The Value Of Freedom In Anthem By Ayn Rand

If Equality didn’t commit those sins, he wouldn’t be so happy at the end of this novel. For example, if he didn’t find that underground tunnel, he wouldn’t be in the Uncharted Forest with Liberty 5-3000. Or when he got chosen by the Council of Vocations. He would’ve never had met Liberty 5-3000. They would’ve even been able to meet if Equality had a different job.

He does this despite many obstacles and disillusionment. “We have broken so many laws, and today we have broken one more” (Rand42). Equality was slightly disappointed in himself, yet overcame that, and escaped the cruel society, that he once lived captive in. He also said “I am a man. This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before” (Rand95).

Mackenzie Alpert Mrs. Mennenoh DCE 152-515 21 January 2023 Cursed Freedom In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, Equality 7-2125 is portrayed as both an independent, benevolent hero and a selfish narcissist. Equality was born with an exceptional intelligence curse in a collectivist society, but this is a sin because no man can be smarter than his brother. To accommodate, Equality sought to hide his curse by purposely forgetting his lessons, pretending to act like others of average intelligence, and intentionally misunderstanding his teacher’s content (Rand 21-22). Equality’s initial attempt to assimilate to his peers portrays his humble, good character.

From the past to the present, society has struggled with the concepts of conformity and individuality. Often times, people find comfort and safety in being like everyone else because they don’t feel alone. On the other hand, individuality seems to be encouraged by society by telling everyone to be themselves, yet people are ridiculed for standing out. In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, the conflict between conformity and individuality is present in Equality’s quest for freedom when he convinces International 4-8818 not to report their discovery of the tunnel, when Equality meets the Golden One, and when he presents his invention to the house of scholars.

For Liberty is so beautiful and “glowing” that she cannot be ignored. It, however, is against the commandments of Equality’s brotherhood to peruse her, as it would unbalance the mutual emotion between all men by creating preference. In a wretched battle of nature vs nurture, Equality finds that despite these regulations, he cannot stop himself from yearning for Liberty, whom serves as “blade of iron” cutting through to the undeniable truth that Equality is a selfish being, generally motivated by his own personal

When Equality made the lightbulb and it showed him the truth, the truth of freedom, acceptance, and individuality. Freedom is a very important theme in Anthem, the lightbulb showed Equality the freedom he could have. At first, Equality wanted to show the Scholars what he has made but they disapproved and sent him away. (Rand 64) That made him realize how different he was and how wrong the society was so he left into the forest.

He is also told that joy must be shared with everyone, yet his greatest joys belong solely to him, the greatest of which being Liberty (Rand 86). Equality’s love for Liberty drives him to reject society and fight for individual freedom, giving him the courage to take action against oppression and make sacrifices for love and

To be Free, a man must be free of his brothers”. ( Rand 92). Happiness is impossible without the option to try and find happiness to choose to do things that you enjoy. Equality had mentioned before that the first time he truly felt happiness was when he ignored his society and did what he wanted. Equality 7-2125 even said, “-in our heart there is the first peace we have known in twenty years.”

In the book Anthem the author Ayn Rand is saying that through Equality's experiences, he is different individually from everyone else in his society because of his appearance, and determination, which is conveyed through being taller than everyone else, and breaking the laws.

“The question isn’t who is going to let me, it’s who is going to stop me”(Ayn Rand). When The Council tried to restrict the narrator, Equality 7-2521, from being different from his brothers and everyone else in the society, he still continued to think and experiment on his own. Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem, takes place in a future, dystopian society, where the idea of individualism is no longer accepted by society. Throughout the plot, Equality 7-2521 is breaking away from the rules of The City and he works as a street sweeper trying to make up for his sins. He makes some discoveries and strengthens relationships along the way.

His entire life, Equality was distinguished as different. He was exposed to the idea that being, acting, and even thinking differently than his brothers, was a sin. Equality was denounced as different referring to him as having a higher level of intelligence. Ayn Rand included in Anthem a quote that the individuals must say, it reads, “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever.”

There's so much emphasis on putting others before oneself that people often forget to look out for their own needs, as shown in this book. Ayn Rand successfully captures the negatives of an overrated ideology and presents an unorthodox perspective on the matter. In conclusion, Equality's true motives behind his work are much more selfish than they first appear to be. Equality strives to fulfil his own personal desire rather than contribute everything to society, and this isn't necessarily a negative thing.

This connects to Rand’s idea of freedom because in the beginning, one thinking for themself is unacceptable, while in the end, one living for their own sake is true

In the history of humanity there have been no perfect relationships, and the same thing could be said about Equality and Liberty in Ayn Rand book Anthem. In Anthem the main character, Equality, is struggling to understand and accept the rule of a completely equal society. He pushes rules to the edge when he meets a girl named Liberty and they run from the equal society to make a completely free society in the uncharted forest. The relationship between Equality and Liberty changes drastically from in the beginning to the end as Liberty goes from strong and empowered to submissive and praising while equality is shy and curious to strong and godlike.

Equality is just learning about how life works and he gets to experience it with Liberty, the love of his life, but in the City, men and women are forbidden to talk to each other, where Liberty and Equality felt it was a terrible thing to