Equality In The 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

“We cannot resist it. It whispers to us that there are great things on this earth of ours, and that we must know them. We ask, why we must know, but it has no answer to give us.” (Rand 24) he then goes on talking about how he loves “the Science of Things” (Rand 23) and how he could ask questions in the House of Scholars, “for they do not forbid questions.” (Rand 23) However, at the near end of Anthem, Equality states that the Scholars are “blind” and are being “cowardice” (Rand 19) even though he had once looked up to these same Scholars when growing up, “We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike.” (Rand

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.

Equality contemplates, “I wonder, for it is hard for me to conceive how men who knew the word “I”, could give it up and not know what they lost” (103). This quote narrates the discovery of one of the most essential words used to identify as a single, original person, I. Equality realizes the tragedy of the loss that his previous society created before his lifetime and really ponders why and how this could happen in a very separate world. Equality readies himself to be an individual person as a result of feeling strongly against the beliefs of his previous society. Equality excitedly states, “We made a fire, we cooked the bird, and we ate it, and no meal had ever tasted better to us. And we thought suddenly that there was a great satisfaction to be found in the food which we need and obtain by our own hand” (79). In the past, Equality had never done anything to express his originality because of the law stating otherwise, so when given the opportunity to finally understand his own strengths and weaknesses, he takes it. He disregards the law and excitedly grasps the concept that he isn’t supposed to be a follower like his peers were, he was meant to be a leader. Disagreeing with the law was a main point of Rand’s novella, promoting personal

Throughout the book, Equality goes against the government because he is searching for freedom. In the book, Equality talks about wanting to see himself but that is against the law, when he runs away, he finally seems himself. Equality wants to see his own image because, his entire life he has never seen it, and he has only seen the faces of his brothers. Equality sees his own face for the first time and says, “We sat still and we held our breath. For our face and our body were beautiful. Our face was not like the faces of our brothers, for we felt no pity when looking upon it. Our body was not like the bodies of our brothers, for our limbs were straight and thin and hard and strong. And we thought that we could trust this being who looked upon us from the stream, and that we had nothing to fear with this being.” (Rand, 80) Now that he is thinking for himself he wants to know more about himself. He never received the chance to find out what kind of person he was when he was young, so now that he is older he wants to know more about himself. He falls in love with Liberty the first time he sees her, and in their society they’re not supposed to take notice of the opposite gender. Equality whispers, “For men are forbidden to take notice of women, and women are forbidden to take notice of men. But we think of one among women, they whose name is Liberty, and we think of no others.” (Rand, 38) When

Equality went to the house and showed the scholars before him and spoke of his invention, the scholars rejected his invention saying that it would not be of any help it would only cause harm. They said it would make no need for the candle factory. They said that they can not let this invention created by one person change the world.after hearing this he decided to leave to the “the uncharted forest” so that way no one could tell him what he could and could not do. He went to the forest with the golden one that was by his side after he invented the glass box.he then learned that there was no “we” there was “I” they didn't have to use “we” to represent themselves

Morality in Anthem Society is lost and no one is individual. Since birth, it is no longer “I” but “we”, this is all Equality 7-2521 has ever known. The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand opens up with an empowering first line, one that strikes the reader immediately and sparks their curiosity to possibly read on. This first line “It is a sin to write this,” (Rand 17) is a unique opening line that sets the plot for this entire story and ends with a full circle once the reader has reached the very last page.

He can be himself in the tunnel, and experiment, without being caught and punished. Equality invents a new way of light, instead of a candle. The light he creates is symbolic to him the light can help brighten the city not only literally but figurately too.

Equality felt pride and joy in seeing something that was truly his own. In the book, all men were supposed to report findings of the unknown, and share them with their brothers. In the book Equality and International had found a tunnel from the Unmentionable Times. This was a chance for equality to have a hideaway, to keep something as his own. Equality took the tunnel as his own for inventing, and to get away from his brothers. He knew the crime could land him in the palace of corrective detention, but the motivation to claim something as his own must have been strong. His strive to claim something as his own, and truly his own, pushed him to find the word, I and

In the book of Anthem, Equality wanted to change himself because he did not want to do what he was told to do , he wanted be himself and do what he likes to do .

When Equality runs to the Uncharted Forest to save his invention, Liberty stays in the society only to discover that she misses Equality and covets and yearns to be with him. She ends up going to the Uncharted Forest to find Equality. When she sees the man she loves in the forest, she is beyond happy that she is with him and not the other citizens in the society. Liberty says to him, “Your eyes are as a flame, but our brothers have neither hope nor fire. Your mouth is cut of granite, but our brothers are soft and humble. Your head is high, but our brothers cringe. You walk, but our brothers crawl. We wish to be damned with you, rather than blessed with all our brothers. Do as you please with us, but do not send us away from you” (Rand 82-83). Liberty sees Equality differently than everyone else and has great reverence for him. She does not see him as a crazy man, as a disobedient man, nor as a criminal; she sees him as a man who is not to stand up for what he believes in. Liberty would much rather live a life with him, alone in the Uncharted Forest, and be breaking the rules than stay in the society and live a simple life without Equality. This impacts Equality and his identity in more ways than one. When all is said and done, Equality’s relationship with Liberty dramatically shaped his courageous

He believed in the society until the Council of Scholars rejected his invention of the light bulb. The rejection led him to run away into the Uncharted Forests where he began to build his own view of morality along with the Golden One. As time progressed, Equality began to see how much the collectivist society was wrong about a variety of things. Shortly after Equality runs away he realizes that he did not build the light bulb for his brothers but indeed for himself, which demonstrates his change in belief from the brotherhood to the individual. Through Equality’s discoveries he realizes that his purpose is not to fulfill the accomplishments, needs, and sacrifices of his brothers but to fulfill his own accomplishments, needs, and sacrifices.

He realizes he had everything to fear from the twisted society that he lived in. Equality had trusted himself enough to completely let go of his old society, to leave everything behind and adopt a new culture. He must have trusted himself immensely to have done this. He also realizes humans are much too smart to govern that society and wonders if they were just too afraid to contradict their government or just did not trust themselves to try and overthrow it. Equality realizes he should be confident in himself. He is a very headstrong person and is not persuaded so easily. That is why he had left his society in the first place. Equality would like to live as an individual where he would not work together for the common good, as a group, but where he alone will work as an individual in his new society that he will soon create.

The most striking thing in the book Anthem, is when Equality states “And here, over the portals of my fort, I shall cut in the stone the world which is to be my beacon and my banner. The word which will not die, should we all perish in battle. The word which can never die on the earth, for it is the heart of it and the meaning and the glory. The sacred word: EGO” (Rand 105). This quote has great meaning to it. I believe that Equality was trying to say that the only word that can never die and has the most meaning is, I. I in this book symbolizes individualism, which is highly encouraged in Anthem.

Every single day for more than 2 years equality would escape society for 3 hours a day and he would get to think, study, learn, and write what he has held in for so long. Equality’s brothers didn’t have a strong self-connection. All of Equality’s “brothers” had no energy, happiness, nor creativity (Rand). Unlike Equality they didn’t know who they were as a person, they