ipl-logo

Essay On Equality And The Golden One In Ayn Rand's Anthem

948 Words4 Pages

¨We do not wonder at this new sin of ours. It is our second transgression of Preference, for we do not think of all our brothers, as we must, but only of one, and their name is Liberty 5-300. We do not know why we think of them” (Rand 41). In Ayn Randś dystopian novel, Anthem, the citizens are forced to think that they cannot have any preference, this includes liking someone more than others. Randś protagonist, Equality 7-2521, started the book falling in love with the Golden One, but as he moves toward individuality he begins to be in “love” less as he realizes there’s more than just being in a group. Rand uses the the relationship between Equality and the Golden One to represent Equality’s journey from being obsessed with the Golden One when he feels he has to be apart of the group, to being ignorant to the Golden One because he has become utterly independent and selfish.
At the beginning of the story when Equality felt he had to belong to a group, he noticed the Golden One and fell in love with her. In Rand’s novel, she states, “They raised their hand to their …show more content…

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. His mindset soon becomes to be very selfish even by ignoring Liberty. Rand gives her theme of selfishness that she believes would benefit us all if we would only try

Show More
Related

Equality 7-2521 In Ayn Rand's Anthem

428 Words | 2 Pages

With the rejection of his creation, "It must be destroyed!"(Rand, 27)  it turns Equality 7-2521 to turn against his society and run away with the light bulb. He renders into the Uncharted Forest believing that no man would follow him here in which he uncovers the unknown that the Great Rebirth has hidden away. Before long, the Golden One accompanies Equality 7-2521 in his awaited journey to find a home that contains the long lost manuscripts and books that he presently reads. This results in him to rename himself Prometheus and brings the plot to a close with himself finding his true identity and what he has always believed to be a curse to be a gift that helped him to unveil the long lost word

Read More

The Motivation Of Equality 7-2521 In Ayn Rand's Anthem

105 Words | 1 Pages

In Ayn Rand's story Anthem, the protagonist Equality 7-2521 has a power unlike no other within their collectivist society. One day when Equality was working as a street sweeper, he finds an old abandoned underground railroad tunnel from the Unmentionable Times long ago. This is where he conducts his experiments that fill him with pride and joy. Equality dreams how his new invention that he brought into existence can change the world, but helping mankind is not his true motivation behind his passion to create. Throughout the story, Equality's true motivation is him trying to find his inner self and his identity as an individual.

Read More

Equal 7-2521 Character Analysis

152 Words | 1 Pages

Ayn Rand depicts characters that make important choices; her characters select from alternatives available to them — significant and sometimes life-and-death issues. Equality 7-2521 is the most obvious example, but not the only character in the book to make such choices. He chooses to wonder about the Unspeakable Word when he could (and, according to this society, should) decide not to. He chooses to conceal both the existence of the tunnel and his experiments, refusing to bow to the Councils ' will. He chooses not to tell his captors where he has been though they torture him.

Read More

Examples Of Equality In Anthem By Ayn Rand

921 Words | 4 Pages

In the book “Anthem” by Ayn Rand there is a society where everyone is the same. The book starts out by introducing Equality 7-2521, a young man who doesn't understand why he can’t follow the same rules as others. In “Anthem” people were never taught the word “I” but “we” because they should not care about anyone than the people around them. In the book it explains many different characters that break the rules for their friends. Having friends, looking at girls, talking to girls is not allowed.

Read More

Summary Of Individuality In Ayn Rand's Anthem

1128 Words | 5 Pages

For Liberty is so beautiful and “glowing” that she cannot be ignored. It, however, is against the commandments of Equality’s brotherhood to peruse her, as it would unbalance the mutual emotion between all men by creating preference. In a wretched battle of nature vs nurture, Equality finds that despite these regulations, he cannot stop himself from yearning for Liberty, whom serves as “blade of iron” cutting through to the undeniable truth that Equality is a selfish being, generally motivated by his own personal

Read More

The Road To Individualism In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

452 Words | 2 Pages

Equality lives in a collectivist society, which is a society that believes, “that man must be chained to collective action and collective thought for the sake of what is called “the common good.” Therefore, Equality being the person he is, struggles with being an individual. He knows it is against the law but he enjoys knowledge so much, it confuses him. He states, “And in our heart-strange are the ways of evil! - and in our heart there is the first peace we have known in 20 years.”

