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Anthem by Ayn Rand

            Anthem a novel by Ayn Rand is set in a dystopic society written from the perspective of Equality a man wrought with ideas and conflict. The way individualism and collectivism affect the world of Anthem and Equality are very clear. These ideals affect the world and its inhabitants in very distinct ways but sometimes both ideals can form together and work in harmony. .
             Collectivism is the name of the game in the world of Anthem. Collectivism is the idea that it is the group not the individual that truly means something for it is the group's goal to improve life for all others and their own personal being means nothing. When Equality is given his job of a street sweeper he replies to the council with "The will of our brothers be done "(pg.26). Equality wanted to be a scholar but even though he did not get that job he is still okay with being a street sweeper because he is helping the group which is the only important thing. In this society even being genetically different is considered being and individual and is looked down upon. "This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick. "(pg. 20) just because Equality is smarter than his fellow man he is looked down upon he is even scorned for being tall which shows the insane view this society has toward collectivism and the fact that they want all of mankind to be exactly the same.
             Individualism can be seen as the polar opposite of collectivism because it is the idea that man as an individual has the right to be self-reliant and independent. This is definitely not what the world of Anthem is based off of but Equality is definitely the spokesperson of this ideal. "Strange are the ways of evil! "(pg. 37) Equality proclaims this when talking about all the knowledge he has learned over the two years he has been coming to his secret tunnel. This is the first time Equality acknowledges he is doing something against the group such as learning things outside his own job and yet he feels like this is a good thing, he feels better for doing so.


Essays Related to Anthem by Ayn Rand

1. Ayn Rand

... the Living, her plots are amorphous and loose. Also that there is endless repetition and that the characters are generally two-dimensional. There are close resemblances between personality types described by Karen Horney in The Neurotic Personality of Our Time (1937). Horney feels that when judgement is passed on individual "neurotics", in a real sense it is being passes on society at ... system, is technically incomplete in many areas. "My happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to an end. It is the end (Rand p. 42)." Spoken by Equality 7-2521 as he...

  • Word Count: 2861
  • Approx Pages: 11
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Anthem

... original title for the short, and powerful, science fiction novel Anthem. The author, Ayn Rand, believed very strongly in individualism and that one day all men could lose their rights, values, and independence. This is the plot of Anthem. It is a story of a future Dark Age in which all technology has been destroyed by those in power, and all men have been brainwashed into a single ... and that his only goals are happiness and the betterment of all men. These ideas display a strong sense of what Ayn Rand believed fuck in and what any individualist fears most: to become another faceless ...

  • Word Count: 1197
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Anthem

... that will cost you your life. You aren't granted a name or an identity or a soul. There are no individuals; there is only the collective. This is the world of Anthem. Ayn Rand composes Anthem in an almost lyrical fashion and the majority of the text embraces poetry more faithfully than it does prose. This does little to affect the storytelling, but it encourages the ... have no names, no independence, and no values, he is hunted for the unpardonable crime: having the courage to stand above the crowd. Rand's own beliefs and her philosophy are most obviously seen through the protagonist, ...

  • Word Count: 949
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Literary Motifs in Anthem by Ayn Rand

In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, the motifs light and determination repeat throughout the book to show how equality gains freedom. The first motif light is a part of the text to give Equality ... to show how Equality is determined and has the courage to try and gain the freedom that he wants. Together, these motifs create a theme. By using these two motifs, the point that Rand wants you to understand is that light and determination motivates Equality to try and earn freedom. The overall theme of the book is that light and ... feet across the plain where no men walk. So we followed them, and w...

  • Word Count: 1090
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Freedom from Anthem

... many different ideas to the average student, to a democratic society, and to Equality 7-2521, the hero of Ayn Rand's inspiring, world-renowned novel, Anthem. Individuality and freedom, or Objectivism, as Ayn Rand has named her philosophy on the importance of freedom and individuality, are desires virtually all see as rights because, ... they do not feel they have to constantly acknowledge their gift because they feel everyone should live like they do, that freedom is a right. Anthem is set in the distant future when there are no connections to the past, such as electricity, cars, and indi...

  • Word Count: 693
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Anthem: Ego

... positive concept. If you were to be dependent on everyone around you, society wouldn't be able to grow and prosper with new ideas. In Anthem by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2621 is trapped in the middle of a collectivist society, trying to break free from its grips. His discovery of egoism introduces ... word, the book fell from my hands, and I wept, I who had never known tears. I wept in deliverance and in pity for all mankind" (Ayn Rand p.98) He finds he can finally express his own feelings rather than the collective feelings of his brothers. They were feelings of sadness, that some of his br...

  • Word Count: 828
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Anthem-Review

Title: Anthem Author: Ayn Rand Other Books by the same author: The Virtue of Selfishness, For the new intellectual, Atlas Shrugged, Fountain Head Main Characters: Equality 7-2521 a.k.a. Prometheus, Liberty 5-3000, World Council Brief Summary of Contents: The Anthem is a scroll of prophecies, a glimpse into a future progressed from our holy modern values of collectivism. As always, a hero is present or more appropriately, should I say, ONE hero ... comprehend the magnitude of Equality 7-2521's actions. The philosophical knowledge or discovery is only my means to my final purpose of a fiction st...

  • Word Count: 931
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Literature Review - Anthem by Ayn Rand

In the science fiction novella Anthem by Ayn Rand, who had been raised in the Soviet Union, a time that the populace was under a system of coerced 'Equality'. She promotes her ideals of human nature by engendering a dystopian society in which individualism is maleficent. The protagonist of the novel Equality 7-2521 is born into a nation that abolishes the word 'I'. Rand's philosophy of human nature is ... be the most prominent example of genocide and totalitarianism in history. The people were controlled very similarly to the way the people in Anthem were. An estimated 17 000 000 je...

  • Word Count: 1599
  • Approx Pages: 6
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9. Anthem

The novel, Anthem, is the author's approach at explaining the significance of individuality. Individuality plays a very important role in the average person's every day life. Ayn Rand's portrayal of a distant future is prophetic in its similarity with where today's society is heading. By definition, according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, an individual is "a particular being or thing as distinguished from a ... class, species, or collection: as (1) : a single human being as contrasted with a social group or institution (2) : a single organism as distinguished from a group b : a pa...

  • Word Count: 414
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

10. Ayn Rand Anthem

... earth's flat and that the sun revolves around the earth. This dream is Ayn Rand's Anthem, a politically charged novel about a society that uses oppression and communism/collectivism as a way to keep their citizens in control. Anthem is a story with strong themes tying in directly with communism and collectivism ... are made to be street sweepers, the lowest position imaginable for being different. Quite the opposite of our society, extra curricular learning is a crime punishable by imprisonment. As Prometheus states in the opening paragraph, "It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to thi...

  • Word Count: 1231
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  • Grade Level: High School

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