Ever heard of a society that does not have an individual? A society that is completely controlled? The book Anthem by Ayn Rand shows a society without an individual. An Anthem is an uplifting song that is identified by a certain body or cause. Ayn Rand wrote Anthem because she grew up in the Soviet Union, where it was a very communist society where people were supposed to be equal, but she saw that other people were higher above her and she no longer wanted to work for others, she wanted to work for herself. When she came to the United States in 1926 she saw that people in the U.S were taking advantage of the power that they had to choose their own jobs and where they were to live etc. Ayn Rand wrote this book to show how easy it is to choose what people do with their lives. Giving Equality 7-2521 the job of street sweeper was not an error, instead he was given the job of a street sweeper in order to show him that they knew he was different and that they were not going to tolerate it.
Equality 7-2521 is very different than the others in his society, it is easily seen. He is different both
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The council did not want to give smart people important jobs. This is because they did not want people to be able to take over and change the way that they were running the society. If smart people, or people who had not been brainwashed, got important jobs they could easily show the other members of the society that this was happening and because they were an important political figure, people would listen to them. “We knew we had been guilty, but now we had a way to atone for it.”(26) Equality 7-2521 knows that he is guilty and knows that he got the job of a street sweeper because he has broken laws and sinned against his brothers. The Council gave the job of a street sweeper purposely to Equality 7-2521 because they did not want to give important jobs to smart different
Throughout the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 can be compared to many different people for several different reasons. The first and more obvious person is Promotheus, a mythical Greek God who stole fire from Olympus and gave it to the people. He gave the light as a gift to the people so they could use it to cook, heat and light houses, and much more. Much like when Equality wanted to give his recreation of electricity as a gift to the people of society. He did it to help everyone, yet he was seen as selfish and dangerous. Which is what led to Equality being persecuted and everyone wishing for his death, which connects him to the next person. Jesus taught the lessons and morals of Christianity, which the Romans absolutely despised
“We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike… We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great we, one, indivisible and forever.” (Rand Chapter 1.1 (??)) The Council of Vocations assigns Equality 7-2521 the job of Street Sweeper purely out of sinister motivation. Equality 7-2521 exemplifies the qualities of an independent young man, a concept that the council is against. They believe that all individuals should be the same, and that the differences that set them apart must be relinquished, or it will tear their society apart.
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.
Ayn Rand’s novel puts Equality in a great position to start his new life with his new family. Ayn Rand’s story gives hope to all who want not to be conquered by their government and to have a say in what they believe in. If your government or society doesn’t like what you have to say, then it shows you can also walk right out the door if you don’t like what is happening. When you become a collectivist, you lose your individuality and almost become a slave and or a robot to the government and society. You lose your creativity and
All his life he had been told that it “is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick. It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them” (21). The Teachers made Equality believe that everything he did was wrong, and because they were appointed by the Councils, he believed them to be correct. The appointing of all things by the Councils relates to the Supreme Court. This situation relates to the moral sin in society. Everything is controlled. When Equality turned fifteen, the Council of Vocations appointed him the job of a “Street Sweeper”; it pleased him. This happiness did not last because he was unsatisfied. He always craved more, and one day, a gift was given. Equality 7-2521, with fellow Street Sweeper International 4-8818, uncovered an underground tunnel that was used for subways during the Unmentionable Times, which gave Equality hope. This underground tunnel became everything to Equality because it gave him peace, and it became the one of the many reasons why he was able to break free from being controlled by the leaders of his time of the Great
The society depicted in Anthem written by Ayn Rand has the people working to benefit each other, a system known as collectivism. The rules are quite restrictive in Anthem’s society for the purpose of keeping people in line, so they would not rebel against the government. Rules also serve the purpose to keep people equal to one another; however, at the end of the novel, Equality 7-2521 creates his own society to give people full freedom and individualism. Anthem’s society created laws to keep the collectivist ideals alive.
