Individualism And Collectivism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

In the novella Anthem written by Ayn Rand there was a theme about individualism and collectivism which tied up together. No matter how harsh and depersonalizing conditions are being inflicted on mankind, the power of one’s ego will always triumph one way or another is the theme that ties to individualism. The theme that is presented in their society would be that of collectivism which is the belief that all humans must depend on one another. The theme that I could connect with the most would be that of individualism because I believe that all of us have an ego whether it’s big or small which makes us think of our self-importance or brings out our self-esteem. Just like Equality overcame obstacles and found his self-confidence, I can overcome

“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 bodies were shrinking and wished to shrink out of sight” (Rand 46). This quote gives the idea that they feel some sort of fear or uneasiness but can’t seem to express their feelings because it’s against the law. That feeling is felt throughout the entire book except the ending when Equality finds the meaning of life which is one’s self. Me and my partnered both assumed that when Equality escaped, they didn’t decide to go after him as punishment, because they probably thought he wouldn’t last and would die. We also saw the reference to the Saint of the Pyre a few times which ties back to the man burned at stake for saying the unmentionable word. This book made me and my partner question a lot of things with the society within it because they were going back in time with the technology they had such as a candle instead of advancing. We questioned the society and how it came to be based on collectivism when it used to be based on individualism. Overall, me and my partner really enjoyed this book because it made us think about our society and the social relationships we