ipl-logo

Dystopian Characters In Anthem

658 Words3 Pages

A dystopian society is degrading to the human population. One figurehead is in control and persuades the citizens to follow their beliefs. As stated in Ayn Rand’s 1930s novella, “ We all are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE. One individual, and forever.” Anthem, a dystopian novella, by Ayn Rand, takes place in a futuristic society. The main characters are Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000. This novella has many conflicts, however the main conflict is, Equality is different and wants to be his own individual, but the society does not allow individuality. Nazi- Germany and the fictional society portrayed in Anthem and share similar dystopian characteristics including propaganda is used to control the citizens …show more content…

According to the BBC’s website Bitesize, “Josef Goebbels controlled the propaganda ministry, which aimed to brainwash people into obeying the Nazis and idolising Hitler” (BBC’s Bitesize).
Adolf Hitler used propaganda very often to persuade the citizens to follow him and his Nazi army. In addition, the Councils in Anthem, brainwashed the citizens to believe that the outside world is forbidden and dangerous. As Ayn Rand noted, “Beyond the ravine there is a plain, and beyond the plain there lies the Uncharted Forest, about which men must not think,” (Rand 30).
The government wants the people to be in one area, so they tell the people that the Uncharted Forest is from the unmentionable times. If anyone spoke of the unmentionable times, they would be executed. As a matter of fact, in Nazi- Germany, speaking ill of the government or having any independent thoughts are forbidden. The article stated, “Artists had to produce acceptable paintings that portrayed Nazi values, Jazz music was banned, books written by Jews were publicly burned. Homosexuals were persecuted because they did not fit the Nazi image of the ideal family,” (BBC Bitesize). In Hitler’s eyes, if you did not fit the Nazi image you should immediately be killed. Anything that Hitler did not agree with was either banned or

Show More
Related
563 Words | 3 Pages

Although "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut and Anthem by Ayn Rand are both dystopian pieces whose protagonist are incredibly similar. Both Harrison and Equality were equally defiant and refused live by the rules that everyone is supposed to live by. They live with this mentality because they have a special thinking process and want more than the dull lives they live. "The 3 C 's in life: Choice, Chance, Change, you must make the choice, to take the chance, if you want anything in life to

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone” (Paragraph 1, Page 1). That quote is how the book starts off, telling the reader of the lack of individuality that the government allows. That is almost exactly how Nazi Germany was. If an individual was not up to the government standards, they would be terminated because of Hitler’s “Final Solution” and wanting to have the perfect

Read More
609 Words | 3 Pages

The collectivist society is not a place to live but to die. While examining everyone Equality 7-2521 says, “The heads of our brothers are bowed. The eyes of our brothers are dull, and never do they look one another in the eyes. The shoulders of our brothers are hunched, and their muscles are drawn, as if their bodies were shrinking and wished to shrink out of sight” (Rand 46). This quote shows that the condition of the men make them look lifeless because they too are not allowed to do things on their own such as think for themselves.

Read More
419 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
734 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel Anthem the author, Ayn Rand discusses the ways Equality 7-2521’s world is a dystopia because independent thought, information and freedom are restricted, the natural world was banished and distressed, a concept is worshipped by the citizens and the society is an illusion of a perfect , utopian world. To begin with, Ayn Rand explains how the Equality 7-2521’s world is a dystopian society because the freedom of think and do anything for yourself is restricted. Equality states “It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see... It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own.

Read More
891 Words | 4 Pages

Anthem was written by Ayn Rand and published in 1938. In the beginning of the book I didn’t think much of it. It consisted of a grey city where everyone is equal and works as one, and individualism is nonexistent. This city is controlled by totalitarian leaders. The main character or protagonist, Equality 7-2521 has always been different from the rest, in terms of knowledge, height, and physical strength.

Read More
540 Words | 3 Pages

Propaganda used to control the German people. Propaganda was an essential part of Nazi development. It was one of the most successful ways to convince German people to join the Nazi movement. With the use of the radio, newspapers, posters etc.

