In our society, people are motivated in lots of different ways. This can create both positives, such as putting a man on the moon, and negatives, such as war and starving people. Anthem is a story about a man who is going against his collectivist society in his search for individuality. Equality’s main motivation is to discover new things and new ideas in the world around him, as well as to try to figure out who he is as an individual. His motivation is correct because he enables the thought of free will, and the world could become a better place if everyone was motivated like Equality. Equality’s main motivation is to discover new things and new ideas in the world around him. Early on in the novella, Equality finds a tunnel from the Unmentionable …show more content…
One of Equality’s main goals in the beginning of the novella was to become a scholar when he turned 15 years of age. Even though Equality received the mandate to be a street sweeper, he did the same work, if not more superior work, as the Scholars in his secret tunnel. When Equality was exiled from his city and found the house in the Uncharted Forest from the Unmentionable Times, he wanted to study it and all of the house's contents. Equality wanted to read all of the books that he found in the house so that he could learn the words that were lost in the Unmentionable Times. When Equality told Liberty about his findings and his discovery of the word “I”, Liberty’s first words that she spoke to Equality were, “‘I love you”’ (98). This means it is possible for Equality to teach other people about being an individual and to slowly alleviate his collectivist …show more content…
For example, problems such as global warming and the terrorist group ISIS could be diminished if everyone in the world would be aiming to resolve our issues instead of creating new ones. We would be productive because we would be pursuing our questions fully instead of trying to only answer part of them. In Anthem, Equality had several questions when the leg of a dead frog jerked as he was cutting it open. He then spent many years trying to figure out what unknown force had caused this. “We followed it in preference to all our studies. We worked with it, we tested it in more ways than we can describe, and each step was as another miracle unveiling before us. We come to know that we had found the greatest power on earth” (53). This shows that Equality answered his questions about the unknown force to the best of his abilities. With everyone having the same mindset, different groups of people and different nations could come together because there would be no disagreement between them. In conclusion, Equality’s main motivation is to discover new things and new ideas in the world around him, as well as to try to figure out who he is as an individual. His motivation is correct because he enables the thought of free will, and the world could become a better place if everyone was motivated like Equality. Equality wanted to change the world and make it a better place by teaching others about Egoism. He
The society was based upon the idea that a man is nothing, and a group of people is everything. This can be exemplified when Equality shows his discovery to the council, and they tell him it could not be used since only one person worked on it. They said that it cannot be accepted because nothing a man does on his own is good. This changes for Equality pretty early in the book. He starts defying authority when he goes into his hole in the ground.
As the novella progresses Equality transforms into an individual who isn’t afraid to flaunt his individuality. “When I shall have read all the books and learned my new way, when my home will be ready and my earth tilled, I shall steal one day, for the last time into the cursed City of my birth.” (Rand 101). Thus doing so Equality wants to educate himself and bring the others to his new home in order to create his own society where people are free to be themselves. There he and the others will embrace the word “I” and be free to become
First, Equality showed that the power of selfishness and individuality could do great things if one believes. For example, giving the evil, Street Sweeper (Equality) the courage to break the Council’s rules and
He is extremely motivated to establish a world where information isn’t limited and people are able to live as they please. Equality has finally uncovered his purpose and is not only willing to defend, but also promote it. Equality’s mindset generated a reaction from the nurture he received, resulting in him to discover his identity. A monumental point in one 's life is when they remove the toxic and unveil their true self.
Equality explains that he wants a society filled with his few secret friends and the misfits of the city he ran away from, that practices the old ways of living from the Unmentionable Times. “Here, on this mountain, I and my sons and my chosen friends shall build our new land and our fort” (Rand 104). This, obviously, eliminates the idea of equality not allowing friendship and love in this new society. The next rule Equality shows that he would like to eliminate is describing one’s individual self as “We,” in fact making it seem shameful to refer to oneself as such. “What brought it to pass?
In the final chapters of the book, after Equality and The Golden One have discovered their new house and proposed to build a new life, they read books in its intact library and so discover the forbidden word, “I” (94). This discovery prompts Equality to radically overhaul his entire way of going through life, aligning it to Rand’s Objectivist philosophy. His focus on himself, illustrated through his obsession with the word I is show in the last two chapters of the book, where he latches on to the idea that devoting one’s life to only oneself is the only appropriate way to live life. Rand shows this with statements from Equality such as, “I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them”(96). Equality is proclaiming that his life will be best lived in a purely selfish manner, where he will not take care of anyone else, but will not ask anyone to take care of him either.
While working for the Home of the Street Sweepers, Equality stumbles upon an underground tunnel. While in the tunnel, he makes many “new” discoveries, and builds his light. Equality’s discovery in the tunnel demonstrates his individuality, and his ability to break free from the societal norm in order to thrive in his individualistic society. When he begins his adventure to find his own individuality in the tunnel Equality explains that, “We have learned things which are not in the scripts” (Anthem 36). Thus showing that he has broken away from society, and is surpassing the others in the communal society by “learn[ing] things which are not in the scripts,” which were written by others in the communal society.
In the words of Ayn Rand, “The word We is as lime poured over men.” This quote portrays the book Anthem and the threats of “We” that take place during the red scare. Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, depicts a story that revolves around a young rebellious man who goes against the collective mind of his society and follows his passions and ideals in the world where everything about the past has been wiped out from a great war. Equality, with strong reasoning, had motivation of personal interest that allowed him to escape from the collective society Equality’s motivation is fueled by personal interest. “It is a sin to write this, It is a sin to think words no other think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see.
So long a road lies before us, and what care if we must travel it alone!” (54) In this statement all Equality cares about is his invention and he is still trying to expand his
However, Equality’s main motivation is personal achievement. He does this for him and him alone, although he knows his creation has the potential to be something
Collectivism and Selfishness in Anthem Imagine living in a world where everybody's lives are completely mapped out by the government. Where every decision is made without the input of the citizens it affects. In the novella Anthem, Ayn Rand depicts a completely collectivist society, where every idea, action, and invention is purely for the benefit of society as a whole. Everything is done with the entire population in mind, and individuality is extremely frowned upon.
Equality states he must release his friends and let them out into the world do that they can become their own individuals. He realizes there is something important about them because they experience something different from him and many others in Anthem’s collectivist society. Equality sees that their individualism can rebuild the world back to how it used to be. Individuality is important for the world and everyone in it for it provides new
Equality does this by when he first falls in love with Liberty, he is obsessed. However, when his invention is rejected by the council, he starts to realize he doesn’t need to be in a group and in result, starts to love Liberty less. When he understand individuality fully, he becomes very selfish and doesn’t care for Liberty at all and thinks of her as an object. Equality felt he needed to be with a group and with Liberty. Through his journey he discovered that he doesn’t need to be with a group and can be independent.
Equality finds the truth of family love, friendship love, and romance love. As he escapes the only living style he knows to live, he discovers a whole other style of life. He gives freedom to any kind of love there is to feel. Freedom to feel what one wants to feel.
However, since the council fails to recognize this idea, Equality has two options: either face imminent execution or flee. By choosing the latter and fleeing into the Uncharted Forest, Equality finally is, in a physical sense, free from the rule of collectivist society. Now he is alone in the forest, alone with his thoughts. He decides where he goes, when he sleeps, what he eats. However, he is still not fully