Equality's Personal Experiences In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

“The dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they act on their dreams with open eyes to make it possible,” Lawrence of Arabia once said. Men can be dangerous. Those who follow their desires and explore the forbidden are pledged to hold the world upon its inner core. If the forbidden is challenged and faced with its true reality, then the greatness you find is the long lost concealed knowledge. This is what the character Equality realizes in the book “Anthem”. He discovers that the principles of his society hides the secrets of the world that are meant to be revealed and shared within the people. Equality then finds his true purpose in his society is to share this awareness but is faced with many obstacles and rejections. In Anthem, Ayn Rand

For example, people who don’t go to college tend to be seen as “uneducated” or foreshadowed to be in a crippling future which results in the belief that one’s self is a failure. This is seen in Equality’s personal experiences throughout his teenage years. One such example is when Equality says, “But we cannot change our bones nor our body. We were born with a curse ” to create this sense of illusory truth effect that Equality faces (Rand 6). Rand uses the words “we were born with a curse” to illustrate the effect society has on Equality by showing how he believes what his society wants him to believe about himself. Another example can be seen when Equality says, “We were guilty and we confess it here. We preferred some work and some lessons to others” to express the idea that taking different paths in life rather than society’s way makes a person seen as committing an act of omission (Rand 8). This can be seen in the quote when Rand uses words like “preferred some work and some lessons to others” to convey that Equality's uniqueness in ways of thinking that is different from his society’s way leads Equality to think that his morals are wrongful and should be avoided. This is shown when Equality himself says, “We were guilty and we confess it,” to prove that his way of thinking is affected by his society. Although Equality is pressured by his society,

One must speak out what his inner self wants to prove and find. This is what Equality’s dream is, to find the past forgotten knowledge and share it to his people. Controlled by his society he is forced to keep his thoughts to himself. Later on, Equality realizes that a person who keeps his thoughts to himself all the time has nothing to think about except his own thoughts. In order to achieve his dream, Equality learns that he must chart the uncharted and stomp out of his fears. One such example is when Equality says “The secrets of this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who will seek them,” to reveal that Equality starts moving towards his goals (Rand 25). This is shown in the quote when Rand uses the words “only for those who will seek them,” to express the idea that not everyone is capable of achieving their goals except those who follow their own desires and step out of their comfort zone. An example can be seen when Equality decides to pluck up the courage and spread his knowledge to the people of the council knowing there will be serious consequences to his sayings in which he says “We give you the key to earth! Take it, and let us be one of you, the humblest among you. Let us work together,”(Rand 36). Rand uses words like “We give you the key to earth!” to show Equality is trying to spread out his findings to his people and teach them the power humankind is capable