Equality's Quest For Freedom In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

From the beginning to the end of the story Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, Equality is limited to any type of freedom in his strict society. He was limited to writing, interacting with others, and even self expression, for they are looked upon as sins. Although Equality believed he sinned at the beginning of the story, he realized his society was limiting him to any type of discovery, this including the Unmentionable Times and the Unspeakable Word. This gave him the push to be his own person and take a stand against the people whom he calls “his brothers.” Equality’s final actions are correct, for his actions speak more as an act of curiosity, rather than a sin.
Equality’s discoveries throughout the whole story, including the tunnel and the word

They were to only use the term “we” instead of “I”. Once Equality had discovered the unspeakable word, this brought a whole new vocabulary to him. The first time he expressed himself was with Liberty. Although it was a sin to talk to the opposite gender, Equality felt the urge to get to know Liberty as an individual and not just by her name. “We wish to speak it, but we dare not speak it above a whisper.” (38) With their limited vocabulary, Equality and Liberty never really had the chance to express how they felt towards each other. But once in the Uncharted Forest, in their new discovered home, he discovers a whole room of manuscripts. This giving him the resources to find the Unspeakable Word “I”. Equality also learns about the men during The Unmentionable Times and the achievements that were kept a secret from him and his society. “I shall learn many secrets from my books.” (99) He is hopeful for a new future and is willing to put forth the effort to make everyone see how the word “we” was used as false wisdom. His curiosity could not be held back and more ideas kept adding on to his thoughts more and more. “[But] we cannot resist it. It whispers to us that there are great things on this earth of ours, and that we can know them if we try.”

As he repeats her name on page thirty eight, the reader's notice Equality’s curiosity of Liberty increase as he could not stop thinking about the “Golden One” which he calls her, for “their hair was as golden as the sun.” (39) He had not made any physical contact with Liberty, but his feelings only grew stronger. Their contact from just glances had grown into actual hand to hand contact and then words were finally exchanged. This gave him a new mindset on what it was like to be in love. Equality broke the rules to show he cared for Liberty. Both without a care of being damned. Equality’s promise to take care of Liberty also shows that his actions were based more on love, rather than sin. “[And] that night we knew that to hold the body of a women in our arms is neither ugly nor shameful, but the one ecstasy granted to the race of men.”