The short dystopian text titled Anthem, by Ayn Rand, is a spectacular demonstration of dystopian fiction. The book is a very intriguing book as the story is set in an unspecified future date where the world has entered another dark age. Society is much different now as everyone's life is decided for them by the government. No man is allowed to think of themselves as above anyone else in their life. They are also not allowed to amount to anything more than their brothers. The main character in the book is named Equality 7-2521. In the book Equality and some other men discover electricity while experimenting in a train tunnel they had found. They then show their discovery to the Home of the Scholars. However, the scholars are not happy about …show more content…
After reading these books, Equality discovers many new words and many new ways to express himself and his feelings. The most important word he discovers however is the word I. The word I is banished from being spoken in his society so he does not yet know that the word I exists. This relates to the title because an Anthem is a song identified with a specific and particular group of people. Near the end of chapter 11, Equality states, “I am done with the monster of “we,” the word of serfdom…of falsehood and shame.”(Rand) This is one reason why the word anthem relates to the …show more content…
This is a reason that Rand chose the title Anthem because Rand believed that the word “individual”, is a sacred word and must be defended against all collectivism. Rand was raised in Russia during a time of strong collectivism and this is why she feels very strongly about individualism. The book states, “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE. One, indivisible and forever.”(Rand) This quote is an example of the collectivism within the society that Equality is living in before he runs away into the Uncharted Forest. Rand expressed her strong feelings towards collectivism through her book and this is a reason that she tilted her book
Anthem is a good book about the future and their own versions of a Utopian society. This novel is all about independence and how options are limited. The question asked is if you think Equality’s eventual assessment of his sins is correct. My answer to this question is, he felt as if his sins taught him more.
Anthem, by Ayn Rand, is a book that portrays a dystopian world where every day is the same and everyone lives for the benefit of their brothers. Though the world is painted as a perfect society, Equality 7-2521 performs an altruistic act when he illegally makes inventions. This act leads to Equality vanishing from society into the woods for the protection of himself and his invention. Chapters 11 and 12 reveal the reasoning behind the title of the book when he finds the missing aspects of his life. Chapters 11 and 12 show the freedom that was missing in the dystopian society, the importance of love that was forbidden in previous paragraphs, and the importance of individuality that all left something missing from Equality’s life and the book itself.
Ayn Rand is most famous for being the author of four dystopian novels. Those being Anthem, Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, and We the Living. Anthem takes place in a world where the word “I” and
At the beginning of the novel, Rand delves into what is considered sinful, which is what would appear to be common things in our society. This post-apocalyptic New York City banished writing, being alone, as well as having a preference or a favorite. Individualism is crushed and following teachings mindlessly is demanded. It is emphasized that there is no individual and the word “I” is an evil and disgusting word to use. One must think the same thoughts of the group, believe the same things as the group, and must be the same as the group, otherwise, they are selfish and sinful.
A utopian society is a society in which everything is perfect and people get to do what they please, when they please. They get to pick how they live their lives, how they determine their mates, and how they choose their occupations. The stories “Harrison Bergeron” and Anthem show that this utopian world can’t be achieved. In fact, in both, the societies are actually dystopian. Clearly, there are many similarities in the themes of Anthem by Ayn Rand and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut.
The novel “Anthem” by Ayn Rand was a short heartwarming story that was set in the future presumably after World War 3. In Anthem the society uses Collectivism; they live in groups and put the group above individuals. These people live similar to an ant colony their only purpose for existence is for the overall good of the whole. With this being said, people are not to see themselves as anything more than part of the group.
Have you ever felt like a total outsider? In Anthem Ayn Rand shows a perspective from a young boy in a dystopian society. In the far future what lies ahead, no one knows. In this story you get an idea of one scary scary possibility.
Equality-72521. With an inquisitive nature, an innovative mind, and latent desire, Equality withholds the traits of a visionary who advocates for individuality. Every step Equality takes, is one away from the public-spirited system. Another towards personal identity. Each step is an internal struggle, due to the communist machine’s brainwash and eloquent reprogram of Equality’s instinctive mind.
The tone of authors throughout the world varies greatly based on their intentions for writing. In the case of Anthem, author Ayn Rand invents a dystopian society in which collectivism is promoted in great favor over individualism. One character, however, pushes the boundaries and embraces a sense of independence. Rand likely desired audiences to take her views presented in her novel into consideration. Accordingly, for the purpose of creating a serious relationship with its readers, Anthem adopts a reverent tone by utilizing formal language and addressing critical subjects.
Anthem is a book that makes oneself contemplate the future and what evils are bestowed upon it. In this novel, the reader is caught in the life of Equality. Equality’s life is placed in the future, where the feared reality of communism has conquered all but the souls of few weary men. Equality is one of those few men who have a light that is invulnerable to a ravaging wind. Equality’s time captive before his extraordinary escape has taken a toll on his body and mind and now at the end of his journey forces him to question whether the decisions he’s made are full of sin or teeming with righteousness.
"We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever’”(Rand 19). In Ayn Rand’s dystopian novel, Anthem, the citizens are trained from birth to think only in the plural, to the point where they cannot even conceive of individuals, but only see each other as part of the whole group. Rand’s protagonist, Equality 72521, begins the novel as a street-sweeper who is devoted to the group, but begins to move towards individuality as he progresses towards pure selfishness, as Rand believes we all should. Rand uses the words “we” and “I” to represent Equality’s journey from being dependent on the group, to being utterly independent of everyone.
Individuality allows every person to be themselves and be different from each other. However, In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Rand describes a society where the people were not allowed to openly be themselves, or else they would be punished for being different. The main character, Equality, notices he is different slowly throughout the novella, but kept continuing to be like everyone else for awhile. These rules exist in this society to strip human individuality in order to achieve total equality.
While sweeping the streets, Equality discovers a dark tunnel that was made during the Unmentionable Times. He sneaks into the tunnel every night to perform scientific experiments. In his experiment of dissecting a frog, Equality discovers that metal draws the power of the skies and that
Objectivism in Ayn Rand’s Anthem Ayn Rand established her philosophy of objectivism in order to eliminate the traditions she experienced while she was growing up under collective governments, and to emphasize the importance of the individual over the collective group. It can be defined as a philosophy for living stating that man himself is the greatest power, and man must decide what is best for himself based on reason. The four basic tenets of objectivism are reality exists as an objective absolute, reason is man’s only method of interpreting his surroundings, man must exist as an individual in order to pursue his own interests, with the ultimate goal being happiness, and the economy of an objectivist society should be laissez-faire capitalism,
Victory Over Collectivism “I”, one of the only one-letter words in the English language. Yet its power and meaning do not match its quantitative value. In the collectivist dictatorship found the in the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, this word has disappeared and consequently, society has fallen into a dark age, all because of the loss of a single-lettered word. However, the hero of this time, Equality 7-2521, breaks down the barrier of the collectivist society and allows him to make advances that show him the power of the word “I” and the idea of individualism in government and in society. Although the word “I” has vanished from society, Equality is able to free himself from the collectivist government through the use of science and free thought,