The book Anthem by Ayn Rand is about a dystopian collective society where the public is supposed to work together for the good of the entire people, not for just an individual. The main protagonist, Equality 7-2521, explains things about the place he lives in, how his daily life is, and in some way knows that he is different from everyone else. According to the book, it is clear to see that he is smarter, more handsome, and taller than everyone else. Still, he is shamed for his differences. Instead of becoming a scholar, as he was meant to do and dreamed of doing, he is assigned the role of a street sweeper. This society steals the life of people and tries to make everyone feel as though they are an equal people, where the word “I” does not exist, but is instead “we”. A very specific set of laws exist, as well. For example, one is not allowed to prefer one person over another.
“Anthem” In the book “Anthem” by Ayn Rand the main character, Equality, is assigned the job as a street sweeper by the Council of Voacations. The reason that he is placed as a street sweeper is a more sinister motivation that the council has. The Council of Vocations had a more sinister motivation when assigning him the job.
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
Collectivism is a very common theme in Ayn Rand’s writing. From Anthem to The Fountainhead, her opinion is very clear: individualism is the source of freedom and joy, while collectivism is the root of sorrow and slavery. In Anthem, the main character, Equality 7-252, has grown up in a collectivist society that has remained strong for centuries. In that society, no one has had the choice to do what they want to do, love what (or who) they love, and simply be who they are. That society praises the idea that men live only for each other. Living for oneself is evil, a Transgression. The idea of “I”, “Me”, and “Mine” has disappeared, dragging the precious words along with it. Throughout the plot, Equality 7-2521 is seen both unintentionally and intentionally defying his society. At first, he condemns himself, describing his evil acts and mind and labeling his different mindset as a curse. “We were born with a curse. It has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden.” (Rand 18) He is also condemned by others, for things he cannot control. He is taller than most other people, he has preferences for what he wishes to become, and he has ideas and opinions. Yet when his life assignment is Street Sweeper, he rejoices. He sees that as a way to pay penance for his sins. Later on, however, he embraces his individuality. “I am. I think. I will.” (Rand 94) He is the first to accept the idea of individuality for centuries, and helps others accept it, too.
Equality 7-2521 started out, living his perfectly “normal” life, doing the exact same thing as the rest of his brothers, living his life the only way he knew how. As the book continues, we find out that even as a child Equality 7-2521 was a little bit smarter than the rest of the kids in his class and he was punished for it. As he got older, some of his physical appearances were different from his brothers. He was taller than everyone else, and his facial features were a little bit different. The Council also didn’t
Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, depicts a totalitarian society that oppresses the ideology of individualism. Within these societies children live apart from their families and grow up without any inherited characteristics of being an individual. Anthem is an example of this kind of society because it showcases the link between a totalitarian dictator’s power to the oppression of individualism found in a children that live apart from their families. Totalitarian Dictators enforce the arrangement of children living separate from their families because it oppresses individualism and allows for a better grasp of beneficial control over a society.
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.
In conclusion, in Anthem by Ayn Rand, Equality’s new society will have none of the rules of the old society. The rules were put in place to shun differences and keep everyone equal. Because Equality hated the old society, he encourages differences, and he was an outcast in the old society, he will not allow any of the rules to carry over into his new
Every citizen believes the way they are living is correct and that there is no problem with the society. “This was the only thing which moved, for the lips of the oldest did not move as they said: ‘Street Sweeper’(Anthem)”. Equality 7- 2521 feels differently when he knows that he is extremely smart and is given the job to be a street sweeper. Throughout the story, Equality 7-2521 learns to realize that the society is brain washing every single citizen. “The locks are old on the doors and there are no guards about. There is no reason to have guards, for men have never defied the Councils so far as to escape from whatever place they were ordered to be (Anthem).” Any citizens who were supposed to be locked up would never to attempt to even escape because they knew they would be put to death, however, escaping was easy for Equality