What Does The Lightbulb Symbolize In Anthem

The story “Anthem” by Ayn Rand is written in the form of a journal owning to a boy living in the future named Equality 7-2521. In this future that he lives in people have lost all knowledge of what it is to be an individual; one with his own perspective. Everyone in this time lives and works in groups, with facets of life dictated by the Councils. Among these councils there are the Council of Vocations, council of Scholars, and a few others. On the day that each person is a assigned a job, Equality 7-2521 is assigned to menial job cleaning the streets. As time goes by he rebels against socialism by conducting secret scientific research. Through time and research Equality 7-2521 was able to recreate electric light; electricity. He then goes

    In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, the author explains how everyone is ‘equal’ . If you were beautiful, you had to wear a mask to hide the beauty. If you were strong, you had to wear a certain amount of birdshot in order to pull you down. The treatment everyone had to deal with was unfair.  “Some things about living still weren’t quite right, though. April, for instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen year-old son, Harrison, away.”  Harrison, a fourteen year-old boy, was taken away from his family for being different. The text states “The picture showed the full length of Harrison against a background calibrated in feet and inches. He was exactly seven feet tall.” Harrison was much different than the ‘average person’. He was extremely tall for a fourteen year-old boy, stronger than most men, and, the text also states that he was a man that “would have awed Thor, the god of thunder.”. But, after Harrison

Would you know what it’s like living in a society where the government makes your choice? While you sit there not able to think because the government said you couldn’t? Even over a small thing? In the book, “Anthem” by Ayn Rand there is a section talking about lightbulbs. and throughout the political debates (2007-2013) Sen. Rand Paul restates her thoughts in his debates regarding the economy, and energy-saving lightbulbs. I do believe it was appropriate to bring up her book in his conscientiously debates because he is warning us about what could happen in the future.

“Our name is Equality 7-2521, as it is written on the iron bracelet which all men wear on their left wrists with their names upon it. We are twenty-one years old. We are six feet tall, and this is a burden, for there are not many men who are six feet tall. Ever have the Teachers and the Leaders pointed to us and frowned and said: "There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has grown beyond the bodies of your brothers." But we cannot change our bones nor our body” (Rand 18).

“To be free, a man must be free of his brothers. That is freedom. This and nothing else.” (101). Equality 7-2521 of Anthem lives in a society where everything done is for the good of all, and nothing is for oneself. Equality decides to break past this oppressive society, and write, create, and do things for alone. One of these things is discovering the power of electricity.

Mowery discusses the ongoing theme of forced equality in the story Harrison Bergeron. He explores the way

Symbolizing the enlightenment, the sky is clear and bright with rolling hills to the east, while the west is drastically different. There are black clouds casting darkness upon the land with jagged mountains in the back, showing the areas where the enlightenment has not reached yet. The torch that Lady Liberty is carrying is the symbol for enlightenment, and wherever she goes it

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

Harrison Bergeron is a valuable story that has underlying themes, which are very relevant in our current society. The theme of equality can be seen throughout the book, and it is the principle that is enshrined in America’s constitution now, whereby they claim that all men are equal. Kurt Vonnegut demonstrates the issue of equality in a Utopian society. Vonnegut in his story, cautions Americans on the dangers of creating a truly equalitarian society, whereby citizens go to an extent of sacrificing their freedom, and individuality to the state, to create a place where all people are equal. Vonnegut creates a society whereby, all people are made equal. The beautiful are forced to wear hideous masks to disfigure their beauty, those considered intelligent are to wear radio calls, and ear splitting noises that are supposed to impede their thinking, and the strong are forced to wear weights around their necks throughout the day. The author uses masks, and the weights as symbols to symbolize

In addition, Equality 7-2521 continues to develop the theme when he is curious about how to capture lightning. This is when Equality 7-2521 creates a box that contains the energy of the sky which is known to a reader as a light bulb. He does this by discovering how to capture lightning and creating light without it. Equality 7-2521 plans on showing it to the World Council of Scholars and becoming a hero to the society like the people that created the candle were. However, his actions are considered a

Harrison Bergeron, a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, is not written for the light reader. This story of equality shows deeply of how horrid it would be to be born special, different, smarter, faster, stronger, etc, in a world where you are forced to be equal. Despite the usual connotation of the word equality, Kurt Vonnegut looks at the cost of making everyone be the same. He has shown through his words the torture you must endure in order to make you the same as everyone else, being a radio intending to scatter your thoughts, weights to weigh you down, or even a hideous, grotesque, mask used to hide your charming face. After you’ve lived with these handicaps a man, named Harrison Bergeron, trying to change how things are interrupts your show.

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

The story of Anthem takes place in dystopian future in which freedom and human rights have been obliterated. Equality 7-2521, the protagonist, is a street sweeper who finds a tunnel where he conducts his science experiments which are considered a sin. Throughout the book we see him change and discover how capable he is through a multitude of literary devices. In the novella , Anthem, Ayn Rand utilizes vivid imagery and a profusion of diction to frenetically emphasize the idea of love.

Kurt Vonnegut’s unique story “Harrison Bergeron,” displays a theme which is a warning about the dangers of equality, which is equality is a hindrance to an individual’s success and society’s success, but this hindrance is ironically, unequal. In the story, Harrison and his bride are arrested for their unwillingness and inability to stay within the bounds of equality enforced by the Handicapper General. Equality hinders the success of an individual like the weights hinder the beauty and grace of the ballerinas in the story. Equality doesn’t promote everyone to be equally better, but to be unequally worse. Handicaps are no use in ensuring equality, because one’s strengths will always shine through, such as Harrison’s strength and wit, or the

The novella “Anthem” written by Ayn Rand was a very fascinating book about a collectivist society. Ayn Rand was a teenager in Soviet Russia, where they practiced communism but she did not agree with the practice so she moved to the United States. The main character Equality 7-2521 was different than the other people of his society and he thought for himself. Due to them being a collectivist society, where they all think and do things as a group, Equality always broke the rules because he developed a sense of individuality. Equality invented a light bulb which he presented to the Council of scholars with the mindset that they would forgive him for his sins and appreciate his invention. However, they did not appreciate the invention and Equality had to run away into the woods to get away from his punishment, where the Golden One who is a girl who he had a connection with, followed him. Equality and the Golden One then found an old abandoned house where they began to live and make a new life for themselves where they expressed individuality. The language, setting of the collectivist society and characterization are very important aspects of the novella, Anthem.