Consequences Of Symbolism In Anthem, By Ayn Rand
In the book Anthem their society is way different from ours. They are not allowed to be individual or say the word “I”. They can’t have names, instead they are in groups and have group names. They all have a part in society like their jobs and things they do. For example the equality group belong to the street sweepers.
The book Anthem by Ayn Rand is a very interesting book. At first it is confusing to the reader because of the use of the words we and us instead of I. The main character, Equality 7-2521 introduces himself in the plural form. The reader takes a while to figure this out. The era that Equality is in, is after the Great Rebirth.
This book, written by Ayn Rand is about Equality 7-2521, a young man who was quite brave. He was twenty-one years old and was six feet tall. He had broken and went against many laws. However, one law that he did not break was the law that disallowed him to refer to himself as “I” or “me”.
Equality 7-2521’s journey to individuality has finally reached an acme where he discovers his true purpose. He has discovered the importance of the word I, and his discovery helps him question the life he has been living, and envision a world free from oppression. Anthem by Ayn Rand details the scary, yet feasible possibility of a world without individuality, education, and questions. The protagonist, Equality 7-2521, lives in a world where freedom of speech is a sin, curiosity is viewed as a curse, and the sense of an ego is completely lost. Equality 7-2521 eventually learns about his desires for education, curiosity, and an identity.
First Ayn Rand uses diction and imagery to convey a sense of collectivism in the story where she describes that Equality 7-2521 “awoke in the night” and when this happened “there were no brothers around us, but only their shapes in the beds.” This description by Ayn Rand of Equality 7-2521 implements imagery as a tool, describing these bodies as just shapes that dehumanize them taking away their individualism and adding an aspect of collectivism instead. Ayn Rand also uses diction in this when she states that there were no brothers around Equality 7-2521, this also added into the sense that everyone was one, the group in this story was a collective whole. This contributed to the tone of the chapter by adding a sense of eerieness and unease in the reader. Where this collective whole and authoritarian-like aspect of this world adds suspense and makes an uneasy setting.
Why was this book controversial? Which themes or ideas were challenging to society? Controversial material in Anthem, by Ayn Rand, includes brief use of profanity, issues of morality, and exploitation of women. Also, controversy surrounding Ayn Rand’s work is the over-emphasizing of individualistic ideas she displays, as well as the adoration of egotism.
Luke Quinn Ms. Bonica Banned books. 2/11/15 In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand a major theme is oppression. In the book everybody in the society are extreme followers and take the Councils laws as absolute truth, they do this voluntarily not by force. Many few are exceptions to this obeying this tyrant council, who preach extreme communism, and that no one person matters at all, but only the survival of mankind matters.
“It is a sin to write this,” begins Anthem, and the digression of the society around him slowly falls. The argument asks if I reason about the Equality’s sins being evil or marvelous. The outtake of his decision decides his fate on the community around him, lifeless slaves being controlled by the government. So, I believe his sins are for the greater good. It shows that he is not a enslaved monkey in a science lab, but the arrogant monkey who refuses to do the tests.
In Anthem by Ayn Rand, there are many uses of symbolism throughout the entire novel. Specifically, the quote (found on page 52) “The secrets of this earth are not for all men to see, but for those who will seek them.” is a great example of this. Equality 7-2521, a street curious street sweeper discovers a new way to create light and control electricity while working underground late at night. Equality then returns several times, experimenting and improving this newfound power.
Anthem is a story written by Ayn Rand as a propaganda piece portraying the evils of communism. The book takes place in the future in a undisclosed city surrounded by forest. In this city a collectivist society dwells. The conflict of Anthem is character vs. society where one man by the name of Equality decides to go against his broken government. Equality took a stand against his broken society, he has defied the council of scholars and his government, had a relation with a women, and escaped the city to The Uncharted Forest.
A dystopia is an imagined universe in which the illusion of a perfect society is maintained through oppressive control. Anthem provides multiple examples that present dystopian elements including; the natural world being banished and distrusted, the eradication of family, the restriction of freedom, information, and independent thought, and lastly the idea that citizens must conform to uniform expectations because individuality is bad. The first element that proves Anthem is a dystopia is demonstrated through the bureaucratic control of the World Council by demoting the natural world and banishing it from the society. “They refer to the past as the unmentionable times, as well as anything outside their society is known as the uncharted forest in which no one goes.”
Victory Over Collectivism “I”, one of the only one-letter words in the English language. Yet its power and meaning do not match its quantitative value. In the collectivist dictatorship found the in the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, this word has disappeared and consequently, society has fallen into a dark age, all because of the loss of a single-lettered word. However, the hero of this time, Equality 7-2521, breaks down the barrier of the collectivist society and allows him to make advances that show him the power of the word “I” and the idea of individualism in government and in society. Although the word “I” has vanished from society, Equality is able to free himself from the collectivist government through the use of science and free thought,
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.
honor is a thing to be earned.” Ayn Rand weaves her idea of objectivism and that people choose others relying on their own needs into her connection with Equality. In the beginning of Anthem Equality did not think of himself, but what the society wanted everyone to do as a whole, contrasting towards Ayn Rand’s beliefs (Rand, Anthem 96).When people come to the realization that no one is equal, it is easier to realize that neither are needs, making choices involving circumstances like relationships depend on a person’s thoughts and
There are many examples of irony in Anthem that the author uses to carry the plot and deepen the story and an example of irony that some people don't get until later in the book is the idea of "we". Therefore it is ironic that a person wouldn't know the word for one's self. The definition of irony is "the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. " The use of we is to really push the idea that Equality 7-2521 only thinks as a group. This example is dramatic irony because the readers of Anthem know that Equality 7-2521 is an individual yet still calls himself "we".
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