Read More

Influence Of Equality On The Path Of Freedom In Anthem By Ayn Rand

940 Words | 4 Pages

Equality 7-2521 can free himself from collectivism because he was independent. In the novel Anthem Ayn Rand makes us comprehend that Equality had and inner struggle and

Read More

Collectivism And Selfishness In Ayn Rand's Anthem

594 Words | 3 Pages

There's so much emphasis on putting others before oneself that people often forget to look out for their own needs, as shown in this book. Ayn Rand successfully captures the negatives of an overrated ideology and presents an unorthodox perspective on the matter. In conclusion, Equality's true motives behind his work are much more selfish than they first appear to be. Equality strives to fulfil his own personal desire rather than contribute everything to society, and this isn't necessarily a negative thing.

Read More

Collective Identity In Ayn Rand's Anthem

2031 Words | 9 Pages

In Ayn Rand’s novella “Anthem” the story which holds no plot but rather philosophical lessons takes place in a primitive authoritarian future world “dark ages of the future” where individuality has been suppressed in favor of collective identity, in the world of Anthem, the characters are taught to not think independently and not be pursue their own thoughts, their own goals, their own values, but rather be held by the power of collectivism “there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.” In the novella the villain, by contrast, do not hand, who allow themselves to be run by others, and are in a literal sense selfless. The theme of the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand is the power of individualism, selfhood, collectivism verse individualism,

Read More

Moral Assessment Of Anthem Essay

792 Words | 4 Pages

Moral Assessment of Anthem In Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, Equality lives in a communist society that believes everyone must work for and be exactly like one another. For much of the novel, he believes what the Council of Vocations tells him, despite his intelligence and independence. By the end of the book, he realizes that the idea that everyone is the same and must work for each other is flawed. He deserves to live his own life and enjoy himself.

Read More

Objectivism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

1284 Words | 6 Pages

We can see their eyes, green and yellow as coals, watching us from the tree branches beyond” (84). When he was living under the protection of the City, he was unaware of how to perform these tasks. However, once he left, he had to employ cognition to determine what he should do and how he should go about doing it. This was important to his survival, as Ayn Rand’s philosophy of objectivism states. The desire for individuals not to sacrifice themselves for others is present in

Read More

Anthem Essay On Equality

559 Words | 3 Pages

With all of his experience that nobody has known in at least a century he is extremely capable of deciding whether of his choices are right. His personality keeps him from giving up hope and giving up on his society and his companion but keeps him curious enough to keep searching for something better in life. Equality has aged to the point where he thinks he needs to change the world and will try to do so. Most would believe that Equality’s actions were righteous and could not contemplate that his actions were

Read More

Summary Of Anthem By Ayn Rand

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

Roark In Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead

860 Words | 4 Pages

Ayn Rand in her novel, The Fountainhead, evokes innovative thoughts within the readers who dare to question the ideas of selfishness and altruism that often lie outside of the popular views of morality. These ideas remain to be contradictory to many of her readers. Roark is the embodiment of multiple ideas and values that are collectively known to be immoral, yet his poised and determined nature makes his readers rethink their beliefs. For example, in chapter 18 the reader must decide whether or not they are going to agree or disagree with Roark’s stance on selfishness, a trait that is collectively known as negative.

Read More

Ellsworth Toohey In Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead

695 Words | 3 Pages

Toohey's explanation of his actions is a facade for his true motivation of gaining power and control over others. The author Ayn Rand does not agree with Toohey's assessment of his reason and portrays him as a villain who is willing to sacrifice the happiness and well-being of others to promote his agenda. Rand believes that individualism is a superior philosophy to collectivism and that Toohey's actions demonstrate the dangers of collectivism. Toohey's explanation of his actions is a facade for his true motivation of gaining power and control over others. The author Ayn Rand does not agree with Toohey's assessment of his reason and portrays him as a villain who is willing to sacrifice the happiness and well-being of others to promote his agenda.

Read More

More about Essay On Equality And The Golden One In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Related Topics

Open Document