Read More
559 Words | 3 Pages

Anthem is a book that makes oneself contemplate the future and what evils are bestowed upon it. In this novel, the reader is caught in the life of Equality. Equality’s life is placed in the future, where the feared reality of communism has conquered all but the souls of few weary men. Equality is one of those few men who have a light that is invulnerable to a ravaging wind. Equality’s time captive before his extraordinary escape has taken a toll on his body and mind and now at the end of his journey forces him to question whether the decisions he’s made are full of sin or teeming with righteousness.

Read More
1067 Words | 5 Pages

"We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever’”(Rand 19). In Ayn Rand’s dystopian novel, Anthem, the citizens are trained from birth to think only in the plural, to the point where they cannot even conceive of individuals, but only see each other as part of the whole group. Rand’s protagonist, Equality 72521, begins the novel as a street-sweeper who is devoted to the group, but begins to move towards individuality as he progresses towards pure selfishness, as Rand believes we all should. Rand uses the words “we” and “I” to represent Equality’s journey from being dependent on the group, to being utterly independent of everyone.

Read More
1632 Words | 7 Pages

The Nazi’s viewed homosexuals as useless to their cause to make the perfect “Aryan” race which put them up for any form of prejudice with no one to help. One major way the Nazis would identify LGBT+ people was by the pink triangles they were forced to wear on their clothing (Classification System in Nazi Concentration Camps). There are accounts of LGBT+ people being raped and killed on the streets (Blumberg). Since LGBT+ people did not come forward and since they could also be placed in another category of a useless/unworthy group it is unknown, how many people died, but it is estimated that hundreds to thousands of LGBT+ people were murdered (Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi

Read More
1105 Words | 5 Pages

Though not the Nazi´s main issue, homosexuals deprived of their lives by the Nazis underwent treatment just as worse as any other group. The general opinion of the Nazis thought of gay men being weak, and they should not be apart of their nation. They did not want homosexuals to be what people saw when they thought of Germany. Also the Nazis wanted to continually be able to increase their population. People of the same sex are not able to reproduce, so the Nazis also saw them for this reason as a ¨racial threat,¨ as they saw any community unable to increase Germany’s birth rate (¨Charles D. Dunst¨).

Read More
772 Words | 4 Pages

The Use of Propaganda by the Reich We all know and have experienced propaganda in our lives, in the most discrete of ways by companies trying to get us to buy their merchandise, or in this case, political leaders trying to convince us to support them. According to Webster, propaganda is, “ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are spread in order to help a cause, political leader, a government, etc.” However, no one has used propaganda to convince their people of an idea in the most notorious fashion as the National Socialist German Workers' Party, also known as the Nazi Party.

Read More
1395 Words | 6 Pages

Nazism significantly impacted the propaganda, terror and repression in a time of the abolition of the Weimar and rising of Hitler. The German civilization was greatly affected German people from 1933-1939 making the ideology of Nazism change most facets of life. The underlying nature of the anti semitic and nationalist theme amongst the media was a supplement to a large portions of society 's initial views. By the 30th of January 1933, Hitler had been appointed Chancellor. The intentions to commit to the ‘Final Solution’ was obvious when he used propaganda, terror and repression in order to influence and persuade his actions, therefore justifying it to himself and others he took authority over.

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

Nazi’s also had a purpose for these actions besides being considered “non-German”, and it was mainly because the books that they burned were written by Freud, Einstein, Thomas Mann, Jack London, and H.G. Wells. What all of these authors had in common was that they were Jewish. Not only do religious and Nazi book burnings happen, but historical books have been found to have been burned. History is an important thing, as it can be used to learn about the past.

Read More
1747 Words | 7 Pages

1. Introduction Homosexuals were not immediately persecuted more after Hitler rose to power, but that would change with the Röhm-Putsch on June 30, 1934, when the openly homosexual leader of the SA (Sturmabteilung), Ernst Röhm, as well as other leading SA officials and opponents of the state were imprisoned, with Röhm being executed on July 1, 1934. The stated objective to the public was to eradicate homosexuality from the National Socialist ranks, (Jellonnek, 1990, p. 96), and this justification found immense support from the German public, who "were relieved to see that the Führer was ready to eliminate homosexuality within the ranks of his most loyal followers" (Moeller, 2010, p. 523). This support from the public enabled the revision of §175 in 1935, a law that had prohibited sexual relations between men since the

Read More

More about Dystopian Characters In Anthem

Related Topics

Open Document