described in Ayn Rand’s book, however, government official Rand Paul referenced her writings in his argument against the Energy Independence act of 2007, and may have unintentionally compared the two governments. There is no right or wrong way to claim his action as. Many believe it was incorrect to make this reference,

The story, Anthem, takes place in a communist like dictatorship of the unmentionable times, where no person has any rights of their own, existing inly to server the state. The society controls every piece of the member’s lives. From their daily schedule, to the relationship partners they end up with, no one has a choice. These people are told that they only exist to serve the society and that’s it. In the end, it’s up to the society to choose what they’ll do with their lives; where they’ll work, where they’ll live. These rules have been made in order to make sure that everyone treats each other and lives equally. In this society, people were not allowed to use the word “I” but use the word “we” instead and the concept of individualism does not exist. The society didn’t want

God’s most revolutionary invention is mankind. Mankind, whose minds are constantly churning with ideas and ambition, and whose hands are used for creating, dominates the world. People learned to tame Nature herself, from the mastery over fire to the domestication of animals and plants; God’s invention learned to be the Creator of a different world, where glassy metropolitans scrape the heavenly skies threatening God’s sacred home itself. Much like the glassy cities, Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem defies the laws of Christianity, and replaces God with Man, the creator and giver of the earth. Anthem praises the individualistic morality of Equality 7-2521 and his worship of the god EGO and the power of the self, while challenging the totalitarian morals of the dystopia in which the novella is set.

Vision a lifestyle where one perceives it as a sin to comprehend data more efficiently than of one’s peers; a felony to long for things that others do not wish upon. Where floods of white tunics and austere minds obliterate the Earth. A colony built upon leaders who asphyxiate anyone from infatuation of any object or significant being; moreover, a world suffocating in collectivism. Through exasperated transcription, Anthem brings about such a community; nevertheless, a world of black and white. Ayn Rand does not overemphasize the effects of totalitarianism, but amplifies it so that it is more effortless for one to enlighten he or she’s notion on the particular proposal. First, by analyzation of “Equality 7-2521”, and