Ayn Rand's Anthem: A Dystopian Society

Morality is a difficult idea to explain because you’re going to hear different opinions based on who you ask.To some, the individual is the most important concern, but to others it is the collective who are the most important factor to creating a greater world. We are told from early childhood that stories have a moral, and that they give us advice on how to do what’s right, but who gets to decide what’s right? Where do our morals come from? Usually, we discover what is right and wrong from our parents and the people we surround ourselves with, but ultimately, we decide what fits into each category. In Anthem, a dystopian world is put on display where the government is the judge of what is right. Within the walls of this society, you

Equality begins his life being considered evil by his each era and soon by himself. Learning is too easy and he wants to be challenged by becoming a Scholar, but his teachers forbid him from asking questions. He is assigned his Life Mandate as Street Sweeper for such preferences of occupation, and even there he seeks out camaraderie in International 4-8818. The life of a Street Sweeper is a home of rejects, and people who cannot conform to the reality of collectivism. Upon discovering love in the fields outside of the City, Equality feels pain for the first time, and distinguishes fear from happiness within his brother-men. His perspective changes when he thinks about his love being sent to the Palace of Mating, he radiates hatred for his government for having these rules in place. Equality begins experimenting alone in his rediscovered manhole, in which he harnesses the power of lightning to recreate the lightbulb. He plans to share his creation with the Council, and in turn, ease the toils of all his brothers. He presents himself and the light to the Council, hoping for forgiveness and understanding. Yet, all he receives is disdain and condescendance. He calls the Council fools, and takes his light with him as he heads for the Uncharted Forest, which no man may enter. Equality finally feels true happiness when he hunts his own food and

The term ‘ego’ is often defined as being absorbed with yourself, or having arrogance. The actual definition of ego is a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance, which correlates to how Equality has become compared to his City. This collectivist society is teeming with selflessness, meaning they have no self-worth and do not consider their needs to be important, which lets the superiors control what they deem important by grouping everyone to one belief, and objectifying divergents to be evil and inconsiderate of everyone else. Even though Equality has rejected the rules much earlier in the book, he still believed he was in the wrong for being divergent and wanted to be the same as everyone else. After completely detaching himself from the City he renamed himself to Prometheus, the titan of light. By assigning himself a new name, he becomes entitled to a place at the head of independence. Reality changed when he realized that he could be independent, and self-centered, without the iron fist of condemnation weighing his consciousness into the